The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
56°F
Current Conditions
Scattered clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Refueling tanker talks extended

Employees look at an engine of a Boeing 767 cargo plane. Boeing hopes to win back a contract to replace aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review
Employees look at an engine of a Boeing 767 cargo plane. Boeing hopes to win back a contract to replace aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

WASHINGTON — The Air Force will award a much-anticipated multibillion-dollar tanker refueling contract at the end of the year, extending talks with bidders beyond the October deadline Wall Street anticipated.

Either Boeing Co. or Northrop Grumman Corp. will emerge as the winner of the $40 billion Air Force deal to replace 179 aerial refueling tankers.

One industry analyst said the extension of talks signals extra caution by the service because of a controversy that engulfed the tanker program several years ago. The program has been on hold for three years after Boeing lost the contract to lease 100 aerial refueling planes amid an ethics scandal that resulted in prison terms for a former Boeing official and a former high-ranking Air Force official.

An Air Force spokesman said the decision will not be made until December in order to allow more time to review the strengths and weaknesses of each bidder’s proposal.

A three-month delay should have little adverse effect for either Northrop or Boeing, according to Richard Aboulafia, a defense analyst for Teal Group Corp. Both competitors could actually benefit from the additional time to make their cases, he said.

The new tankers, considered to be one of the Air Force’s highest priority programs, will replace the service’s aging fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers, which has been in service for more than 50 years. Senior Air Force officials say the program is critical for U.S. military.