WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

摘要

Whilst today's Boeing airliners will never repeat the staggering success of the C-97 and C-135 families, when measured in numbers of aircraft built for, or delivered to, military customers, they nevertheless continue to form an essential element of military air arms around the globe. The KC-767 tanker, for example, may become as vital to the USAF as the KC-135 Stratotanker was, even though overall numbers of aircraft will never approach Cold War levels, and tankers will never be required in anything like the quantities in which the KC-135 was built. More foreign air arms may operate tanker aircraft than did so in years gone by, but outside the USA and its closest allies, the tanker 767 faces strong competition from Airbus A300 and A310 tanker variants, and from tanker versions of the larger, and arguably more capable, A330. Airbus has already overtaken Boeing in terms of airliner orders, and even deliveries, although Airbus Industries' military 'presence' remains limited: only about 33 military or government-owned Airbus aircraft (of various types) are in service with about 15 operators. These are outnumbered by the military Boeing 737 alone, but compare favourably with the combined total of newer Boeingjetliners in military or government use. Although Boeing can rely on worthwhile orders from the US armed forces for military 767 derivatives, other air forces and governments which would once have bought Boeing-built tankers or electronic combat aircraft may now buy Airbus-based platforms.