Schwartz: We’re sticking with tanker RfP - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Schwartz: We’re sticking with tanker RfP

The U.S. Air Force does not plan to modify its request for proposals in the KC-X aerial refueling plane program despite the withdrawal of one of two expected bidders, said Gen. Norton Schwartz, the service’s chief of staff, at a March 10 congressional hearing.

Schwartz spoke at a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee’s defense panel.

Northrop Grumman said March 8 it would not bid for the $35 billion program, leaving Boeing as the sole bidder.

“We reached this conclusion based on the structure of the source selection methodology defined in the RfP, which clearly favors Boeing’s smaller refueling tanker and does not provide adequate value recognition of the added capability of a larger tanker, precluding us from any competitive opportunity,” Northrop President Wes Bush said in a statement.

In previous KC-X bids, Northrop teamed up with EADS to offer a tanker plane based on the Airbus A330. Airbus is a subsidiary of EADS, the European defense and aerospace group.

Boeing has offered a converted version of its 767 airliner.