Cantwell plans to probe aerial tanker bid

Published 12:01 am Friday, January 21, 2011

With a decision in its $35 billion tanker contest expected soon, the U.S. Air Force has new tidbits to ponder: a midair mishap with EADS’ tanker and a pending Senate hearing in front of a staunch Boeing Co. supporter.

“We’re here today to put the Air Force on notice that we want questions answered about the process,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, during a press conference Thursday inside Boeing’s Everett factory.

The Democrat from Washington plans to grill Air Force officials in a hearing next week over their mishandling of proprietary bid information in a contest that pits Boeing’s 767-based tanker against EADS’ A330-based tanker. EADS is the parent company of Airbus.

Late last year, the Air Force admitted it accidentally gave EADS a disk with information about Boeing’s tanker, and Boeing a disk with EADS’ data. The Air Force has determined that EADS accessed the data about the 767 tanker, while Boeing didn’t look at EADS’ information.

However, the Air Force is plowing ahead with its $35 billion contest to replace 179 of its aging KC-135 tankers, saying it will announce a winner early this year. Cantwell is questioning that decision.

The senator has secured a hearing on the data mix-up in the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“I want an investigation on what (EADS) did with the information,” Cantwell said.

If EADS used the information from the disk to adjust its price for the final bid, then the Air Force should halt the competition, she said.

Cantwell wants information on the Air Force’s internal investigation into the data switch. She’s curious about how long the Air Force took to look into the matter before deciding to continue with the contest.

The Air Force has indicated it will proceed with awarding the tanker contract regardless of the Senate hearing. Still, “the Senate has a lot of leverage,” Cantwell said.

In addition to the upcoming hearing, EADS also has to deal with the collision of its A330-based tanker and an F-16 fighter jet late Wednesday. The tanker was due to be delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force.

“The incident resulted in the detachment and partial loss of the refueling boom from the (tanker), which fell into the sea,” Australia’s Air Force said. “Both aircraft suffered some damage but returned safely to their home airfields.”

The accident is being investigated by Europe’s military aviation authorities and Airbus.

This is the Air Force’s third attempt at awarding the tanker contract. The Air Force terminated a contract with Boeing after it found the company offered jobs to a Pentagon weapons buyer and her family to steer business Boeing’s way.

In 2008, the Air Force awarded the contract to Northrop Grumman and EADS, which had partnered for the contest. But government auditors found several flaws in the process, forcing the Air Force to call off that contract, too.

EADS entered this third round on its own after Northrop bowed out.

There’s a lot a stake for both Boeing and Airbus in the tanker contest. For 767 employees here in Everett, the contract means several years’ worth of work. For EADS, which would assemble its tanker in Mobile, Ala., the tanker award would be its first in the U.S. defense business.

Analysts believe the Air Force will announce the winner in March. The exact time and date of the Senate hearing next week has not been set.