[MHalblaub]

More to come...

[wolfpat]

Is this the same Northrop Grumman that gave us these?

[AFPhys]

Great! Keep ‘em comin’! Thanks for posting this, and I’d love to be pinged with updates if you post those, and if you are willing to do so.

[infantrywhooah]

A HUGE strategic mistake to give the lilly pad sitters any stake in our national security.

[DustyMoment]

There are other issues involved that contradict Nothrup Grumman’s self back-patting. For example, there is the appearance (if not outright evidence) that the AF rigged the specs to favor the Airbus over Boeing’s 767 platform. Also, the AF has workd with Boeing for so long, it is clear that familiarity has bred contempt.

As an American taxpayer, I object to MY tax dollars being sent offshore so that EADS can build an Airbus aircraft for the US Air Force. Congress should nix this one and demand that the Pentagon spend their share of American tax dollars to purchase American aircraft for the American military unless they can objectively demonstrate that the foreign competitor’s product is clearly superior.

[bpjam]

does N-G not use the Canadian airframe manufacturer Bombardier simply because they don’t have a model ready for this job, or do they just love the Euroweenies frame more?

I’ve wondered by we couldn’t keep entire projects like this amongst actual allies and closer to home when we need to compete with the Boeing monolith. I’m not for giving Boeing anything - just because.... But N-G and anybody else out there who isn’t Boeing, doesn’t really have much of a shot at aircraft contracts unless they have a maker of aircraft, it seems to me.

I’ve been concerned about the dwindling number of major defense contractors and they ability to actually compete and not just become a Boeing - where the US taxpayers pay a huge price for something which may or may not even be the best option but its the only ‘U.S.’ option so Boeing gets to run over costs, timetables and regulations to eventually finish and all of us get to just suck it up.

I’d love for somebody infinitely more involved in this subject to inform and correct me about this kind of thing.

[oneolcop]

Read the article. Called a friend who has intimate knowledge of the details of the RFP/bidding process. He told me that the Air Force changed the specifications in the middle of the process to include specifications for a smaller, more economical airframe. This change caught Boeing by surprise and threw the advantage to EADS. He says Boeing can easily meet the revised specifications. That's why they are protesting the award of the contract.

Personally, I think the AF is punishing Boeing for their bad faith lease deal.

For the record, I own Boeing stock and bonds.

[gogeo]

What's this "Northrop Grumman" cr@p?

It's an Airbus.