Tagged: tanker contract

Boeing's chief rival for the lucrative Air Force tanker refueling contract ended a decade-long fight for over the work today, announcing it will not challenge the Defense Department's award for the project. 

The Herald of Everett's Michelle Dunlop reports EADS, the European parent company of Airbus, decided a challenge could not be mounted:

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Pierce County Deputy Dies
• Boeing Rival Expected to Concede Tanker Fight
• Seattle's Big Fireworks Show Will Return

Shock at Pierce County Sheriff's Office

Pierce County's law enforcement officers are "in shock" today after the sudden death of sheriff's deputy. Shandon Wright died at home yesterday evening, a day after undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury that happened on the job last year.

Fifty off-duty officers responded to his South Hill home upon hearing the news, according to the News Tribune's Stacia Glenn. The exact cause of Wright's death is being investigated.

Aerospace workers in the Puget Sound region are celebrating.  So is the state's congressional delegation, which has fought for 10 years to win a lucrative contract to build a refueling tanker for the U.S. Air Force.

The Pentagon's Deputy Secretary of Defense, William Lynn, says Boeing was "a clear winner" in the competition to build a multi-billion-dollar refueling tanker.  This means unless rival bidder EADS contests the decision, a newly revamped 767 line at Boeing's Everett factory will likely be busy for decades. 

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Boeing and Region Cheer Contract Win
• Seattle Schools "Rogue" Manager
• Cold Weekend Ahead

Upset Victory Spawns Local Celebrations

Boeing was the "underdog" and came out fighting to win, according to U.S. Senator Patty Murray. At a celebratory Seattle news conference with Senator Maria Cantwell and other state congressional leaders, they praised the Pentagon's decision on the $35 billion Air Force tanker contract, as KPLU's Bellamy Pailthorp reported.

The Pentagon wants Boeing to build the next generation of Air Force refueling tankers. The contract is worth $35 billion. Boeing's bid beat out rival EADS, parent of Airbus. 

The Air Force has tried for nearly a decade to replace its aging fleet of Eisenhower-era tankers, the equivalent of a flying gas station.

The planes will be based on Boeing's 767 jetliner.  The work is expected to impact 50,000 jobs, according to the Associated Press.

Washington's congressional leaders are celebrating the announcement. In a statement issued shortly after the Pentagon's choice was made public, Senator Patty Murray cheered the decision:

“This decision is a major victory for the American workers, the American aerospace industry and America’s military. And it is consistent with the President’s own call to ‘out-innovate’ and ‘out-build’ the rest of the world," Murray stated.