In the Boeing camp, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) quickly released a statement following the EADS North America announcement Tuesday confirming news that it would enter the KC-X tanker contest. Murray said she would “continue to work with Republicans and Democrats alike to make clear to the Pentagon and the White House that this is the wrong move for our service members and our workers.” She emphasized that the World Trade Organization had ruled that the Airbus A330 had been developed using illegal subsidies and that holding up the USAF tanker competition “to allow an illegally subsidized foreign company to bid is bade for American workers, our men and women in uniform, taxpayers, and our economy.” She added: “A competition between companies on an equal playing field is one thing. A competition where American workers have to compete with the treasuries of European countries is another.”
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.