With the price of oil inching above $110 per barrel last week, Boeing [BA] updated the findings of a study on the fuel efficiency of aerial refueling tankers yesterday.
Now, the company says the Boeing 767 tanker would cost $30 billion less over 40 years than a fleet of 179 tankers made by the team of Northrop Grumman [NOC] and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.
That calculation pegs the cost of oil at $100 a barrel and $125 per barrel, refreshing the results of a Conklin and de Decker Aviation Information study funded by Boeing. In January, the company estimated the Air Force would save $14.6 billion on fuel if it chose Boeing’s 767 as the next tanker aircraft based on prior cost of fuel.
In addition to the cost of fuel itself, the study also estimated the cost for refining, transporting, storing, handling and fueling the aircraft.
The study is released nearly one week after Boeing filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office of the Air Force’s decision to award the tanker contract to the Northrop-EADS team.
Boeing officials said they believe the 767 remains the lowest risk plane with the lowest probably life-cycle costs based on the Air Force’s request (Defense Daily, March 11).
Northrop Grumman has argued in the past against Boeing’s estimate, saying that fuel costs are offset by its larger platform’s capacity to carry more fuel.