New tanker delays could pose 'real problem': Pentagon

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Pentagon said Tuesday that any further delay in the renewal of its fleet of aerial refueling tankers would be a "real problem," ahead of a ruling on how the contract was awarded.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, is currently reviewing the contract process following an appeal by US firm Boeing, and is expected to announce its conclusions on Wednesday or Thursday.

Boeing lost out on the 35-billion-dollar contract to make 179 air force tankers to Northrop Grumman and its European partner, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), parent of Boeing's archrival Airbus.

"Any further delay would be a real problem," US Department of Defense spokesman Geoff Morrell told a press...