After meeting with Pentagon officials on Aug. 12, Boeing (BA) seemed to be trying to pressure the U.S. military to change the terms and timetable of its trouble-plagued competition for a $35 billion contract to build airborne refueling tanker planes.
The Chicago-based aircraft maker, which in June got the military to void an initial award (BusinessWeek.com, 6/18/08) of the contract to rival Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Airbus-maker European Aeronautic Defence & Space (EAD.PA), said it is pressing for a "realistic timetable" for a new award—suggesting that the Pentagon's plan to have the contract sewn up by New Year's Day is not practical. Striking a high-handed note, the company also said it hoped the meeting was just the beginning of a "continuing dialogue" that will lead to a formal Pentagon request "that prescribes the right aircraft."
Leading executives from Boeing and Northrop met separately for several hours Tuesday with Pentagon officials at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. The Pentagon had made arrangements for the meetings last week, when it formally reopened the competition for the tanker contract and laid out a timetable calling for an award by New Year's Day.
Protesting the First RoundThe meetings were described as a chance to discuss changes in the competition. In February, the Northrop-EADS team won the contract (BusinessWeek.com, 2/29/08) with its bid to build tankers based on the Airbus 330 plane. Boeing had protested that contract award, and the Government Accountability Office, agreeing with the company, found the first round of the competition deeply flawed.
In statements released after the Ohio meeting, Boeing officials seemed to be pressing for more time and for specifications in a request for proposal (RFP) by the Pentagon that would be more likely to suit the plane Boeing would like to offer the Air Force: a variation on its 767 commercial jetliner, which is smaller than the plane Northrop/EADS is offering. The rival plane is based on the Airbus A330.
"We hope that it was just the beginning of a continuing dialogue as we move toward a final RFP that prescribes the right aircraft and gives appropriate weight to all of the capabilities that will be required for the evolving mission over the next several decades," Boeing spokesman Daniel Beck said in an e-mailed statement. Echoing politicians, particularly Democrats from Washington State who have rallied to Boeing's side in the fight, Beck added: "Boeing remains committed to providing the Air Force with a next-generation tanker that meets real-world mission requirements and that is selected through a fair, open, and unbiased competition that follows a realistic timetable."
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