On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:12:02 -0500, "Blueskies"
wrote in
:



It was announced today that the KC-30 (derived from the Airbus A-330) has won the "competition."


Northrop Grumman and the maker of Airbus planes beat out Boeing
Co. to win a $35 billion government contract to build up to 179
military refueling planes, the Air Force said Friday.The selection
of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman and its European-based
partner, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., came as a
surprise to industry and government officials.It is a big blow to
Chicago-based Boeing, which has been supplying refueling tankers
to the Air Force for nearly 50 years and had been widely expected
to win the deal.The contract positions EADS to break into the U.S.
military market in a big way. And it opens up a huge new business
opportunity for Northrop Grumman. In after-hours trading, shares
of Northrop climbed $3.74 to $82.37, while Boeing's stock price
fell $2.59 to $80.10.The Northrop-EADS refueling tanker, the
KC-45A, "will revolutionize our ability to employ tankers and will
ensure the Air Force's future ability to provide our nation with
truly global vigilance, reach, and power," Air Force Gen. Duncan
J. McNab said in a statement.
(AP Online 04:37 PM ET 02/29/2008)

Mo

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