Words can't describe how pissed off this makes me. In my opinion, the U.S. military has no business flying European Airbus planes. I realize this is good for Northrop Grumman, but the pentagon had a chance to go with an all-American design and execution and they instead chose to award the $40 BILLION contract to the commercial competitor of America's only real commercial airplane manufacturer. WAY TO GO!
EADS/Northrop upsets Boeing in Air Force tanker competition — analyst
Boeing has lost the long-awaited and lucrative Air Force refueling tanker contract to a competing bid based on an Airbus airplane, a respected and well-connected defense analyst close to the Air Force tanker deal said Friday.
Loren Thompson, an analyst with the Lexington Institute, cited "100 percent reliable" government sources for his information.
The outcome is a shocking upset, kept secret until just before the formal announcement, set for a 2 p.m. press conference today.
The Boeing loss means that the 767 assembly line in Everett will wind to a close around 2012 when the current commercial orders run out.
No layoffs are likely as workers will transfer to other programs. But Washington State has lost out on the chance to add as many as 9,000 jobs.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...nkerwin29.html
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