Boeing's tanker tantrum

The yawns that greet stories about the Pentagon's process of selecting new equipment have, in recent months, been replaced by gasps as the fight over a particular acquisition has played out in the pages of and others. Specifically at issue is the selection of the next generation of aerial refueling tanker -- an intense, nasty political battle over competing aircraft offered by Chicago-based Boeing Co. and the team of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS, the European parent of Airbus.

By Charles Horner

July 23, 2008