EADS, the parent company of Airbus, had partnered with Northrop Grumman to vie for the tanker project, but their consortium pulled out on Monday. They said the terms of the deal appeared designed to eliminate its design in favor of a smaller jet offered by rival Boeing Co. The announcement left Boeing as the only bidder for the project. It is offering a version of the 767 commercial airplanes to replace the US Air Force’s 1960s-era fleet of KC-135 tankers.
“The European Commission would be extremely concerned if it were to emerge that the terms of tender were such as to inhibit open competition for the contract,” the European Commission said in a statement. In the United States, the political fallout from the announcement was also swift, with several US lawmakers -- including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., President Barack Obama’s campaign rival in 2008 -- saying they regretted the Northrop Grumman/EADS decision.
In 2008, the EADS-led consortium was awarded a contract for the tanker fleet, but Boeing protested and the deal was annulled later that year. In December, Northrop Grumman/EADS expressed serious concerns to the Pentagon and the Air Force that the new criteria for the project were slanted in favor the Boeing design.
