Boeing Wins Air Force Contract

Boeing Co. and Hill Air Force Base in Odgen, Utah, have won a nine-year contract that could be worth as much as $1 billion to perform depot maintenance on a wide range of Air Force planes, the company and the Air Force said. The team beat out another composed of Lockheed Martin Corp., GEC Marconi Avionics Inc. and AAI Corp. Award of the contract is on hold, however, until the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, resolves a protest filed this summer by a contractor who had objected that the Air Force bidding process was discriminatory. In its official news release, the Air Force gave no contract value, but a spokeswoman said the total value is $1.1 billion over nine years. Boeing said its share of the contract is worth about $500 million. Boeing shares rose 44 cents to close at $34 and Lockheed Martin fell $4.88 to $95.13, both on the NYSE.