It looks like this story will never end: In early 2008, the U.S. Air Force awards a projected $35 billion contract for up to 179 refueling planes to Northrop and EADS. In September 2008, Defense Secretary Robert Gates cancels the contract. In March of this year, EADS officials rule out making a solo bid for the U.S. tanker contract under current terms and timetable. However, EADS today announced they are back in the game and they will compete directly with Boeing for the tanker contract. Awesome! If the Americans are smart, they will make this a fair bidding process. Clearly, EADS has the better product, but it is more expensive to maintain, probably due to its more sophisticated technology. Let the game begin...To read the Reuters chronology, please click here.
