ARLINGTON, VA–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  EADS North America announced today that the company has demonstrated, in flight, that its offering in the KC-X tanker competition fully satisfies the U.S. Air Force requirement for high fuel offload rate via the refueling boom system — the only tanker in the competition to do so.

“Our tanker has proven that it can refuel other aircraft at a rate of 1,200 gallons per minute, which is a critical requirement the Air Force has set forth for its tanker,” said EADS North America Chairman Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., during a meeting with reporters at the annual Air Force Association conference outside Washington, D.C.

“We aren’t just making claims about what the KC-45 can do, we are demonstrating it in the air every day,” Crosby said. “And 48,000 Americans are ready to start building the KC-45 here in the U.S.”

EADS North America will build and modify the KC-45, along with A330 commercial freighters, at a new aerospace center of excellence in Mobile, Alabama, with a supplier team of more than 200 American companies.

The fuel-flow milestone was demonstrated in a recent refueling operation between two Airbus Military A330 Multi Role Tanker Transports, the aircraft that is the basis of the U.S. Air Force KC-45 configuration. The A330 MRTTs were completing certification flights for the Royal Australian Air Force, which will accept delivery of its first two MRTTs — under the designation KC-30A — in the fall of 2010. The A330 MRTT is in production for four U.S. allies, and has completed almost 800 flight hours and more than 1,300 refueling contacts with the same advanced refueling boom and hose-and-drogue systems on the KC-45.

“The KC-45 we are offering the Air Force is the same tanker that we have flying and refueling today, with 95% common systems, including the refueling systems we are offering the Air Force,” Crosby said.

Crosby also pointed out that operating the KC-45 in real world scenarios will cost the Air Force substantially less per day than the Boeing concept aircraft. 

“In any likely Air Force operational scenario, Boeing’s concept tanker will cost 15% to 44% more, measured on the basis of fuel burned per gallon of fuel delivered,” Crosby said. “With the KC-45, the Air Force and the taxpayer aren’t just getting the most capable tanker, they’re getting the most cost-efficient.”

To learn more about the KC-45, visit www.kc-45now.com.

About EADS North America
EADS North America is the North American operation of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. As a leader in all sectors of defense and homeland security, EADS North America and its parent company, EADS, contribute over $11 billion to the U.S. economy annually and support more than 200,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers and services. Operating in 17 states, EADS North America offers a broad array of advanced solutions to its customers in the commercial, homeland security, aerospace and defense markets.