WASHINGTON, March 28 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman Wednesday announced its roster of industry partners for the KC-30, the air tanker it is proposing for a huge U.S. Air Force contract.
Northrop and EADS (European Aerospace Defense and Space) Company plan to build the planes in Mobile, Alabama using General Electric Engines and other major components from companies in California, Michigan, New York, Arizona and North Carolina.
The Air Force is expected to announce if Northrop or rival Boeing will receive the estimated $40 billion KC-X contract by the end of the year. Northrop said if it wins, about 25,000 jobs would be created nationwide.
G.E.'s CF6-80E1 engine is a proven workhorse that is used aboard Airbus airliners and was described by Northrop executives at a briefing in Washington as a highly reliable design that is easy on fuel and should hold up for several years.
Other suppliers include Smith Aerospace of Grand Rapids, which will produce the flight management systems; Phoenix-based Honeywell will supply radio and avionics, and Sargent Fletcher will produce the actual refueling system.
At Thursday's briefing, company officials and Alabama politicians downplayed the involvement of a European company in the KC-X program and said globalization made overseas sourcing common in every industry. They also noted that the components come primarily from NATO allies, and that squabbles over aircraft subsidies within the World Trade Organization were not a factor in the KC-X project.
