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Northrop Grumman, EADS win Air Force tanker deal |
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By Roxana Tiron
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Posted: 02/29/08 04:39 PM [ET] |
A team of Northrop Grumman and EADS North America won on Friday the Air Force’s competition for a new refueling tanker, in a major upset over rival Boeing.
The contract, estimated at about $40 billion over the next 10 to 15 years, marks a strong inroad for European defense conglomerate EADS into the U.S. military market —potentially inching Boeing out of the U.S. tanker market. EADS is the parent company of Airbus. The new refueling tanker will be based on the Airbus 330.
Boeing’s supporters in Congress, in particular the Washington state and Kansas delegations, will scrutinize the decision and likely weigh in on it.
Boeing is expected to file a protest with the Government Accountability Office.
Northrop Grumman and EADS plan to assemble the KC-30 in Mobile, Ala., which Alabama Sens. Jeff Sessions (R) and Richard Shelby (R), as well as Gov. Bob Riley (R), want to make a magnet for aerospace business.
Airbus has also said it would move part of the production for the A330 commercial freighter version to Mobile. Northrop plans to manage the program from Melbourne, Fla.
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