Northrop Grumman - Airbus get HUGE contract from Air Force

[RogerFGay]

At Boeing, shock -- and then anger (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/353250_tanker01.html)

(MSNBC just said something about McCain's involvement in this, but I'm not sure I got what they said.)
Outcry over huge contract loss takes on a tone of nationalism

The Air Force on Friday delivered a shock to storied American airplane builder The Boeing Co. by choosing a team of Northrop Grumman Corp. and Airbus parent EADS to build a new fleet of air-to-air refueling tankers -- a contract potentially worth $100 billion.

[jayson]

I thought all military hardware was required to be built by American companies?

[ThomasMore]

I think the Airbus 330s will be built here, under contract.

Similarly, the new Marine One helicopter will be an AgustaWestland EH-101 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AgustaWestland_EH101), an Italo-British design. It beat out longtime Marine One supplier Sikorsky, a U.S. company. The new 'copter will be built under contract by Lockheed.

Boeing got itself in trouble on this one with some corruption a few years back. My guess is that that was a factor, but I don't know it for a fact.

I also believe Boeing kept the 767 airliner line open just to allow for this tanker contract. My guess is that it will end 767 production now.

[Rhino]

I thought all military hardware was required to be built by American companies?Northrop Grumman is an American company.

[jayson]

Northrop Grumman is an American company.

I must have misunderstood. So let me get this straight, Northrop is building a plane that was designed by Airbus parent EADS? Is that correct?

[Taylor1]

Northrop Grumman is an American company.

Yay! 100 billion to an American Corp, what can be better?

[ThomasMore]

Yay! 100 billion to an American Corp, what can be better?

Not that simple, Taylor.

The Boeing is US-designed and US-assembled.

The Airbus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus) is Franco-German designed, and will be built under license by an American company. Some of the money will go to Europe.

To compare it to autos, it would be as if GM and Volkswagen competed for a new government fleet purchase worth billions. Volkswagen wins, but Ford will build the Volkswagen design in Detroit.

The factory is here, but the design would be Volkswagen's, and some of the money goes to VW.

As a point of fact, almost all airliners involve contractors all over the world now. In the U.S., Boeing designs the overall project and completes final assembly here. In Europe, Airbus designs the overall project and completes final assembly there. In this case, Airbus designs the overall project and completes final assembly in the U.S. with Northrop Grumman.

[Kathekon]

I saw some speculation that it was a payoff to France in order to help Sarkozy muster support to improve ties with the US.

Or maybe Boeing just offered an inferior design and lost the bid.

[Rhino]

Boeing didn't offer an inferior design. I believe it was just too expensive. That's supposedly why McCain torpedoed it the first time around. And yes, foreign companies can bid on defense contracts. It happens all the time.