GAO Reverses Decision, Boeing May Get Tanker Contract Over European Company
Northrop Grumman is a European company…
The Government Accountability Office today upheld Boeing’s protest of the Air Force’s decision to award a $40 billion contract for new aerial refueling tankers to Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co, saying its review found the service made “significant errors” that could have affected the competition’s outcome.
The GAO is recommending that the Air Force reopen the competition, in light of its findings. The service has 60 days to respond to the protest, the GAO said in a lengthy statement. It has not released the complete ruling because it contains proprietary information.
Almost instantly, Boeing backer Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) was ready to declare victory.
“COMPLETE VINDICATION,” his spokesman, George Behan, said in an e-mail.
And Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said she’s not surpised that the GAO had found “significant errors in the selection process.”
UPDATE: Predictably, Boeing was pleased with the GAO decision.
“We welcome and support today’s ruling by the GAO fully supporting the grounds of our protest,” said Mark McGraw, Boeing’s vice president fro tanker programs. “We appreciate the professionalism and diligence the GAO showed in its review of the KC-X acquisition process. We look forward to working with the Air Force on next steps in this critical procurement for our war fighters.”
And, just as predictably, Northrop Grumman said it was weighing its options.
“We respect the GAO’s work in analyzing the Air Force’s tanker acquisition process,” said Randy Belote, Northrop’s vice president of corporate and international communications. “We continue to believe that Northrop Grumman offered the most modern and capable tanker for our men and women in uniform. We will review the GAO findings before commenting further.”
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“Northrop Grumman is a European company…” whowe seat is in Los-Angeles
http://www.northropgrumman.com/about_us/index.html
I know someone who make a low profile at the moment : Mr McCain has some difficulties to put on his boots.
The final decision will remain political, as it is usally in such markets.
Now, if Boeing wins, the costs will also rise, cause they alredy buy most of their stuffs in EU ; plus they can’t built tankers as big as Airbus, so you’ll have to be happy with smaller containers.
June 18th, 2008 at 3:45 pmBoeing makes better and longer lasting planes than the euros.
Ask anyone who flies and works on both.
Good to see heads have been extracted from asses.
June 18th, 2008 at 3:59 pmThe air farce has always held beliefs that make warriors wonder
June 18th, 2008 at 4:00 pmBoeing makes better and longer lasting planes than the euros.
your kidding !
It’s not a year, que dis-je, even not a month that I hear about a Boeing crash
June 18th, 2008 at 4:08 pmAmong the pilot friends of mine, they unanimously prefer Boeing products over what they call the “Scarebus”. Look at the Airbus crash in New York, and within the past few weeks there have been Airbus crashes in the Sudan, and Honduras, and last year in Brazil. The big difference is that a computer flies the Scarebus and the pilot just gives it “suggestions”; this allows the Blue Screen of Death to become quite literal.
June 18th, 2008 at 5:25 pmMy sister’s brother-in-law a former Navy test pilot who’s now flying Airbus’ for Northwestern, and he and pretty much all the other commercial pilots he knows are having a SHIT-FIT over the aircraft’s computerized flight control’s response time from control input to the aircraft finally responding.
It’s NEVER less than 3 seconds
and some times even longer, 6 or 7 seconds 
Remember the Honduran Airbus crash a few weeks ago…UH-HUH.
I wonder if any or all that shit had anything to do with the GAO’s decision?
Comments?…littlefox?
June 18th, 2008 at 6:17 pmSo,
whether your planes are safer than ours, and therefore your pilots are not competent
because :
you can say whatever you want, the stats are there : there is a huger amount of Boeing crashes than of Airbus :
http://www.aviationexplorer.com/airline_accidents.htm
Now, if you think that Boeing isn’t going to set on their tankers a compuering assistance, your puting your middle finger in your eye
June 18th, 2008 at 11:49 pm