Northrop-EADS team optimistic on tanker deal

Jul 9, 2008, 22:32 GMT

Washington - Northrop Grumman and EADS remained confident they will win the contract to build the next generation of US Air Force refuelling tankers despite a Pentagon decision Wednesday to reopen the competition.

Northrop and EADS had won the 35-billion-dollar contract in March to build 179 aerial refuellers over rival Boeing, but the Pentagon said Wednesday it will revive the bidding after a congressional agency determined there were flaws in the process.

'The United States Air Force has already picked the best tanker, and we are confident that it will do so again,' Northrop spokesman Randy Belote said.

Northrop and EADS, however, applauded Defence Secretary Robert Gates for finding a solution to the contract dispute by putting it on the 'proper path toward quick closure,' Belote said.

The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, ruled June 18 that the Air Force overlooked several key aspects of the Boeing proposal and urged the Pentagon to hold a new competition. Gates said the defence firms must now submit revised proposals.

Northrop and EADS will not determine whether to alter their proposal until the Pentagon issues a fresh request listing the criteria for the plane, Belote said.

'What we have to do is wait and see,' Belote said.