Not Surprisingly, Boeing Proponents Applaud Delay

If you thought the current rhetorical stampede to the November 4 US presidential election was overly political, you obviously haven't been following the oft-delayed (and even more-oft-bungled... remember Darleen Druyun?) KC-X tanker competition.

On Wednesday, pundits and observers alike reacted to the Pentagon's surprise announcement it has deferred making a decision indefinitely on whether the first round of a lucrative contract should go to Boeing, or Northrop/EADS.

Below is a summary of reaction from Boeing and Northrop Grumman proponents, courtesy of The Associated Press:

• "With this delay, it is conceivable that our warfighters will be forced to fly tankers as old as 80 years of age." -- Northrop spokesman Randy Belote.
• "Unacceptable... [it] clearly places business interests above the interests of the warfighter... We are a nation at war, sending our pilots into battle on planes that are largely older than they are. This approach is irresponsible, shortsighted and harmful to both the warfighter and the nation." -- Alabama Senator Richard Shelby. Northrop planned to locate the final assembly facility for its KC-45A tanker (as well as the Airbus A330-200 Freighter) in Mobile.
• "They didn't have enough time to do it right." -- Washington Congressman Norman Dicks.
• "A reality check on a procurement process that got very complicated and a little muddied." -- Washington Senator Patty Murray

And, perhaps, two voices of reason...

• "The pace of the protest and re-competition happened so fast, there hasn't been an opportunity for policy makers to step back and deliberately be objective." -- Lexington Group aerospace analyst Loren Thompson.
• "Our current tankers have held up well, but they are more than 50 years old. Further delaying their replacements puts our airmen and our national security at risk.... The decision to delay procurement of a new tanker flies in the face of that commitment, and of common sense." -- North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad, to the Grand Forks Herald.

FMI: www.dod.mil, www.boeing.com/ids, www.northropgrumman.com