According to Chairman Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., EADS North America’s decision to enter the competition is guided by a number of key principles – namely the proven quality of its KC-45 and the aircraft’s international success.

“It’s not ambiguous that we have the world’s best tanker,” said Crosby, speaking this afternoon at a press conference in Washington, D.C. announcing the company’s decision. “Every time we have competed with our counterpart, we have won – five different times, with essentially the same aircraft.”

EADS North America’s tanker also is the only solution offered in the Air Force’s competition that is flying and certified today. In contrast to its direct competitor, the KC-45’s advanced refueling system has been demonstrated and qualified in a full range of operational conditions. Such advanced development and validation, Crosby said, translates to substantially less risk for the program – and greater confidence that the KC-45 tanker will satisfy needs of U.S. military personnel.

In underscoring the KC-45’s advanced capabilities, Crosby stated that this aircraft meets each of the 372 requirements set out in the Air Force’s KC-X Request for Proposal – representing a distinct advantage for EADS North America in the military service’s tanker modernization program competition.

The company’s decision also is motivated by a recent statement by the U.S. Department of Defense indicating it would welcome a proposal from EADS North America as prime contractor for the KC-X tanker competition.

The KC-45 builds on the EADS-based tanker that was previously selected in 2008 by the Department of Defense. EADS North America was an industrial partner to the company that headed this winning program, which dropped out of the contest earlier this year.

EADS North America is now qualified and ready to lead the KC-45 industrial team as prime contractor, according to Chief Executive Officer Sean O’Keefe, who said a significant amount has changed since the company entered its previous teaming agreement for the Air Force’s competition five years ago.

“Time is the best analyst. Over the course of the past five-plus years, we have developed more than a concept or artist rendering – we have an aircraft being tested, doing all the things it’s designed to do,” said O’Keefe. “That didn’t exist even when the last award was made – when we won the first time in 2008. Today, it’s a different case.”

In the past five years, EADS North America also has demonstrated its competencies as a proven Department of Defense prime contractor with the UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter – which currently is demonstrating its mission capabilities and reliability with the U.S. Army and National Guard. To date, EADS North America has supplied more than 100 Lakotas – all of which were delivered on time and within budget.

Crosby and O’Keefe were joined during the media event by leadership from many of the suppliers and partners for the KC-45 tanker, showcasing the strong industrial team established for this program.

“Our U.S.-based industrial team is made up of over 200 suppliers, representing some of the most recognized companies in the American aerospace sector,” said O’Keefe. “Indeed, the U.S. aerospace companies already form the largest single supplying group to EADS and Airbus, and we don’t need the Buy America Act in order to enforce that.”

The decision to bid also reinforces EADS North America’s strong commitment to the U.S. economy. As an American solution for the Air Force’s next-generation aerial tanker requirement, the KC-45 would be produced at the country’s newest aviation center of excellence – and support tens of thousands of high-value jobs across the nation.

In addition, the U.S. economic stimulus provided by the KC-45 would be bolstered by another promise made by EADS North America. The new facility, to be located at Mobile, Alabama’s Brookley Industrial Complex, also would produce the tanker’s commercial freighter jetliner version, the A330-200F – tripling the total number of aircraft that pass through Alabama facilities.

EADS North America intends to use all of the allotted time to fully develop its Request for Proposal before submission to the U.S. Air Force, which is scheduled to take place on July 9.

“We’re going to redouble our efforts in the remaining days left to us to make this a successful and winning proposition,” O’Keefe concluded.

• For more details, see the official press release.

• Additional information about EADS North America's offering in the U.S. Air Force's KC-X competition is available at the KC-45 website.