Marshall Aerospace to Perform 767 Conversion For TTSC's FSTA Bid

Defense Daily, June 3, 2003

The Tanker Transport Services Company (TTSC) group consisting of Boeing [BA], Britain's BAE SYSTEMS, Serco and Spectrum Capital tanker team bidding for the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) requirement said yesterday that Britain's Marshall Aerospace would perform the conversion of Boeing 767-300ER aircraft to tanker standard.

Marshall previously served as the prime contractor for the conversion of Lockheed Martin [LMT] TriStar aircraft of British Airways into RAF tankers. TTSC is competing against the AirTanker team made up of Britain's Rolls-Royce, EADS and France's Thales, which are bidding the A330 built by European consortium and Boeing archrival Airbus (Defense Daily, June 19).

The 767 has already beaten Airbus offerings in competitions for Japan, Italy and the United States.

TTSC submitted its formal bid on April 30 to Britain's Ministry of Defence.

The TTSC package includes provisions for about 20 767 tanker-transport aircraft with accompanying support services, valued at nearly $20 billion (Defense Daily, April 28).

As a private finance initiative (PFI), TTSC will provide the RAF with both the tanker and the support services. The RAF will own the services of the fleet, but not the aircraft. The contractor team will technically own the 767s, making them available for third-party usage in peacetime. Should the TTSC bid win the FSTA competition, Marshall will perform the conversion at its facility in Cambridge.

The selection of a preferred bidder is expected by the end of the year, with a full contract slated for award in 2004. The first aircraft should be in service by 2008.

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