Tanker News
Boeing's Congressional Backers Attack Tanker Rival's Foreign Connections.
The Mobile (AL) Press-Register (3/1) "Breaking News" blog reported, "Northrop Grumman Corp. may be proposing to assemble KC-30 refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force in Mobile, but that hasn't stopped political supporters of rival Boeing Co. from taking a few jabs at the KC-30's foreign roots." Several House members whose states have ties to Boeing characterized the new tanker contract as a win over French and European companies. However, Alabama's "Republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne said he continues to be troubled by comments from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., that suggest Alabama workers are somehow 'un-American.'"
Good Arguments Seen For New Tanker Contract. Andy Cohen at the Seattle Post Intelligencer (3/1) "Aerospace" blog wrote that although he does feel that the new tanker contract is weighted towards Boeing, "there's also a good argument to be made that Air Force officers decided on what they needed and how much extra they were willing to pay for abilities beyond what they needed, and Boeing's plane happens to fit more closely with those needs." Cohen called the claim by a Mobile (AL) Press-Register editorial that a Northrop pullout would "taint" the contract a "red herring."
