Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews March 3, 2013 Great video on board a US aerial refueller as the flying boom tanker refuels a French Air Force Rafale. Video by Tech. Sgt. Oneika Banks Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa  KC-135s Supporting French Mission in Mali, EUCOM Combat Camera, Southwest Europe.   Video shot by Sgt David Clark.

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  JANUARY 11, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS India will become the fifth country to operate A330 multi-role tanker transports (MRTTs), following Australia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK. (Photo: Airbus Military) January 11, 2013, 10:25 AM The Indian Air Force ( IAF ) has selected the A330 multi-role tanker transport ( MRTT ) for its tanker procurement in preference to the Ilyushin Il- 78MK , after a second round of bidding. Commercial negotiations for six aircraft with an option for three more will start soon, and a contract that includes a 30-percent offset commitment is expected to be signed by June. Airbus Military  CEO  Domingo Urena-Raso said, “This has been a long and tough competition, and we are honored to have been selected.” The depot maintenance and life support costs of the A330 were a factor in the Airbus win, since the base price of the Il-78 was lower. Having suffered in t...

Neelam Mathews Jan 7, 2012 Airbus Military is in the process of working on draft contracts for the MMRT and for (30%) offsets to present to the MoD after having being declared the lowest bidder in the race for IAF tankers. The contract is expected to be signed by April, AerospaceDiary learns. The Airbus-330 MRTT won the race against competitor Ilyushin-78 mid-air refueling aircraft in an approximate Rs 8,500-crore contract. Had this tender not been repeated, India would have saved considerable money given the depreciation of the Indian rupee by around 25% in just the past 12 months. However, the lifecycle costs included this time around, were key to Airbus winning the deal.

Neelam Mathews Nov 1, 2012 Airbus Military may have emerged the lowest bidder in the approximate over $ one billion  Multi Role Tanker Transport  ( MRTT ) s ix aerial refuellers bid, Aerospace Diary learns. The IL-78 was its competitor. Should the news be true- we expect it is- the A330 tanker was lower on lifecycle costs- with a big delta.