WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The head of EADS North America said Friday that the defense contractor wouldn't protest the loss of a multibillion-dollar U.S. Air Force contract and warned that the Pentagon appeared to have stepped back from its historical strategy of buying the "very best" technology for the military.I am hoping that this means we will have new tankers before the older KC-135s start falling out of the sky. A protest, sustained, could have cost the Air Force (and the other Services, who benefit from the ability of tankers to extend the range of fighters and airlift aircraft) a couple of more years of waiting.
Regards — Cliff
A smart business move for EADS. Boeing has spent millions in pay-offs for this contract and there is simply no way for EADS to benefit by a protest. As for the so-called "Buy American" philosophy, the DoD would have probably gotten more "made in America" with EADS than they will ever get with Boeing.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, the AF will have a new tanker, new if you can accept the "newness" of a 1970's design airframe. We probably could have gotten a better deal by pulling 767's out of various desert storage depots, and running them through a conversion line.
But this was NEVER about a good deal for the AF.
Watch from the wings for Boeing to begin the campaign to "upgrade" AWACS and JSTARS with the "militarized" version of the 767.