Lawmakers on Wednesday urged the Department of Defense to take a close look at the aerospace “industrial base” in reviewing a $35 billion tanker deal.
The Boeing Co. successfully protested its loss of the Air Force tanker contract to Northrop Grumman and EADS. The Pentagon announced an expedited rebid of the lucrative contract earlier this month.
On Wednesday, a U.S. House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee recommended full funding in 2009 for the tanker program but added conditions for the funding. The subcommittee provided $893 million in funds for the tanker program for the coming year but directed the Defense of Department to comply with government auditor findings and demanded the Pentagon include “industrial base concerns” in the final evaluation of the contract.
The Government Accountability Office had determined numerous errors on the part of the Air Force. The auditors recommended the Air Force reopen the contract. The Secretary of Defense, however, took over the contract after firing several top Air Force officials.
Boeing had offered its KC-767 tanker, which would be built in Everett and finished in Wichita, Kan. Northrop Grumman and EADS, which initially were awarded the contract Feb. 29, would assemble their KC-30 tanker in Mobile, Ala.
Visit Herald reporter Michelle Dunlop’s aerospace blog to listen to new tanker radio advertisements and to comment on the tanker debate.
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