Boeing welcomes Pentagon's reopening of tanker decision

Jul 9, 2008, 22:32 GMT

Washington - Boeing welcomed the Pentagon's decision on Wednesday to reopen the competition for the US Air Force's next generation of mid-air refuelling tankers, which had originally been awarded to rivals Northrop Grumman and EADS.

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

'We welcome the decision by Defense Secretary Robert Gates not to proceed with the contract award to Northrop Grumman/EADS and to reopen the KC-X tanker competition,' Boeing said in a statement.

On June 18, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) upheld a formal Boeing protest that the Air Force overlooked several key aspects of the Boeing proposal, and the watchdog agency urged the Pentagon to hold a new competition. Gates said that the competing defence firms must now submit revised proposals.

'It's encouraging that the Defense Department intends to take steps to ensure a fair and open competition,' Boeing said.