Northrop may halt tanker bid

Northrop Grumman Corp. said it might withdraw from bidding on a program worth at least $10 billion to provide the Air Force with aerial refueling tankers because the bidding process may favor rival Boeing Co.

Northrop, in a letter to Air Force program officials, said it had “fundamental concerns” that the selection criteria contained in the latest request for proposals might be biased against its proposed KC-30 aircraft.

“The evaluation criteria in this version simply do not allow for a competitive KC-30 proposal,” Joseph Kanzler, manager of contracts administration for Northrop’s Air Mobility Systems, wrote in a four-page letter. Without some modification, the company will be “forced to ‘no-bid’ this procurement,” Kanzler said in a letter to the Air Force.

The complaint by Century City-based Northrop threatens to eliminate the only alternative to Boeing, further complicating a five-year Air Force effort to replace its aging Boeing KC-135 tankers. The Air Force wants to purchase as many as 179 new aircraft, which are used to refuel bombers, fighters and other aircraft in flight.

Northrop, which is teamed with Airbus parent European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co., said the Pentagon could address the situation before the anticipated release later this month of the final request for proposals, Kanzler wrote.

Shares of Northrop Grumman rose 39 cents to $67.67.