Posted on 02/29/2008 7:13:12 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force decision awarding a $35 billion aircraft contract to a team including the European parent of Airbus landed like a bomb in Congress on Friday, drawing howls of protest from lawmakers aligned with the loser, America's Boeing Co.The Congressional delegation from the Seattle area said they were "outraged." Kansas Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt vowed to seek a review of the decision "at the highest levels of the Pentagon and Congress" in hopes of reversing it.
Boeing has big facilities in both Seattle and Wichita, which stood to gain from the long-term project to build up to 179 aerial refueling tankers. Although Boeing was favored to win the contract, the Air Force awarded it to a partnership between Northrop Grumman and Europe's EADS.
Conventional wisdom was running so strongly against Northrop-EADS in some corners of Capitol Hill that Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's office issued a statement late on Friday declaring Boeing the winner. It was swiftly retracted.
Lawmakers from Alabama, where Northrop and EADS plan to do some tanker work, were effusive in praising the Air Force.
"I thought all along that the Northrop Grumman-EADS proposal was the best," Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, told reporters. He said the contract would bring nearly 7,000 jobs to the state.
On the disappointment of Chicago-based Boeing's allies, Shelby said he understood. "If Boeing had won this contract ... I would have been concerned about it."
As for Tiahrt's vow to seek a review, Shelby said, "The Pentagon and the Air Force have made their decision and I think it was for the right reasons and I'll stand by that."
The decision was sure to result in a debate, with a formal protest also possible, said defense consultant Jim McAleese.
The tanker deal will give EADS a huge boost in the U.S. defense market, making it the second biggest foreign supplier behind Britain's BAE Systems, analysts said.
"We are so very excited about having the opportunity to help the Air Force acquire the most modern and capable refueling tanker -- a tanker assembled in America -- by Americans," said Alabama Republican Rep. Jo Bonner.
Bonner represents Mobile, Alabama, where assembly work on the aircraft will be done, although it will largely be constructed in France at facilities of EADS' unit Airbus.
Airbus, with large facilities in Toulouse, is Boeing's arch-rival in the global commercial airliner business.
Wichita's Rep. Tiahrt said, "I am deeply troubled by the Air Force's decision to award the KC-X tanker to a French company that has never built a tanker in its history.
"We should have an American tanker built by an American company with American workers. I cannot believe we would create French jobs in place of Kansas jobs."
Tiahrt said he will seek to have the decision reviewed by both the Pentagon and Congress. "At the end of this laborious process, I hope the Air Force reverses its decision."
Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats, along with six other lawmakers from the state said in a joint statement: "We are outraged that this decision taps European Airbus and its foreign workers to provide a tanker to our American military.
"We will be asking tough questions about the decision to outsource this contract. We look forward to hearing the Air Force's justification."
(Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa, editing by Richard Chang)
John McCain
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCERhttp://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/353313_tankereverett01.html
Dismay in Everett over tanker deal
Last updated February 29, 2008 6:06 p.m. PT
By JOSEPH TARTAKOFF
P-I REPORTEREVERETT -- At Machinists Lodge 751, across the street from Boeing's plant, workers were outraged by the shocking news Friday that the Air Force contract to build refueling tankers would not be theirs.
The main gathering room had been prepped for the media in anticipation of a celebration, with an over-sized poster of a tanker being fueled, along with the words, "The American Dream Bring It Home!"
But within a half hour of the announcement that Boeing had lost the deal to a team of Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent EADS, union organizers had plastered the room with posters scrawled with slogans such as, "We Will Get a New Tanker Made in France?", "R.I.P. U.S. Built Tanker," and "How could this happen?"
When Tom Wroblewski, the president of the Machinists union, addressed the gathered workers and media and mentioned that the winner was a "European company," he was interrupted with shouts of "Boo!"
"It is a paper airplane only," he said, adding that that plant for the EADS-Northrop tanker still needed to be built in Mobile, Ala., while Boeing workers could have started work right away on a 767 tanker.
Almost all of the workers at the hall said they expected Boeing to land the lucrative contract.
