Obama may say OK to Boeing, Northrop shared tanker deal

Published 11:33 am Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Pentagon may be having a change of heart over the U.S. Air Force aerial tanker refueling competition between the Boeing Co. and duo Northrop Grumman and EADS.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., apparently met with key defense leaders in the Obama administration about splitting the tanker contract – an agenda the politician has been pushing for quite some time.

Murtha, who is the chair of the House Defense Appropriations committee, believes the only way to eliminate another lengthy protest is to divide the $35 billion award between Boeing and Northrop.

Murtha told Reuters that Pentagon acquisition chief, Ashton Carter, that he and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are looking at data on a split buy.

Murtha wants to see the Pentagon buy two or three tankers a month in order to replace rapidly the Air Force’s aging KC-135 tanker fleet.

Here’s the Politico piece.