Inside these posts: Air Force

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EADS concedes tanker; now Boeing must deliver

One of the longest and strangest contests in Pentagon history ended Friday when EADS said it would not contest the $30 billion contract Boeing Co. won last month to supply the Pentagon with aerial tankers.

Chicago-based Boeing won in a price shoot-out, underbidding the European defense contractor by $2 billion, EADS North America Chairman Ralph Crosby said Friday. Now comes the hard part: developing and building the aerial gas stations on a fixed-price contract with little leeway for cost overruns, analysts said. Get the full story »

Air Force: White House didn’t influence tanker bid

The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday adamantly denied suggestions by union officials that the White House influenced the selection of Boeing Co. to build 179 aerial refueling planes for up to $30 billion.

“There was absolutely nothing inside the competition,” Air Force acquisition chief David Van Buren told reporters after a Credit Suisse conference. Get the full story »

Senate panel to look into tanker data mixup

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold hearings next month into an Air Force document bungle roiling a transAtlantic rematch for a potential $50 billion aerial-refueling plane contract.

Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin said Wednesday he was prepared to launch an investigation into “the release of proprietary data” from rival tanker bidders Boeing and Europe’s EADS.

At issue is what the Air Force calls “a clerical error” that sent Boeing and EADS computerized records in November with sensitive data on each other’s bid for the contract. Get the full story »

EADS open to adjusting U.S. tanker bid

European aerospace group EADS is open to adjusting the price of its refueling aircraft bid if the Air Force asks for final proposal changes, but will still see significant profit from the bid, the company’s U.S. chairman said on Tuesday.

The Air Force has been evaluating rival bids from EADS and Boeing in a competition valued at up to $50 billion, since July, with an eye to awarding a contract this fall. Get the full story »

Date for Air Force tanker deal more in flux

The target date for the much-delayed award of a possible $50 billion U.S. Air Force refueling-plane deal just got murkier and potentially more politicized.

No longer is mid-November necessarily the moment of truth in the rematch pitting Chicago-based Boeing Co. against its European rival, Airbus parent EADS. Get the full story »