McEvaddy firm bids for US Air Force contract

A US company owned by the McEvaddy brothers is bidding for a US Air Force refuelling contract that could be worth $600 million (€476 million) per year.

Omega Aerial Refueling, a sister company to Irish-based Omega Air, has entered a competition to meet the aerial refuelling needs of the Air Force.

The Air Force has been seeking information on refuelling options, with the deadline for proposals falling last Friday.

Omega is thought to be one of three interested parties, although it is the only one to suggest meeting the Air Force's needs on a contract basis rather than through the supply of actual aircraft, or "tankers".

The other known bidders - Boeing and Northrop Grumman - want to sell the tankers to the Air Force, while Omega wants to retain ownership of the planes.

This should make Omega's proposal a cheaper option for the Air Force, which has weathered unwelcome publicity over its procurement processes in the past.

Some observers suggest, however, that contract refuelling would be too radical an option for the Air Force, which currently owns a fleet of ageing tankers.

Boeing holds the contract for maintaining the Air Force's fleet of tankers at the moment.

Ulick McEvaddy, who owns Omega Aerial Refueling along with his brother Des, likened the firm to a low-cost operator, describing it as the "Ryanair of refuelling".

"What we're offering is an alternative to buying planes," he said.

The McEvaddy brothers are best-known in the Republic for wanting to use their land beside Dublin Airport to build a new terminal.

Mr McEvaddy said the value of the Air Force deal would depend on how many hours were to be flown, but estimated that it could be worth $500-$600 million per year.

He expects the Air Force to take at least two years to decide on the option it wants to pursue.

After that, any refuelling contract would probably run for about 20 years, he said. This would give the Air Force time to replace its existing tanker fleet.

Winning such a deal would require substantial investment on Omega's side, although Mr McEvaddy said the company already had access to the aircraft it would need.

Additional investment would depend on the exact specifications required by the US Air Force.

Omega Aerial Refueling already supplies refuelling services to the US Navy, but this contract is on a considerably smaller scale.

The firm also supplies services to other military operators around the world.

Omega is offering to use a fleet of DC-10 aircraft for the Air Force refuelling. Some of these planes were formerly owned by Japan Airlines.

This model is very similar to the KC-10 tankers already used by the Air Force.

While Omega would own the aircraft and employ the pilots to fly them, the Air Force would have control over where they fly.

It is possible that the planes would be needed in combat situations, although the Air Force could move to supply its own pilots in such circumstances.

Since flying its first mission in 2001, Omega has flown more than 900 missions and nearly 4,500 flight hours.