Northrop/EADS wins tanker contract

February 29, 2008

George Talbot
Mobile Press-Register

Article Source

The U.S. Air Force today named Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS North America to build its next-generation fleet of aerial refueling tankers, spurning a bid from rival Boeing Co. with a decision that could bring an aircraft assembly plant to Mobile.

The Air Force made its choice after a fierce competition between the two teams for one of the single largest defense contracts in U.S. history. Estimated at up to $40 billion, the deal includes 179 planes to be delivered over the next 10-15 years. Boeing was considered a heavy favorite due mainly to its political clout and its legacy of building aircraft for the U.S. military.

The tanker contest pitted Northrop's larger, more capable KC-30 against Boeing's smaller, more agile KC-767. Los Angeles-based Northrop plans to assemble its tankers in Mobile, creating up to 1,500 jobs in a new factory at the Brookley Field Industrial Complex. Airbus, an EADS subsidiary, has announced plans to add another 300 jobs by shifting production of a commercial air freighter to Brookley.

The decision was a triumph for Mobile, which has ambitions of becoming one of the world's newest aerospace capitals.

Boeing was expected to challenge the award in a formal protest before the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Doing so would launch a complex legal process that could take more than six months to complete. There's also the possibility that Congress could influence the decision by holding hearings.

Boeing will have time to review the decision before deciding whether to file a protest with GAO. The company is scheduled to meet with the Air Force next week to get a debriefing on the selection process.

The Air Force announcement was met with disappointment in Boeing country. The company planned to assemble its tankers on its commercial 767 line in Everett, Wash., and modify them for military use in Wichita, Kan. The tanker program would support 44,000 American jobs, according to Boeing. That's nearly double the 25,000 jobs that Northrop estimated its KC-30 would support.