weasil

EXCLUSIVE: US considers Airbus A380 as Air Force One and potentially a C-5 replacement
By Stephen Trimble

The Airbus A380 has attracted interest from the US Air Force (USAF) as a cargo freighter and as a large VIP transport in the Air Force One class, says an industry source.

EADS last summer responded to two separate inquiries by the USAF’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) about the A380, which is a double-decker jet delivered to Singapore Airlines on 15 October after a long delay.

AMC’s first request asked EADS to submit data about the A380F Freighter for potential use as a military airlifter, the source said, adding that the company has submitted a reply and expects an invitation to make a presentation in December to AMC officials.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles...placement.html

EngineOut

Nice publicity for EADS, but I would highly doubt that we'd ever buy a foreign aircraft as AF 1. Perhaps to replace the C-5 (maybe), but not as AF 1. The bad pub would be immense...plus, someone would lose a bunch of Boeing workers' votes.

MoosePileit

I think the closest they'll come is the Euro-trash AF1 Helo. The KC-X tanker should wind up Boeing, even if the Frogbus could have better numbers per subsidized froggy-socialist unit- same reason- votes from WA state.

A-380 w/ an AF1 calsign tcha, right. Though, the Andrews AFB ramp and hangar construction could be lucrative enough to swing the vote in favor. Let me do some calculations....

wingnutC-17

I feel dumber for having read that article.....

Pilotpip

He's going to be flying around in a rebaged European helocopter pretty soon, why not an aircraft too?

Those aircraft aren't flown as much as an airliner and have incredible mx. I'm sure the 747s will be around for years to come.

Clue32

As a US tax payer I'd rather see the AF by the 747-8. More jobs for Americans and better economics.

And you can fund it by dropping out of the JCA program, diverting the funds, and letting us in the army keep the C-27s to ourselves.

BrutusBuckeye

Wow. I didn't think they'd go with the eurocopter either but in this day and age I guess you never can tell. The chances of this happening I think will be told on the day the KC-X supplier is announced.

Rocco

Any info on this other than the Boeing site?

rickair7777

Yeah, I think the eurocopter selection has already MORE than adequately punched the open-borders ticket. We won't see an EADS product as AF1

As of right now there are no immediate plans to replace the C-5. The AF is trying to re-engine them for better reliability going forward...they fill a cargo volume niche that the C-17 cannot.

I doubt that an A380 would ever be purchased as strategic lifter...it is performance optimized for airline service. Without massive modification, it would be limited in it's ability to conduct tactical missions, especially to tactical airfields. If the DoD needs bulk air cargo capacity to normal airfields, it will just rent the lift from the airlines.

Airliners and military lifters have different design requirements. The airliners are too weak to take a pounding and can't do short field T/O / LDGs. The military birds are too heavy and expensive for competetive airline service...the extra weight would cost tens of millions in fuel burn over the life of the airplane.

ewrbasedpilot

Shipping jobs out of this country has been this current administrations "push". We can't seem to do enough for everyone else in this world, and putting Americans second to everyone else is the latest "fad". However, that being said, the push to make the dollar practically worthless (which has been pretty successful I might add), would make foreign products too expensive to purchase and mantain. Sometimes we're our own worst enemy, and our country is in for a rude awakening pretty soon................. (Sorry to sound political, but that's the problem we're having now).