WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Defense says it will hold out on awarding a controversial $35 billion air tanker contract for as much as two months, until November.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford told a recent Pentagon briefing that planning figures "anticipate an award in the mid-November time frame.
The $35 billion contract concerns the supply of 179 tanker planes to the U.S. Air Force.
Northrop Grumman Corp and European aerospace giant EADS, the parent company of Airbus, had beat Boeing in a similar race two years ago. But their winning bid was annulled after government auditors found that the Air Force has skewed its judgment rules.
The annulment sparked a diplomatic fracas with senior European officials berating the United States for what they billed as an act of protectionism.
Since then EADS was allowed to return to the bidding process, affording it 60 days to revise its bid. At the time, the Pentagon and the Air Force insisted that the change would not delay the awarding of the $35 billion contract.
In fact, Defense News reported, officials in March said the Department of Defense would accelerate the evaluation of the bids to "stick to the original contract award schedule of early fall 2010."
A month later the Pentagon crossed out the term "contract award date" set for July 16, replacing it with "contract start date" scheduled for Nov. 12. The move sparked fresh debate with officials insisting that the awarding date hadn't been changed.
The Pentagon's latest announcement has sparked furious remarks from Boeing advocates alleging foul play.
"It's now clear that the Pentagon is playing games," U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., was quoted saying by the Seattlepi Web site.
The original deadline for EADS and rival Boeing to submit their bids was May 10. They are now due July 9.
The EADS plane tanker A330 MRTT can load and carry more refueling supplies and travel over a greater distance than its Boeing 776-based rival. What's more, a review by the U.S. Air Force in 2008 stated clear preference for the EADS model.
The Airbus model has been chosen over Boeing 767 derivatives as a tanker by Australia, Britain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the four most recent contests, EADS has said in company statements.
EADS, however, has complained that the bid has been tailored to suit Boeing.
In a recent setback for the European aerospace company, the World Trade Organization ruled that Airbus had received illegal "launch aid" for other aircraft projects.
Several members of the U.S. Congress have since then lobbied against EADS, trying to penalize the company for what they allege to be an illegal advantage in the bidding war.
