Takes Flight

17 Apr 2008
Air Force Asking GAO to Dismiss Boeing's Protest "In Its Entirety"
The Air Force is asking the Government Accountability Office to dismiss in its entirety Boeing's protest of its decision to pick Northrop Grumman to build America's next generation of aerial refueling tankers, saying that it correctly decided Northrop Grumman had the superior bid. A growing number of America's leading newspapers agree.

Inside The Pentagon is reporting today that the crux of the Air Force's filing with the Government Accountability Office is that it believes 65 specific criticisms raised by Boeing should be dismissed because Boeing had the chance to raise those concerns during the bidding process – but didn't.

In fact, Boeing praised the contracting process as fair and open while it was going on – and only began to raise objections after it lost.

Sue Payton – the chief Air Force acquisition officer on the tanker decision – told Inside The Pentagon that there were "definite discriminators" that favored Northrop Grumman. "That's why we picked the group we picked," Payton said.

The Philadelphia Inquirer this morning picks apart false claims by Boeing and its apologists that the contract was awarded to a foreign company, and notes that Boeing "came into this bidding process with a black eye" over corruption in the previous tanker lease arrangement.

The Inquirer notes that contrary to claims by Boeing surrogates, the contract went to Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman, and also observes that the Air Force found Northrop Grumman's bid to be superior on the most important selection criteria, which would provide our men and women in uniform with the best product.

The Inquirer's conclusion: "This huge contract shouldn't be decided on jingoistic rhetoric that isn't supported by the facts."

The Inquirer joins a host of other major newspapers, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, that have editorialized in favor of Northrop Grumman's win.

To read the entire Inside The Pentagon, go to:
http://www.insidedefense.com/ (Note: Subscription required.)

To read the entire Philadelphia Inquirer editorial, go to: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/ 20080417_Editorial__Defense_Contract_With_Airbus.html

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