Air Force General presses Pentagon to accelerate the disputed tanker award, does not want the contract to be split

09:30 GMT, September 4, 2008 While Boeing and Northrop Grumman are still waiting for the Pentagon’s final request for proposal U.S. Air Force top official General Arthur Lichte expressed his deep concerns about the pace of the KC-X tanker rebidding. Lichte who is in command of the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command fears that the defeated aircraft company would protest against the upcoming decision and cause further delays in a programme that is already far behind.

This second competition for the tanker contract follows a Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision on June 19 to uphold a protest by Boeing, saying that the Air Force made "significant errors" in awarding the contract to a Northrop Grumman/EADS consortium in February. Pentagon officials expect a final decision on this issue by the end of 2008.

"When the request for proposal comes out I'm not sure that one side or the other side doesn't protest again," Lichte told AFP news agency. "I mean, this is a lot of money, I understand the business nature of this. But I don't understand how at some point you stop and say, this company wins, and this company loses, or this company is successful and this company is not.

Lichte who wants to press the Pentagon to expedite the award of the disputed $35 billion contract for 179 new aerial refuelling tankers so the Air Force can retire its Eisenhower-era aircraft. The General told the news agency that he would be happy with whichever tanker is selected, but he would not favor splitting the contract between the two companies, which would be costlier and require separate maintenance and training for aircrews.

Northrop Grumman and its European partner EADS have proposed a tanker based on the Airbus A-330, while Boeing previously offered a militarized version of its 767-200. Officials of the Chicago based company recently asked for more time claiming that the changing requirements – the Air Force is placing value on more offload - may force them to offer a different aircraft than the 767-200. Experts assume that Boeing is at least studying the possibility of offering a tanker based on the 777, or one based on the 767-400, which is a bigger version of the 767-200.

"I don't know how we get through something like that. With the poisonous nature of all the comments that are out there right now, I don't know how we make peace with everybody to say, okay, let's go forward," Lichte said.