By Jeyup S. Kwaak
SEOUL--Airbus Group SE beat out Boeing Co. in a $1.33 billion
race to supply South Korea with four aerial refuel tankers, dashing
the American company's hopes to secure the first foreign order for
a program beleaguered by budget overruns and delays.
A spokesman for South Korea's main arms procurement agency said
Tuesday it plans to buy four Airbus A330 MRTT jets to fuel the
country's military aircraft, with the first delivery due in
2019.
Airbus leads Boeing in overseas sales in the refuel-jet contest.
Customers for the A330 MRTT jets include Australia, the U.K., Saudi
Arabia and Singapore, which last year picked the aircraft over
Boeing's Pegasus.
Converted from its A330 passenger jet, the Airbus tanker can
carry more fuel and fly over a greater distance than the Pegasus,
which Boeing touted as more cost-efficient than its rival. Boeing
highlighted interoperability with the U.S., a major military ally
for South Korea as well as Japan, another potential buyer.
Airbus's win deals a blow to Boeing, which hasn't won a single
foreign order for its KC-46A Pegasus tanker, despite winning in
2011 a U.S. contract valued by the Pentagon at up to $41 billion
over its lifespan. Overseas sales help reduce U.S. development
costs.
Boeing aims to have the first of the 179 jets delivered to the
U.S. Air Force starting in 2016. But its first test flights have
been delayed for months and the company last year had to spend $425
million to fix wiring problems.
Spokesmen for Airbus and Boeing couldn't immediately be reached
for comment.
Write to Jeyup S. Kwaak at jeyup.kwaak@wsj.com
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