Sandy Hastings, a quality assurance lab technician, who was putting up posters in the main room, said it was "a shock that they would send something for the military somewhere else other than here."
How is this a foolish decesion?
Gee, you would have thought that Sen. Obama could have saved the deal being as how he is such a wise and effective senator for Illinois < /s>
A bad decision in every possible way. I’m stunned.
This benefits no less than John McCain, who did his level best to deny Boeing the business. Google on [mccain boeing tanker scandal] for more info.
It’s bad, and sad.
7000 people will put on decals? I’m serious!
Uh, the engines are made here in the U.S.
The refueling equipment is made here in the U.S.
The avionics are made here in the U.S.
And final assembly and intergration will be done here in the U.S.
Overall the A330 program has a much bigger economic footprint than Boeing’s proposal.
In Alabama alone where final assembly is done it will create 5000 new jobs and will have a $1 billion+ dollar impact anually
Georga is getting 4500 new jobs with $440 million anually
Arizona around 1100 new jobs
California 4700 new jobs
Florida 2000 new jobs
Illinois 2800 new jobs with close to $2 billion anually
2300 jobs in Ohio
1100 jobs in North Carolina
3800 jobs in Tennessee
4800 jobs in Texas
5500 jobs in Louisiana with $500+ million anually
The list goes on and on since it benefits 230 companies in 49 states
Boeing on the otherhand shot itself in the foot when it tried to bribe it’s way into getting the contract by offering jobs to those Airforce officers who oversee the program. Case in point Darleen Druyun who was negotiating a job with Boeing at the same time she was involved in contracts with the company.
The 767 is a old airframe design that has a shorter range and payload capability than the A330.
Boeing is also behind schedule on it’s KC767 deliveries to Italy and Japan.
The KC767 did not have multipoint refueling either
US manufacturers have a better plane — it’s called the Boeing 787. Boeing has already sold 800+ of them and it hasn’t even flown yet. The problem is that there is no freighter version of the 787 yet that could be used as a tanker...
Northrup is a very American Company, but the technology using light weight carbon fiber panels, especially on the rudders and tail seem to be the purview of the Europeans.
Given that capacity is directly connected to the net weight of the aircraft, and lift to power, we will have half and the Europeans the the other. The combination meets the specs, which Boeing could not do for some reason.
Anyhoo, gonna be fully retired in a few very short years at 65, and I'm happy Northrup go the contract.
Even at the also very American Avondale Shipyard's where I once worked, we had plenty of German and French tech that we built American ships with. It is a global world today and it has been for a long time.
Yep.
McCain’s hand is in this as well.
This all goes back to years ago. Rummy had concerns about Boeing 5 years ago. Boeing has been in delay after delay and I am still not sure if the Japanese have their air tanker yet. A lot of corruption charges and firings, but everyone still thought Boeing would get the contract.
The current tankers are from the Eisenhower epoch and some that were built back in the 80’s by MD I think. I think the Pentagon got tired of messing with Boeing and taking for granted they had the contract no matter what they did. Boeing still may have a shot at supplying a good part of the fleet if they ever get their stuff together.
“Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats, along with six other lawmakers from the state said in a joint statement: “We are outraged that this decision taps European Airbus and its foreign workers to provide a tanker to our American military.”
As though these two hacks ever cared about the U.S. Military. This is so rich.
A lot more than 7000, I would think. The GE engines are made in Ohio and elsewhere in the US. Those manufacturing parts and doing the assembly would be at least 25-30k, Any less than that and they could fly it from Frogistan. lol
The tanker will be built in the U.S.by U.S.workers.Many parts will also be bought or built in the U.S.
E.A.D.S already has a prototype with a boom.Boeing does not not have the boom yet.
EADS will also build freighters and commercial planes in Mobile.
Why so much concern when there is Target,Thyssenkrupp,Mercedes,Hyundai and CSX.The Saudis have 850 billion invested in
U.S.businesses.
Let me guess, the workers will be paid in Ameros, right?
most of the news reports say Mobile will get 1500 jobs, 2000 tops. Only a fraction of what France is getting.
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