Congressional investigators said last week that Boeing should get a second chance to win the fiercely contested $40 billion aerial tanker program. The contract had been awarded in February to a partnership of Northrop Grumman and EADS, a European aerospace company and parent of Airbus. Political allies of Boeing and Pratt & Whitney, which would provide engines for Boeing's plane, immediately hailed the Government Accountability Office's (GAO's) nonbinding recommendations and made clear they will pressure the Air Force to follow them.

This all came about because the Air Force wants to add at least 179 new aircraft to its aging tanker fleet, currently numbering 500. The average age of the KC-135, one of two tankers now in use and built by Boeing, is more than 45 years.

The Air Force's selection of Los Angeles-based Northrop and Airbus, which is part of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., had drawn criticism from Boeing's supporters — especially politicians and trade unions. They condemned the selection of a foreign company for a major military contract and said it would cost U.S. jobs.

Now the GAO has said the Air Force should allow Boeing and Northrop to submit revised proposals.

The GAO report responded to a formal protest made by Boeing in March. They reported that a review of the records led them to conclude that the Air Force had made a number of significant errors that could have affected the outcome of what was a very close competition. The GAO went on to criticize the Air Force for failing to follow stated evaluation guidelines, conducting misleading and unequal discussions with Boeing using unreasonable methods for calculating costs of the competing bids and improperly inflating certain Boeing costs — as well as for giving Northrop undue credit for certain aspects of its proposal.

Originally Boeing had offered the Air Force a tanker called the KC-767. whereas Northrop offered the larger KC-45A, derived from Airbus' A330 commercial aircraft, with engines made by General Electric.

Boeing has estimated its tanker program would support 44,000 new and existing jobs in the U.S. Whereas Northrop initially said its program would support 25,000 U.S. jobs, but later increased the estimate to 48,000 after applying a different estimation formula. Northrop says 60 percent of the work would be done in the U.S.

A win for Boeing would not only provide billions of dollars in initial engine sales for Pratt & Whitney, but also years of lucrative service and repair work.

The Air Force has 60 days to respond.

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