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Pentagon launches contest for aerial tanker contract

By W.J. Hennigan
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The Pentagon on Wednesday officially launched a competition to replace its aging, aerial refueling tankers. It released the requirements needed to fulfill a contract potentially worth $35 billion.

Two aerospace giants were expected to vie for the contract to build 179 tankers -- Chicago-based Boeing Co. and a team composed of Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. The companies have 75 days to submit bids.

In recent weeks, however, Northrop threatened to stay out of the competition, arguing that the requirements may favor Boeing.

The Pentagon’s efforts to replace the tankers, which date to the Eisenhower era, have been mired in controversy. Twice it has had to toss out contracts it awarded, because of a procurement scandal and because of errors in drafting the requirements.

william.hennigan @latimes.com

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W.J. Hennigan

W.J. Hennigan covered the Pentagon and national security issues from Washington, D.C., before leaving the Los Angeles Times bureau in November 2017. While there, he reported on war, counter-terrorism, and the lives of American service members from more than two dozen countries and previously covered the aerospace and defense industry from Los Angeles. Hennigan earned awards from the National Press Club, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and was a contributor to the Los Angeles Times coverage of the terror attacks in San Bernardino that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2016.

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