Pentagon to Reopen $35B Tanker Bid

— The Pentagon will re-compete a $35 billion contract to build the Air Force's fleet of new refueling tankers and pick a new winner by the end of the year, lawmakers said Wednesday. Reps. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., and Norm Dicks, D-Wash., said the Office of the Secretary of Defense — not the Air Force — will oversee the competition between Boeing Co. and a team led by Northrop Grumman Corp. The plan, which hands control to the Pentagon's top acquisition chief and sets up a dedicated source-selection committee, indicates that senior civilians at the Defense Department have lost confidence in the Air Force's ability to manage the contract. "I think it's better," Dicks said. "No one has any faith in the Air Force." The Government Accountability Office last month detailed "significant errors" the Air Force made in the original award... [read full story]