EADS/Airbus have not yet informed the Defense Department if it will bid on the KC-X tanker contract, and they better do so soon, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said Thursday. Speaking at an Aerospace Industries Association-sponsored event in the US Capitol, Lynn said that the Pentagon will need some notice “sufficiently ahead of May 10,” the deadline for tanker bid submissions, if the company expects to be accommodated in its request for an extension of the filing deadline. “I think they’re on the verge of a decision,” Lynn said. “I think we’ll know quite soon.”
Earlier this week, the People’s Republic of China confirmed it is halting its nuclear arms control talks with the U.S., in retaliation for the U.S. continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. The move reinforces a “pattern of behavior” from Beijing, experts say.