Looking at the tanker contract – what’s next?

<p><strong>By Rob Holbert</strong>

Managing editor

<p>The news around Mobile has been so good for so long, it&amp;#8217;s become pretty tough to take a kick to the gut. But that&amp;#8217;s exactly what the city collectively did when Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced recently the Pentagon was going to punt and allow the next administration to settle who will build the next generation of Air Force refueling tankers. 

The news seemed to catch the city’s leadership unexpectedly, leaving most bent over and sucking air after seemingly having the contract to build the next generation of Air Force tankers at Brookley Field in hand. But we’ve all had a couple of weeks to digest the disappointment, and the question is now whether this deal is ever going to happen, or if it’s time to move on. The consensus from two of the men at the fore of trying to broker this deal is that Mobile and Brookley should take a couple of deep breaths and forge ahead in order to get EADS here building big jets. Both outgoing Mobile Airport Authority Director Bay Haas and his soon-to-be successor Bill Sisson think there’s still much that suggests Mobile and EADS will be working together someday soon – even if it’s not as soon as once hoped. Both men are quick to point out the bad news from a couple of weeks ago does not mean the deal is dead or that Mobile has no chance of joining the rarefied group of cities that build large jets. "We are still working very hard to try to get something we think will work," Haas said. "We’re waiting to hear back from EADS and Northrop-Grumman about what their plans are. It’s a very frustrating time, obviously. But we’re still determined we’ll build big airplanes at Brookley." Haas said it has been an open secret for some time that EADS might consider coming to Brookley even if the tanker contract never materializes. Although there are some sticky situations that must be navigated, the opportunity does exist for that to happen, he said. "I have no doubt they are seriously considering building big airplanes here without the tanker. They’ve said that publicly. But they have unions there to deal with, and they are concerned about them pulling out of Europe and coming here. That’s required them to have a good business case to show the union leadership, and there’s been a lot done on our part to help them with that," Haas said. As far as the tanker contract goes, both Haas and Sisson still hold out hope there will be some resolution that is positive for the Mobile area. One of those is winning the contract outright once again, but the other is the possibility of a split contract, with part of the work going to Boeing and the other part coming to Northrop-EADS. Still, everything remains up-in-the-air concerning that project. "If I told you I could predict the outcome on the KC-45 project, I wouldn’t be right. This thing has always moved at a pace much slower than we wanted," Sisson said. So what if it never happens? What if the tanker contract is delayed for years or ends up going to Boeing and EADS decides to stay in Europe? What’s the future for Mobile’s aeronautic dreams at Brookley? "Once everything has settled down, you realize these assets are still here. One way or another, we’re going to see a burgeoning aerospace cluster at Brookley," Sisson said. "But we need to stick with EADS. They’re the ones who brought us to the dance to begin with." Haas says there are other companies interested in the Brookley complex, including MAE, which currently is the facility’s largest employer. Haas says they have expressed interest in a "substantial" expansion of their aerospace business. But he also says there are many other types of businesses that could be part of the future if large aircraft do not materialize as an option. "There are a lot of people who want to locate at Brookley who have nothing to do with aerospace. We’ve been holding off on them because this (EADS) is so transformational," Haas said. While both Haas and Sisson said the recent turn of events are disappointing, they hold out hope things will eventually end up just as planned, with Mobile becoming a large aircraft center. Haas offered some historical perspective on just how difficult landing the big deal can be. "We’ve been competing to build big airplanes in Mobile for a while. We’ve actually won four times since 1990, but haven’t built one yet. It’s getting tough," Haas said. Haas recalled how McDonnell Douglas came in to look for a spot to build the MD-12. Haas said they committed to building it at Brookley, but then the company was bought out by Boeing. Next came Indonesian Air. Brookley was added to a list of possible sites and ended up being selected, he said, then "the whole country fell apart." After that was the dalliance with Boeing’s 787 "Dreamliner." "They were going to build it outside Seattle, and we won that. But just before that, some people got caught with their hands in the cookie jar," Haas explained, recalling how several in Boeing’s leadership went to jail or were fired. A new CEO came in and scuttled the idea of building in Mobile, and kept the project in the Northwest. "I do feel like we’re a little jinxed," Haas said. "But there are some positive things that have come out of this that are significant. Now when we go to major air shows, we don’t have to say we’re from Mobile, Alabama but once." He advises people not to get too down about this latest case of being jilted at the altar. "The first thing to do is not to panic about this. This is a transformational project and one of the biggest things to happen here or in the Southeast," Haas said.