GAO backs Boeing's protest over tanker award
By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch
Last update: 4:23 p.m. EDT June 18, 2008NEW YORK (MarketWatch) --
The Government Accountability Office on Wednesday backed Boeing Co.'s protest against the U.S. Air Force and its award of a $35 billion contract to Northrop Grumman (and built by foreign owned Airbus unit of EADS) to begin replacing its Eisenhower-era Stratotankers.
In a statement, the GAO said that the Air Force should reopen its bidding process and reimburse Boeing for the costs of filing and pursuing the protest, including reasonable attorney fees.
The Air Force said that that it would review the GAO ruling and comment further at a later time. Nonetheless, most analysts have said the Air Force will abide by the ruling, pushing out the contract award by at least another year.
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