A newspaper investigation shows the Air Force gave Boeing five
months to examine and, in many cases, rewrite the Request For
Proposal on a fleet of refueling aircraft to replace the aging
KC-135s. Knight-Ridder Newspapers reports Boeing officials
eliminated 19 of the specific capabilities requested by the USAF.
There were only 26 in total.
That's not all. The newspaper chain reports Air Force procurement
officials then gave Airbus just 12 days to answer the bid before
awarding the contract to Boeing. Even so, Airbus met 20 of the 26
original conditions.