Ala. Gov.: Obama administration ‘corrupted’ tanker contest

Published 3:32 pm Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley lashed out at the Obama administration today after Northrop Grumman threatened to drop out of a tanker contest that could have brought jobs to Riley’s state.

“All Americans should be outraged that the Obama administration has corrupted the tanker selection process with a blatantly unfair competition,” Riley said, in a statement.

Northrop and partner EADS planned to assemble their tanker in Mobile, Ala., should the Air Force select it over Boeing’s offering for the $35 billion contest.

“All along, we’ve said the process should be fair and the needs of our warfighters must come first. That definitely isn’t happening,” Riley said. “The question is why is this RFP so radically different than the one Northrop Grumman won last year?”

Northrop’s CEO alleged in a letter sent to Pentagon officials today that the contest favored Boeing’s smaller tanker.