The weapons contract, which will provide an estimated 50,000 jobs, is one of the biggest in history and by far the largest likely to be awarded mens summer fashion 2011 under the Obama administration.
The long-awaited decision followed years of contentious jockeying and millions of dollars spent on advertising and lobbying by the two companies. Boeing and European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), manufacturer of the Airbus, each had won the award once before, only to see it pulled back amid allegations of impropriety in the contracting process.
Considerations in the award, Lynn said, were "warfighting requirements, price and life-cycle costs." He and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley emphasized that both manufacturers had demonstrated they guess purses could deliver on 372 requirements specified in the contract.
"Multiply that by 179 planes, times 30 years of service life and it becomes very big," Thompson said.
"These are fixed-price contracts," Donley said. The decision "reflects our efforts to deliver better value to the warfighter . . . in a budget process that we realize is not going to give us more money every year."
The Air Force has set the tankers as its highest procurement priority. Most of the aircraft operating in the Afghanistan war zone depend on extensive aerial refueling, and "without a large tanker fleet, it is very hard for U.S. military aircraft to get to many parts of the world," Thompson said.
The entire refueling fleet is expected to be replaced over the next 10 to 20 years through second and third contracts for a power balance total of up to $100 billion. Some defense experts have doubts that many planes currently in operation can last that long.
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