The Pentagon’s choice of Northrop Grumman and a European partner to build the Air Force’s next refueling tankers was a surprise and disappointment in Washington state, Kansas and other areas with Boeing payrolls. But despite what some political and labor figures say it wasn’t an outrage.

Air Force officials stressed that the Airbus design offered by Northrop and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. bested Boeing’s proposal. They called it more flexible and more dependable, with greater capacity for fuel and cargo. Those considerations are more important than where the jobs from the $35 billion deal will go, even if some go overseas.

But Sens. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, and Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, both denounced the decision that will cost their states thousands of expected jobs. Labor leaders want a congressional investigation.

In contrast, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama cheered the announcement as “the right decision for our military.” Alabama can expect a new Northrop assembly plant and 5,000 jobs.

Credit Spokane Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers with enough circumspection to await more details rather than blurt out a hasty criticism.

Meanwhile, Americans can expect more decisions of this sort as the military-industrial complex meets the new global economy. Three years ago, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. said it was unthinkable that any part of Marine One, the president’s helicopter, should be built by foreign workers. But the contract went to Lockheed Martin in partnership with an Italian company.

Sikorsky survived the loss of that $6 billion program. Boeing will survive too by following the sound business principles that have made it the nation’s second largest defense contractor behind Lockheed.

Here in Spokane County, a small but important cluster of aerospace businesses also must adapt to the changing environment. When Triumph Composites bought the former Boeing plant in Airway Heights, one of the expected benefits was that the business could make components for multiple aircraft builders, not just one.

Those companies’ future shouldn’t depend on compromising the military’s interests. It should hinge on competence and competition, not parochialism.