Alabama Wants Air Tanker Bidding Process Changed

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- Members of Alabama's congressional delegation have signed a letter saying the process for selecting a contractor for a proposed $35 billion Air Force tanker contract must be changed.

The letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says a draft request for proposals "is fundamentally flawed and does not achieve your stated objective of conducting a best value competition that is fair, open and transparent."

The competition pits Chicago-based Boeing Co. against a team led by Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.

Northrop and EADS have announced plans to build an assembly plant in Mobile if their bid is selected.

The letter argues that the draft fails to address the urgency of buying new tankers and diminishes the value of superior performance.

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Politics Again... 10/27/2009 4:00:00 PM Of course, the fact that Northrop-Grumman-EADS will build a plant in Alabama has nothing to do with the letter arguing about the selection process, does it?
the Urgency of buying new tankers ??!?! What urgency ? 10/27/2009 4:49:00 PM uhmmm, for How many years ( decades ) now has the Air Force been trying to replace these tankers ?
Tanker 10/27/2009 4:51:00 PM Does this realy mean that the Alabama Congressional Delegation favors a foreign enitity be in the critical path of National Security?
Air Tanker 10/27/2009 7:35:00 PM The thought of having foreign mfgs. building our military equipment is unacceptable. The track record of Boeing air tankers speaks for itself. Award the contract to Boeing and give Northrop a portion of the job they would have received from EADS. Then we have an aircraft made in America by Americans.
Boeings Refueling Tankers 10/28/2009 8:57:00 AM I laughed when Boeing cried to the Gov't asking how the American military could even consider buying tankers built somewhere else. I would like to ask Boeing how they can justify buying foreign manufactured band saws to build their aircraft and yet cry when the Gov't doesn't just automatically give them the contract. Boeing, look who's calling the kettle black?

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