Will the Pentagon Extend Tanker DeadlineMarch 18, 2010

 

tankers northrop grumman

The Pentagon might extend the deadline for the competition on its aerial refueling tankers, a source close to the Pentagon told Reuters.

Northrop Grumman last week dropped out of the bidding, saying that the requirements favored rival Boeing. Northrop, in partnership with Airbus, hoped to enter the latest round of the bidding. The contract to replace the ageing 1950's era tankers is worth about $40 billion.

While Northrop has dropped out of the bidding, Airbus's parent company, EADS, has not ruled out placing a bid with a new partner if given enough time, Reuters reported. Company executives, however, have said they will not place a solo bid for the contract. As of March 15, EADS had not received an update on whether the Pentagon would expand the deadline, the head of Airbus's military division told Reuters.

"You know the situation today and I think we will define the position of the company as information comes in," Domingo Urena, the head of Airbus Military, told Reuters. When asked if he believed the company would be given more time to consider its strategy for a new bid, he said: "We have received nothing."

U.S. lawmakers from Kansas, where Boeing would build many of the aerial refueling tankers, rejected any moves to extend the deadline. If the company can't meet the long-established deadline, the contract should go to Boeing, the Republicans Senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts and Rep. Todd Tiahrt said in a joint statement, Reuters reported.

Ashton Carter, the top U.S. weapons buyer, gave no clues about whether the Pentagon would extend the deadline. "I don't have anything for you today." He also denied that any protectionism was involved in the decision. "We value the contribution of the European industry to the choices we make as a department," said Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, at a Pentagon press conference. "The wider technology base and the wider industrial base are good for the Department of Defense."

(Northrop Grumman) (RELEASED)