U.S. releases final terms in air tanker competition

The Air Force unveiled the final terms of a $40-billion competition for 179 new aerial refueling tankers, as Northrop Grumman Corp. and its partner Airbus parent EADS, weighed whether to pull out of the running against Boeing Co.

The Northrop team, which is offering to build a tanker version Airbus A330 jetliner, has said it may withdraw from the competition if it concludes that the final bidding guidelines favor Boeing, which is likely to propose converting its smaller 767 jetliner into a tanker.

An A330 sells on the commercial market for about $160 million. Boeing’s 767-200 costs about $120 million.