Non-Subscriber ExtractNorthrop Grumman/EADS team seeks level playing field in tanker contest |
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By Caitlin Harrington
03 November 2009
Northrop Grumman says it will consider a range of options, including legal action, to compel Boeing to release pricing information that could prove critical in the US Air Force's (USAF's) USD35 billion aerial refuelling tanker competition.
Northrop Grumman and its European partner, EADS, say that the USAF's draft request for proposals (RfP) calls for a "cost shoot-out" that focuses the KC-X tanker acquisition decision on best price rather than on both cost and capabilities.
The team said at a 28 October press conference in Washington, DC, that a cost-focused competition would be unfair because the USAF released its pricing data for its KC-45 tanker to Boeing during the previous tanker competition, which was cancelled because of concerns about fairness.
The company has asked the US Department of Defense (DoD) to release Boeing's pricing information to level the playing field. However, Boeing declined a request for release from the DoD's legal counsel, according to Northrop Grumman spokesman Randy Belote.
The Northrop Grumman/EADS team is attempting to work through the issue with the DoD, but team officials said that other options - including legal action - were also on the table.
The DoD said that the previously released KC-45 pricing information does not put Northrop Grumman/EADS at a competitive disadvantage because the data in question is "inaccurate, outdated and not germane" to the new acquisition process.
However, Belote said that the pricing information is still relevant, since while some tanker capabilities will be changed to accommodate the USAF's new requirements, the team is still offering the same basic airframe.