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Northrop Grumman KC-45: Why We Won - Strengths and Weaknesses
Northrop Grumman KC-45: Why We Won - Strengths and Weaknesses
WASHINGTON, May 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The U.S. Air Force found
Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) bid to build the next generation of
aerial refueling tankers superior to Boeing's in four of the five most
important selection criteria. Despite this fact, the losing bidder wants the
Government Accountability Office to overturn the Air Force decision to award
the contract to Northrop Grumman even though the Air Force conducted what even
Boeing described as a fair, open and transparent bidding process. Here is
another reason Northrop Grumman won, drawn from a list of facts included in a
redacted version of a protected Air Force selection document.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Boeing likes to claim that its proposed aircraft was rated better than
Northrop Grumman's winning KC-45 tanker, stating that it was rated superior to
Northrop Grumman on 98 items -- called "discriminators" -- while Northrop
Grumman was superior on 30. But discriminators are not just "added up" --
they vary greatly in significance. Instead of focusing on the most important
discriminators, Boeing is counting items that the Air Force judged were much
less critical to the KC-X's core mobility mission.
In all, the Air Force identified approximately 800 requirements of varying
importance. And the Air Force Request For Proposal (RFP) made clear that it
considered Aerial Refueling and Airlift to be the two most important
performance criteria. In these critical categories -- which go to the heart
of the KC-X mission -- Northrop Grumman was clearly superior to Boeing,
attaining a two-to-one advantage in key discriminators.
Where were Boeing's advantages? They were in less critical areas like
having more interior electrical outlets, better flight deck seats, and the
ability to carry secondary, rarely-used fuels -- like Swedish Kerosene.
How do more electrical outlets stack up against increased fuel offload
over range? How do better flight deck seats compare to greater airlift
capability? The conclusion is obvious. The Air Force made clear what its
priorities were in the RFP, rated the two competitors, and selected the KC-45.
About the KC-45
The KC-45 Tanker aircraft will be assembled inMobile, Ala., and the KC-45
team will employ 48,000 American workers at 230 U.S. companies in 49 states.
It will be built by a world-class industrial team led by Northrop Grumman, and
includes EADS North America, General Electric Aviation and Sargent Fletcher.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense and technology company
whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in
information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to
government and commercial customers worldwide.
SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation
Copyright © 2008, PRNewswire
Copyright © 2008, NewsBlaze,
Daily NewsTags: Aerospace and defense, Aviation and Airlines, National, district of columbia, Alabama
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