"The A330/KC-30/KC-45 has/will have wings that are designed and manufactured in the UK. The horizontal tailplane is manufactured in Spain. The vertical tail is manufactured in Germany. Fuselage sections come from Germany and France. The engines will be American. The landing gear is supplied by Messier Dowty (nose gear from France, main gear from Canada)." If we could rely on all those countries to be our allies, great. But if just one of them either folds or is taken out, we are screwed!
On a similar line of thought, just how much of Boeing's supply is outsourced to overseas?
On a similar line of thought, just how much of Boeing's supply is outsourced to overseas?
As with Airbus, it depends on the specific airframe. The 787, Boeing's latest model, is as much an international aircraft as it is American. 35% of the 787 is made in Japan (15% for the 767, 20% for the 777) according to this article:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/47636
Ironically, the only two countries to order a 767 tanker version are also large contributors to the 787 program, namely Japan and Italy:
Source:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/boeing/787/787primer.asp