EADS and partner Northrop Grumman Corp. are prepared to wait for as long as it takes for the U.S. Defense Department to finalize its request for bids on a huge contract to make a new Air Force tanker plane — so long as the competition is fair, the head of EADS North American division said Tuesday.
“We are perfectly happy to receive the proposal whenever they think it meets the objective of meeting a fair and open competition,” the new head of EADS North American division, Sean O’Keefe, told The Associated Press.
Paris-based European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. and partner Northrop have been tussling for years with Boeing Co. over a contract worth at least $35 billion to build 179 new Air Force tankers.
Several Connecticut manufacturers, including Hamilton Sundstrand in Windsor Locks and United Tool & Die Co. of West Hartford, would supply Boeing with components under the tanker project.
O’Keefe said the latest indications are that the final request could come at the end of the month or the beginning of February. He noted that the decision has been delayed several times.
Northrop said last month that it won’t bid unless the Defense Department changes the rules when it submits the final request for proposals.
The Pentagon’s preliminary request includes what Los Angeles-based Northrop called a “clear preference” for a smaller plane with limited flexibility. Critics have said the request appears tailored for Boeing, which is based in Chicago.
When the final request comes, O’Keefe said “if we determine that we have a chance to win, we will participate. If we believe that there really isn’t a lot of point, then we won’t.”
The Pentagon needs to replace its aging fleet of tankers that refuel military planes in-flight. It has tried twice, and failed twice, to award a contract. The deal awarded to Northrop last year was overturned on appeal. And in 2004 an ethics scandal nixed an award to Boeing.
Lawmakers have taken an interest because the winning company will need thousands of workers to make the tankers. A Boeing win would help Washington, Kansas and other states. If Northrop and EADS win, a new plant will be built in Mobile, Ala., and Florida and West Virginia might benefit, too. (AP)
