Italian MoD launches the pre-selection phase for the new tankers tender
The Italian MoD’s Directorate of Air Armaments and Airworthiness (ARMAEREO) has launched a European restricted tender procedure for the procurement of six new tankers and the related initial integrated logistics support service for an amount of € 1.4 billion, destined for the Italian Air Force.
The tender is in the pre-selection phase of interested parties, whose deadline for requesting clarifications and submitting the application to participate has been extended respectively to 10 September (from 27 August) and to the 27th of the same month (from 10 September), according to information released by the procurement body on its website on 28 August, after making public the tender on EU Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) on 7 August.
The current Italian Air Force air refuelling and strategic transport capability is ensured by a fleet of four Boeing KC-767A Tanker/Transport aircraft, derived from the Boeing 767-200ER (Extended Range) commercial platform. In addition to its main missions the KC-767As also provides strategic and medical evacuation.
In December 2021, the Italian MoD submitted to the Italian Parliament a programme related to the “renewal, enforcement and integrated logistic support tanker heavy multi-role”. The proposal was subsequently approved and asked for the procurement of two additional new aircraft and the upgrade of the in-service ones, in addition to the necessary technical-logistic support for the first five years. The overall budget was quantified in € 1,4 billion.
In October 2022, ARMAEREO issued a preliminary report and determination to contract (Relazione Preliminare/Determinazione a Contrarre), affirming the Italian Air Force requirements could be better satisfied, based on additional studies, with the procurement of six Boeing KC-767B, equal to the KC-46A in production for the US Air Force, and the return to the US Boeing Company/US DoD of the in-service platforms, in addition to the initial five-year in-service support through Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) and the procurement of communications, navigation and self-protection equipment through the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) procedure. The € 1.2 billion requested budget was for aircraft procurement only.
On 24 June 2024, ARMAEREO announced the cancellation of this technical-administrative process and subsequently on last 19 July, the launch of a new procurement programme based on a “new and evolved operational technical requirement” deriving from the new geo-political scenario and the changed international context, and represented by the European restricted tender procedure for the procurement of six new tankers and the related initial integrated logistics support service for an amount of € 1.4 billion, as unveiled on 7 August.
As anticipated, the tender is currently in the Phase 1 or Pre-selection Phase of interested parties, based on the technical, professional, turnover, and legal participation requirements, stated by the competition regulations document for the same Phase 1.
The document also offers the first information about the tender and the relative amount. It regards six ‘new twin-engine tanker aircraft systems’, which must have the requirements listed and detailed in the subsequent Phase 2 tender specifications.
These establish delivery times for the entire new component by 2030, with the minimum requirement of having at least two aircraft by 2029, while an early supply with the first two aircraft in 2028, “will be assessed with additional points, as better specified in the Phase 2 documentation.”
To ensure timely acquisition, according to the specification, “the aircraft in question may derive from pre-owned tanker or civil aircraft provided that they are appropriately modified to meet the requirements set out in the Phase 2 documentation, providing that the requirement of a thirty-year life cycle is met.”
To ensure what is defined as “a low programmatic risk and therefore the acquisition of technical solutions already developed and operational,” the type of aircraft offered must have already been used for in-flight refuelling operations for at least two years.
The specification then goes on to detail the specific systems that will have to equip the aircraft for the required missions: in-flight refuelling, cargo and passengers transport as well as medical evacuation.
For tanker missions the aircraft must be equipped with an in-flight refuelling system capable of transferring fuel via the “Boom” and “Probe-and-Drogue” systems, “with the ability to simultaneously refuel up to one aircraft via the boom and one via the drogue, or two via the drogue refuelling points.”
The complex suite of systems for in-flight refuelling must ensure a clear view of the refuelling process thanks to an advanced camera system for both day and night operations.
To ensure the most extended autonomy for the new tankers and the ability to transfer fuel to aircraft intended to be refuelled in flight, “the aircraft offered must be equipped with a UARRSI (Universal Aerial Refuelling Receptacle Slipway Installation) system.” Although not specified, the UARRSI consists of a receptacle in the top of the aircraft which allows the aircraft to receive fuel from a boom-type tanker aircraft.
Finally, like the current fleet of tankers in service, the aircraft must be able to be configured for cargo and passenger transport operations and for medical evacuation missions.
In addition to the acquisition of the six aircraft the contract also provides for “an initial integrated logistics support service of the Full Performance Based Logistics type,” for an unspecified period, which must be defined by the Phase 2 specifications.
In the meantime, the Italian Air Force has given an urgent mandate and on 4 July ARMAEREO issued a preliminary report and determination to contract for proceeding with the resolution of the obsolescence of the AROCDU (Air Refuelling Operator Control Display Unit) system of in-service KC-767As, putting aside € 16.9 million, with activities lasting from 2024 to 2027.
The contract consists of a single tender lot, “since the services covered by the contract (design, production and logistical support of the aircraft) must necessarily be carried out by the company identified as the Design Authority for technical reasons and for the protection of exclusive rights.”
As anticipated, the overall amount of the tender is equal to € 1,4 billion (1,408,174.965), including the unscheduled amount of 50 million euros to cover costs not previously quantifiable by the Defence Administration.
The duration of the contract is set at 122 months starting from the entry into force of the contract itself. “Pending the conclusion of the procedures necessary for the identification of the new contractor, the agency may extend the contract. In this case, the economic operator party to the contract will be required to perform the services that may be entrusted to it, at the same prices, agreements, and conditions.”
The financial coverage of the program is spread over ten financial years, from 2025 to 2034, with a contractual timeframe that provides for an estimated start of activities (and payments) from January 2025.
Photos courtesy Italian Air Force
