The Boeing Co. has bested its European rival, EADS, for a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract, Pentagon officials said Thursday.
The win will keep the production line for Boeing’s 767 jet, which is the basis of its tanker, busy for the next decade. Boeing will replace 179 of the Air Force’s KC-135 tankers, which Boeing built back in the 1950s and 1960s.
EADS, the parent company of Boeing’s commercial rival Airbus, had offered the Air Force a tanker based on an A330 jet, which is larger than Boeing’s 767. In recent weeks, analysts thought EADS’ tanker was the favorite for the contract. After EADS is briefed by the Air Force, the defense contractor has 10 days to protest the Air Force’s decision. Boeing successfully protested the Pentagon’s pick of the EADS’ tanker in 2008, leading the Air Force eventually to cancel that contract.
This is the Air Force’s third attempt in a decade at replacing its aging tankers.
Live video of the announcement from KIRO-TV:
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