Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
March 27, 2008
Pg. B4
By August Cole
Boeing Co.'s appeal to win back a $40 billion U.S. Air Force aerial tanker jet contract faces challenges from both victor Northrop Grumman Corp. and the military.
The Air Force Wednesday filed a "partial summary dismissal" of the Boeing protest with the Government Accountability Office, a spokeswoman said. The Air Force declined to give further details, but the service has said it picked what it thought was the best tanker.
Also Wednesday, Los Angeles-based Northrop filed its own motion to partially dismiss, saying Boeing's protests are "untimely." It argues Boeing should have objected sooner to how the Air Force evaluated the tankers' performance on military missions, the capabilities of the larger tanker put forth by Northrop, and cost and schedule data, as well as other contract criteria.
In a statement responding to the Northrop filing, Boeing said "we completely disagree with any effort to stop an unbiased review" of how the tankers were evaluated and selected. Boeing said it will respond to the Air Force motion in due course.
Boeing on March 11 filed its protest over the contract, which concerns jets that act as flying fuel depots for other aircraft and perform other tasks, like transporting medical patients and cargo. The GAO, Congress's investigative arm, has a 100-day period to review the decision. The Air Force isn't bound to its opinion, but the GAO could have considerable sway over what has become a politically charged dispute.
The Air Force awarded the contract to a Northrop Grumman-led team that includes European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. on Feb. 29. EADS is the parent of major Boeing rival Airbus. The companies will provide the U.S. with 179 modified Airbus A330s.
The Chicago-based company wrote in a summary of the protest that the Air Force "repeatedly made fundamental but often unstated changes...in order to enable the NG/EADS proposal to survive." Boeing also contended that the Air Force overestimated the cost and risk of its proposal, and that the Airbus design "offered an illusory cost benefit fueled by EADS' reliance upon illegal foreign subsidies," putting the tanker issue in the middle of a trade dispute between the U.S. and the European Union.
The battle between Boeing and the Northrop team is increasingly public, even if the political rhetoric has simmered down with Congress in recess.
The Northrop and Air Force motions were filed on a day that Boeing ran big ads in 41 newspapers around the country to point out what the company believes are the flaws in how the Air Force selected the Northrop team.
March 27, 2008
Pg. B4
By August Cole
Boeing Co.'s appeal to win back a $40 billion U.S. Air Force aerial tanker jet contract faces challenges from both victor Northrop Grumman Corp. and the military.
The Air Force Wednesday filed a "partial summary dismissal" of the Boeing protest with the Government Accountability Office, a spokeswoman said. The Air Force declined to give further details, but the service has said it picked what it thought was the best tanker.
Also Wednesday, Los Angeles-based Northrop filed its own motion to partially dismiss, saying Boeing's protests are "untimely." It argues Boeing should have objected sooner to how the Air Force evaluated the tankers' performance on military missions, the capabilities of the larger tanker put forth by Northrop, and cost and schedule data, as well as other contract criteria.
In a statement responding to the Northrop filing, Boeing said "we completely disagree with any effort to stop an unbiased review" of how the tankers were evaluated and selected. Boeing said it will respond to the Air Force motion in due course.
Boeing on March 11 filed its protest over the contract, which concerns jets that act as flying fuel depots for other aircraft and perform other tasks, like transporting medical patients and cargo. The GAO, Congress's investigative arm, has a 100-day period to review the decision. The Air Force isn't bound to its opinion, but the GAO could have considerable sway over what has become a politically charged dispute.
The Air Force awarded the contract to a Northrop Grumman-led team that includes European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. on Feb. 29. EADS is the parent of major Boeing rival Airbus. The companies will provide the U.S. with 179 modified Airbus A330s.
The Chicago-based company wrote in a summary of the protest that the Air Force "repeatedly made fundamental but often unstated changes...in order to enable the NG/EADS proposal to survive." Boeing also contended that the Air Force overestimated the cost and risk of its proposal, and that the Airbus design "offered an illusory cost benefit fueled by EADS' reliance upon illegal foreign subsidies," putting the tanker issue in the middle of a trade dispute between the U.S. and the European Union.
The battle between Boeing and the Northrop team is increasingly public, even if the political rhetoric has simmered down with Congress in recess.
The Northrop and Air Force motions were filed on a day that Boeing ran big ads in 41 newspapers around the country to point out what the company believes are the flaws in how the Air Force selected the Northrop team.