Gates: No tanker delay, No Northrop-Boeing split award

Published 1:32 pm Wednesday, March 18, 2009

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates continues to oppose splitting a multi-billion dollar aerial refueling tanker contract between the Boeing Co. and duo Northrop Grumman and EADS.

“I think it’s bad public policy and I think it’s bad acquisition policy. It would require the Air Force to maintain two different logistics trains, two different kinds of training; everything would have to be duplicated in the support structure,” Gates told reporters, in this Reuters story.

“And I just think it’s a bad deal for taxpayers.”

Gates also denied that the Obama administration put the tanker deal on the back-burner. Reports came out last week that the White House could push back an award up to five years.