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Comment by tomcar288 | Hacker News Reader

i'm no expert on this but i thought the military buys a bunch of stuff from them because there's no other choice, right? and all those airlines, their only other choice is airbus.

the industry simply doesnt compete enough, no?

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Depends on the kind of aircraft, but there are other options. Cargo are often Boeing because they specialize in that kind of aircraft, and there are a fair number of aircraft that are modified off of Boeing base-aircraft (AWACS was built on the 707; KC-46 the cursed refueler program is built on the 767).

Fighters, bombers, and helicopters are more varied.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_United_States_m...

I think you're right - some of the hardware the military buys from Boeing is because legally they can't buy from anyone else. IIRC they are forced to buy American made stuff on national security grounds.

I don't have a problem with that, except that Boeing's products kinda suck.

There's a priority for US-based, but it's not a hard requirement. KC-46 was almost the KC-45, that was an NG/Airbus effort built on the A330.

Which has been a complete shitshow while the Airbus alternative keeps snagging up customers around the world.

> By January 2021, Boeing's losses on the program were estimated at $5 billion (~$5.55 billion in 2023).[88] At the time, it was expected that the KC-46 would not be combat ready until at least late 2023.[89]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_KC-46_Pegasus

Yep, why I wrote this in my other comment: KC-46 the cursed refueler program.

It's an excellent example of the self-inflicted wounds plaguing US DOD acquisition and sustainment programs.

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