Northrop Bests Boeing for KC-10 Work

The Air Force has awarded a $3.8 billion contract to perform contractor logistics services for its KC-10 tankers to Northrop Grumman vice Boeing, which produced the KC-10s and has been performing the workload. Boeing plans to review its options and could protest the award, reports New Mexico Business Weekly. In a statement, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) called the contract, which would run nine years and provide 150 to 300 jobs to her state, a “major boon” for the Lake Charles area and was “a show of confidence in the skilled workers of southwest Louisiana.” The contract covers USAF’s 59 KC-10s and two Dutch KDC-10s. In a company statement, Northrop’s technical services sector president James Cameron said, “Our clear focus now is to conduct a flawless phase-in that will facilitate the superior program performance that both the US Air Force and Northrop Grumman demand.