The announcement was a blow to Northrop Grumman and its European partner EADS, which won the contract earlier this year only to have it successfully challenged by rival Boeing.

With November 4 presidential elections looming and a new president taking office in January, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the political climate was too sensitive for the competition.

"It is my judgment that in the time remaining to us, we can no longer complete a competition that would be viewed as fair and objective in this highly charged environment," Gates said in a statement.

"The resulting 'cooling off' period will allow the next administration to review objectively the military requirements and craft a new acquisition strategy" for the tankers.

Boeing had insisted that it needed at least six more months to respond to a revised request for proposal to build 179 aircraft, the initial phase of a fleet replacement project worth some 100 billion dollars over the next 30 years.

"Boeing lives to fight another day," said Chris Hellman, analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

"The delay, which could easily exceed a full year, will allow Boeing to significantly revamp its initial bid, including developing a proposal based on a larger aircraft -- something Boeing officials believe is critical if they are to be competitive."

The competition, which pitted the European Aeronautic and Defence Company's (EADS) Airbus 330 against Boeing's 767, ignited fierce debate with protectionist overtones in Congress, particularly among lawmakers from states that stood to lose or benefit from the outcome.

Gates terminated the competition after consulting senior defense and air force officials, and determining that the current KC-135 fleet can be adequately maintained to satisfy air force missions in the near future, the Pentagon said.

Gates said the seven-year process to find a replacement for its aging fleet of KC-135 tankers had become "enormously complex and emotional -- in no small part because of mistakes and missteps along the way by the Department of Defense."

Northrop Grumman said it was "extremely disappointed" about the decision, saying the delay would deny the military "a critically needed new tanker for years."

"The Department of Defense, as recently as last week, stated the urgency to replace the Eisenhower-era (1950s) fleet of refueling tankers. With this delay, it is conceivable that our warfighters will be forced to fly tankers as old as 80 years of age," Northrop spokesman Randy Belote said.

Boeing spokesman Dan Beck said meanwhile the company "welcomes the Defense Department's decision and believes that it will best serve the warfighter in allowing the appropriate time for this important and complex procurement to be conducted in a thorough and open competition."

EADS chief executive Louis Gallois said the European company was disappointed but underscored it would not have an impact on EADS sales or operating income, "as it has not been included in our plans."

The EADS team "is in shock," a European close to the situation told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The US Air Force is the loser and Boeing is the winner."

The air force initially sought to lease tanker aircraft from Boeing, but that deal unraveled in 2003 amid disclosures that a top air force acquisition official had steered contracts to the aeronautics giant in return for a high-paying job.

The air force then stunned observers in February by awarding the 35 billion-dollar contract to Northrop Grumman and EADS, opting for an Airbus aircraft that could carry more fuel and cargo than Boeing's plane.

But that contract was frozen after an audit by the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog agency, concluded that the air force had committed significant errors that had favored Northrop.

Last month, the Pentagon issued a revised request for proposal to address the GAO's findings, but vowed to keep the bidding process on a fast track with a new contract awarded by early January, when a new president takes office.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com