Northrop: Split tanker bid still good deal for Air Force

Published 8:32 am Friday, June 5, 2009

Northrop Grumman says the Air Force would see some savings if it buys aerial refueling tankers from both Northrop and from the Boeing Co.

In this Reuters story, Northrop says it has done the research and disputes claims that a dual bid would be more costly for the Air Force.

Just yesterday, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told members of the Senate that a split tanker buy would “not make sense”.

Northrop says it’s not advocating a split buy, given it won the last round before government auditors found flaws in the process.

The Air Force was asked to do its own analysis on the costs of a split buy and will be issuing a report soon.