The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
59°F
Current Conditions
Broken clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Boeing to protest contract

Joelle Tessler Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Boeing Co. on Monday said it will formally protest a $35 billion Air Force contract awarded to European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp.

Boeing’s chairman and CEO, Jim McNerney, said in a statement the Chicago-based aerospace company “found serious flaws in the process that we believe warrant appeal.”

The award to replace 179 air-to-air refueling tankers is the first of three Air Force contracts to replace its fleet of nearly 600 aging tankers and could be worth $100 billion over the next 30 years.

Boeing, which was debriefed by Air Force officials on Friday about why EADS and Northrop Grumman won the deal, said Monday that it had “serious concerns” about the fairness of the competition, citing “inconsistency in requirements, cost factors and treatment of our commercial data.”

“This is an extraordinary step rarely taken by our company, and one we take very seriously,” McNerney said.

Representatives from EADS and the Air Force did not immediately comment.

Boeing hinted at its basis for protest, claiming the Air Force changed its method for evaluating the two bids after issuing a request for proposals. The changes allowed a larger tanker to compete even though the Air Force had first called for a medium-sized plane, Boeing said. Air Force officials have indicated that the larger size of the EADS/Northrop team’s tanker helped tip the balance in its favor.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., continued to criticize the Air Force’s decision after Boeing announced its plans to protest the deal.

“The Air Force’s short-sighted decision to place the future of America’s aerospace industry and national security in the hands of an illegally subsidized foreign competitor is simply wrong for America,” Murray said.

Once Boeing files its protest, the Government Accountability Office will have 100 days to issue a ruling. A protest could delay execution of the tanker contract by nearly a year, according to Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, a think tank.