EADS protest decision depends on Air Force briefing

By Jolie Lee
Federal News Radio

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) said it will hold off on any decision to protest its loss of the $35 billion KC-X tanker award until after a Monday briefing where the Air Force will explain its reasons for awarding the contract to Boeing.

Thursday’s announcements of the contract award came as a surprise to many after defense analysts, politicians, factory workers and even company executives had expected Netherlands-based EADS to win after a years-long battle with Boeing due to delays and missteps.

“This is certainly a disappointing turn of events, and we look forward to discussing with the Air Force how it arrived at this conclusion,” said EADS North America Chairman Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., in a statement Thursday. “For seven years our goal has been to provide the greatest capability to our men and women in uniform, and to create American jobs by building the KC-45 here in the U.S. We remain committed to those objectives.”

Defense analyst Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group, told Federal News Radio that the discussion prior to the contract announcement pointed in EADS’ favor. But Air Force statements yesterday pointed to an “iron-clad” argument for Boeing, he said.

“The Air Force is speaking as though they have an open and closed case here, that everything’s been very carefully done and the numbers speak for themselves,” Aboulafia said. “But, then again, that’s what they said before the last protest back in 2008.”

The KC-X award goes beyond building 179 refueling tanker jets. By winning, Boeing effectively blocked EADS from becoming a more significant supplier in the North American market, MarketWatch reports.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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