United States: Lawmakers criticize bid for $35B tanker contract.Byline: kusumv03 Lawmakers from Washington to Alabama are raising serious concerns over a troubled $35 billion tanker competition between rivals Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. Corp. In separate letters, both Sen. Richard Shelby Richard Craig Shelby (born May 6 1934), sometimes known as Dick Shelby, is an American politician. He currently is the senior U.S. Senator from Alabama. Originally elected to the Senate as a Democrat, Shelby switched to the Republican Party in 1994 when it gained the , R-Ala., and Rep. Norman Dicks, D-Wash., representing competing interests and thousands of jobs in their districts, expressed concerns over the Air Force's draft request for bids to build 179 aerial refueling Aerial refueling, also called Air refueling or in-flight refueling (IFR) or air-to-air refueling (AAR) or (in the UK) tanking. Note that AAR also stands for "After Action Review" (de-briefing) and in aviation, IFR also stands for tankers that was issued last month. Los Angeles-based Northrop and its partner, Airbus parent European Aeronautic aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau Defense and Space Co. NV, are competing against Chicago-based
Boeing for the third time to replace the aging refueling tankers.
Should Northrop and EADS EADS European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. EADS Expeditionary Air Defense System (USMC) EADS Extended Air Defense Systems EADS Environmental Assessment Data System EADS Echelons Above Division Study win the lucrative deal, a new plant will be built in Mobile, Ala., while states like Florida and West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. could also stand to gain jobs. If Boeing lands the award, Washington, Kansas Washington is a city in Washington County, Kansas, United States. The population was 1,223 at the 2000 census; the 2004 estimate was 1,162. Washington is the county seat of Washington CountyGR6. Washington is the home of the Washington County Tigers. and other states would benefit from a boost in jobs. Boeing supporter Dicks is questioning the Air Force's decision to cite a specific fuel offload rate in its bid request - which happens to be the same rate that Northrop has advertised as being able to offer - when the rate hadn't been specified in earlier draafts. Dicks and other Washington state lawmakers also are concerned that the Air Force won't be required to consider the World Trade Organization's interim ruling last month which found that Airbus received illegal subsidies in the form of EU loans. Dicks thinks that shows a bias for rival Northrop's offering, according to his letter to Shay shay n. Informal A chaise. [Back-formation from chaise (taken as pl. )] Noun 1. Assad, director of defense procurement, on Tuesday. Dicks warned that unless the Pentagon fixed the draft it would risk the "same disastrous outcome that doomed the previous source selection." The Pentagon has tried and failed twice to award a contract to replace its Eisenhower-era fleet of tankers that refuel re·fu·el v. re·fu·eled also re·fu·elled, re·fu·el·ing also re·fu·el·ling, re·fu·els also re·fu·els v.tr. To supply again with fuel. v.intr. military planes in flight. The last attempt in early 2008 was overturned on appeal and led Pentagon leaders to temporarily revoke the Air Force's authority to award a contract. The 2004 award to Boeing was undone by an ethics scandal that resulted in prison terms for a former company executive and a former high-ranking Air Force official. For his part, Shelby, along with seven other Alabama lawmakers, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday, claiming the Air Force's request was "fundamentally flawed." Shelby, a Northrop supporter, said the draft omitted risk when evaluating whether either bidder can stay on schedule and keep its promise on price. According to Shelby, the Air Force also now isn't viewing as a priority whether the planes' design includes the capacity to carry extra passengers and the ability to perform medical evacuations. In previous competitions, the bigger size of Northrop's plane was a more highly valued attribute. Reiterating the Pentagon's position, spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin said, "With this new draft request for proposals, we are very cognizant of the criticisms made and ar Copyright : Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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