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Washington: The US Air Force said on Friday it had picked a transatlantic team led by Northrop Grumman, instead of Boeing, to start building a new aerial refuelling fleet in a surprise choice worth about $35 billion.
Boeing Co said it was disappointed with losing a multi-billion-dollar aerial tanker contract and would review its options after talking to the Air Force about why it lost.
Northrop teamed up with Airbus parent EADS to win the tanker contract to supply up to 179 tanker aircraft in a deal valued at about $35 billion over the next 15 years, the Air Force said in a statement. The aircraft will replace Eisenhower-era KC-135 tankers built by Boeing Co.
Sue Payton, the Air Force's chief weapons buyer, told reporters that the company, "clearly provided the best value to the government."
Boeing spokesman Bill Barksdale said in a statement, "Our next step is to request and receive a debrief from the Air Force. Once we have reviewed the details behind the award, we will make a decision concerning our possible options, keeping in mind at all times the impact to the warfighter and our nation."
The decision drew protests in Congress on Friday, with Kansas Republican representative Todd Tiahrt vowing to seek a review of the decision "at the highest levels of the Pentagon and Congress" in hopes of reversing it.
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