Boeing (NYSE:BA) talks as if it can reverse the Air Force decision to give a $35 billion tanker contract to Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and EADS, parent of Airbus. According to Reuters Mark McGraw, a company vice president, said he was "as confident as I can be" that congressional auditors would find fault with the U.S. Air Force’s Feb. 29 choice
Since the GAO and Congress have not really started looking into the matter, the Boeing statement may come a little early The US airplane-maker is counting on Congressmen, who want to keep their jobs, to get the deal back to Boeing and save US jobs. If EADS gets the contract some of the work will be done in its home market, which is Europe.
Boeing seems to be avoiding the facts in the selection, which does not make them bad people. They will do whatever they can to make money. The Wall Street Journal writes that all of the evidence points to the fact that the Airbus 330 will make a much better tanker than the Boeing 767. "The A330’s size means it can haul more than Boeing’s tanker design, which was "a significant advantage in the important areas of Aerial Refueling and Airlift," the Air Force noted." In simple English, that means that the EADS plane works and the Boeing plane does not.
Boeing is hoping that it can get politics to win over competence. That may happen. Politicians watch out for their own interests. Whether something works is not very high up on their list.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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