The U.S. Air Force will rebid its lucrative aerial refueling tanker contract and announce a new winner by year’s end.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense — not the Air Force — will oversee the competition between Boeing Co. and a team led by Northrop Grumman Corp.
The plan, which hands control to the Pentagon’s top acquisition chief and sets up a dedicated source-selection committee, indicates that senior civilians at the Defense Department have lost confidence in the Air Force’s ability to manage the contract.
The Boeing Co. successfully protested to government auditors its loss of the contract, which was awarded to Northrop Grumman and EADS.
The Government Accountability Office recently ruled that Boeing had a good chance at winning the contract had it not been for numerous, significant errors on the part of the Air Force.
Rep. Rick Larsen, D.-Wash., hailed the decision and said the House Armed Services Committee would be question the Air Force on Thursday. “I can assure the Air Force that feet will be held to the fire until the American people get the answers they deserve and our military gets the tanker they need,” he said..
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