Tuesday October 27, 07:05 PM
UPDATE 1-Alabama lawmakers say Pentagon tanker rules unfair
WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Alabama lawmakers criticized the Pentagon's bidding rules for a multibillion dollar contract to upgrade the Air Force's aerial refueling fleet, saying the procedure unfairly favored Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) .
'I believe it's already tilted toward Boeing. I believe it's a sham,' Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican, told reporters at a news conference.
Alabama stands to gain jobs if Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC - news) and its partner Airbus (Paris: NL0000235190 - news) parent EADS (EAD.NX - news) win the contract because much of the final assembly work would be done there.
Boeing and Northrop have been poring over a draft request for proposals issued by the Air Force on Sept. 25.
The contract up for bidding is to supply the Air Force with an initial 179 tankers, the first of three batches to be bought over coming decades at a projected cost of at least $100 billion. The Pentagon hopes to award a contract by June with the first planes delivered in 2015 and operational in 2017.
The competition is the Pentagon's third attempt in eight years to start replacing its KC-135 tankers, which average more than 50 years old.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa) Keywords: USA/TANKER
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