France weighs in on Boeing-Northrop tanker battle

Published 9:02 am Thursday, March 5, 2009

The French Defense Minister Herve Morin had some words of advice for U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently on the tanker competition, reports Reuters.

France’s Morin urged Gates to run an “open” contest between Boeing and duo Northrop Grumman and EADS.

The Toulouse, France-based EADS is the parent company for Boeing’s commercial rival Airbus. Boeing lost the most recent tanker contest last year before government auditors found the U.S. Air Force competition to be flawed. Gates has said he may reopen the contest this spring with the winner being named in late 2009 or early 2010.

“I reminded my counterpart that an opening had to take place in both directions; that you can’t be a supplier of military equipment as well — while at the same time thinking that reciprocity was not possible,” Morin said.

Rep. John Murtha, who serves as chairman of a House subcommittee on defense appropriations, recently has advocated a split-buy in order to avoid time-consuming protests and further delays.

But Sen. John McCain, who brought an end to the initial lease/buy award to Boeing, says he’s against the dual-award option.