Reopened USAF aerial refuelling competition unfair, claims Northrop Grumman

The US Air Force's (USAF's) KC-X aerial refuelling competition is coming under fire just days after bidding reopened, with Northrop Grumman charging that it is starting the bidding process with a competitive disadvantage.

Northrop Grumman said it is "greatly concerned" that the USAF provided Northrop Grumman's pricing information to its rival, Boeing, during the previous tanker competition. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates terminated that competition in 2008 after a Boeing protest led the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) to rule that the competition had not been conducted fairly.

Northrop Grumman, which has partnered with EADS to offer the KC-45 for the tanker competition, called on the USAF to release Boeing's pricing information to even the playing field in a 29 September statement. Boeing may offer its KC-767 or its much larger KC-777. The company is also considering offering both aircraft in case one fits the USAF's requirements better than the other.

"Northrop Grumman feels the receipt of comparable pricing information from Boeing is only fair and is germane to this recompetition," company spokesman Randy Belote told Jane's .

The complaint comes just days after the USAF reopened the tanker competition on 25 September. Both bidders are likely to raise additional concerns over the next two months, during which time the companies and the US Congress have been invited to weigh in on the USAF's draft request for proposals (RfP).

Complaints that go unaddressed could escalate into another protest, which was the undoing of the last tanker competition.