In the first phase, the Northrop Grumman KC-30 had successfully competed against the Boeing KC-767, this announcement coming on February 29th, 2008 from the US DoD. Not satisfied with the results, Boeing approached the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and submitted their formal protest of the selection. On June 18th, 2008, the GAO sided with the Boeing protest and refuted the DoD selection of the Northrop Grumman product, stating that the proper avenues of evaluation were not exercised during the selection process. On July 9th, 2008, it was announced that a new competition was to be held to reconsider both options but the KC-X proposal was eventually cancelled altogether by the US DoD on September 10th, 2008. The USAF began a new aerial tanker search announcing as much in September of 2009. By March of 2010, Northrop Grumman had bowed out of the competition in protest, leaving EADS to go at it alone.
The KC-30 (proposed USAF designation of KC-45A) was to be have been crewed by three personnel made up of two pilots and a rear-set boom operator. The advanced Aerial Refueling Boom System (ARBS) can deliver 1,200 gallons per minute to awaiting aircraft. The airframe was to be powered by 2 x General Electric CF6-80E1A4B turbofan engines delivering up to 72,000lbf of thrust each. Maximum fuel capacity was in the vicinity of 245,000lbs with a listed maximum take-off weight of 507,063lbs. Maximum speed was reportedly 547 miles per hour with an operational range of some 7,770 miles and a service ceiling equal to 41,000 feet. Outward design was conventional, with a pair of low-set monoplane wings each supporting a single underslung engine. Each wing was extensively swept along the leading edge. The fuselage was conventional in shape, mimicking her Airbus 330 origins to a tee. The empennage was traditional with a low-set pair of horizontal planes and a vertical tail fin.
Had the Northrop Grumman/EADS product gone into production by way of the original DoD selection, the two firms would have spent some $600 million in construction of the needed assembly facilities in the United States. EADS has since launched a public-centered campaign in various media in support of their Airbus product, stating that the Boeing submission will cost the USAF 15% - 40% more in the long run. At least five A330 MRTTs are known to have been completed with evaluations ongoing by interested parties. At least four parties have committed to the A330 MRTT with Australia poised to become the world's first operator of the series in late 2010. The Airbus A330 MRTT has already completed its second flight for the Royal Air Force of Britain which have committed to procuring 14 examples to date with deliveries set to begin in late 2011.
UPDATE: On February 25th, 2011, the United States Department of Defense expectedly announced that the $3.5 Billion KC-X Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract had been awarded to The Boeing Company, thus ending the Airbus A330 MRTT initiative.
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