Pentagon says it may extend tanker-bid deadline - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Pentagon says it may extend tanker-bid deadline

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell has confirmed that Department of Defense officials are considering extending the deadline for bids in the Air Force’s aerial refueling plane competition, Agence France-Presse reported.

Sources on Capitol Hill and elsewhere suggested last week that such an extension might be in order after EADS, the European defense and aerospace giant, signaled its interest in bidding.

Morrell later confirmed this to Air Force Times.

“The Department has received notification from EADS North America indicating possible interest in competing for the Air Force’s KC-X Tanker and we would welcome that,” Morrell said in an e-mail Thursday. “Consistent with our commitment to conduct a fair and open competition, the Department invites proposals from all qualified contractors and, if necessary, we would consider a reasonable extension to the RFP deadline.”

Morrell went on to say that such extensions aren’t unusual. He said the Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance aircraft, the VH-71 presidential helicopter, the Littoral Combat Ship and the Air Force’s Small Diameter Bomb and others had received similar extensions.

EADS’ participation in the $35 billion KC-X tanker program was placed in jeopardy earlier this month when U.S. partner Northrop Grumman announced that it would withdraw from the competition. Northrop officials contend that the Pentagon’s latest revised bidding guidelines favor rival Boeing.

EADS notified DoD of its possible interest, Morell said, and Pentagon officials “would consider a reasonable extension to the RfP [Request for Proposals] deadline.”

The deadline is currently mid-May.

Earlier in the day, EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois told reporters that his firm may still be interested in bidding for the program.

Gallois said the current deadline set for requests for proposals for the tanker contract was too short for EADS to find another partner to develop a proposal with.

“Is it the end of the story? It’s not in our hands. It’s in the hands of the Pentagon,” he said.

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Staff writers Antonie Boessenkool, John T. Bennett, and John Reed contributed to this report.