The Pentagon awarded a multibillion-dollar tanker contract to a partnership between Northrop Grumman and EADS, the European parent of Airbus, according to an announcement Friday.
The Pentagon made a surprising reversal from their initial award deal with the Boeing Company.
The Air Force made its choice after a fierce competition between the two teams for one of the single largest defense contracts in U.S. history. Estimated at up to $40 billion, the USAF deal includes 179 planes to be delivered over the next 10-15 years.
Boeing was considered a heavy favorite due mainly to its political clout and its legacy of building aircraft for the U.S. military. Boeing had been supplying refueling tankers to the Air Force for nearly 50 years.
The tanker contest pitted Northrop's larger, more capable KC-30 against Boeing's smaller, more agile KC-767. Los Angeles-based Northrop plans to assemble its tankers in Mobile, AL, creating up to 1,500 jobs in a new factory at the Brookley Field Industrial Complex. Airbus, an EADS subsidiary, has announced plans to add another 300 jobs by shifting production of a commercial air freighter to Brookley.
The tanker announcement is the second major economic development project for Mobile County in the past year.
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