Boeing Loses Tanker Program

Boeing loses the Air Force tanker program to a European consortium and Northrop Grumman. Wow, this is huge, and not good news for Boeing who was widely expected to win. Our future mid-air refueling tankers will be built by a foreign company an ocean away.

Boeing will protest the decision and probably lose. Here's the local take on the news.

The loss is a blow for Boeing's St. Louis-based defense unit, which was widely favored to win the contract by analysts and industry insiders and has a long history of building tankers.

But the EADS/Northrop proposal was deemed superior on four out of five criteria, according to Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute who's noted for his close ties to the Pentagon.

Basically, Thompson said, he was told the Northrop/EADS KC-30 won because it could carry more fuel and cargo. ...

Analysts say the loser is likely to file a protest with the Government Accountability Office, an increasingly common third act in major defense contracts. Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire has said she'd push for a formal inquiry if Boeing does not win.

Top Air Force officials and some in Congress have been hoping to avoid a protest, which could drag the acquisition process out by another two years. That would mean another two years of flying old and expensive-to-maintain KC-135s.

“Gosh, I hope there is not a protest,” Air Force chief of staff T. Michael Mosely told reporters Thursday, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “I would ask (the losing bidder) to think about the country and think about the people that are flying the airplanes.”