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EADS considers solo bid for tanker contract

EADS North America is ready to bid for the Air Force’s tanker contract as a prime contractor without an American defense giant as a partner, sources said.

The company has concluded its past performance as a defense contractor will meet with a positive reception from the Pentagon.

EADS spokesman Guy Hicks said the company has not yet decided to bid for the tanker award.

“DoD has welcomed our participation in the tanker competition,” Hicks said. “EADS North America has demonstrated its ability to be a prime contractor and we feel a deep sense of responsibility and commitment to the U.S. warfighter, to the taxpayer and the communities where we do business in the United States. We have the most capable system. We have never lost to Boeing in a tanker competition.”

According to sources, EADS had been in talks with a number of major U.S. defense contractors as a partner in the upcoming competition.

The decision comes two weeks after EADS’ partner on the last tanker competition, Northrop Grumman, decided against bidding for the new contract, accusing the Pentagon of crafting a request that favors the smaller aircraft that Boeing is going to offer.

Early Friday, EADS said it would consider bidding for the tanker contract after the Pentagon suggested it would give the company more time to submit a proposal. In a statement, EADS officials said they are “assessing this new situation to determine if the company can feasibly submit a responsive proposal to the Department’s request for proposal.”

EADS officials called the likely extension a “positive sign that the DoD seeks competition.”

But EADS officials want more than additional time to put together a bid and, perhaps, find a new American partner to replace Northrop Grumman.

The Pentagon’s extension “does not address EADS’ underlying concerns that the RfP clearly favors a smaller, less capable aircraft, and that the additional combat capability offered by our system may not be fully valued,” according to the company’s statement.

“An important prerequisite for our consideration of entry into this competition will be a significant extension to the period within which to prepare and submit a proposal,” the statement said. “EADS welcomes the DoD’s recent statement which indicated a willingness to extend the timeframe. Though this is essential, it is only one factor in making a decision for EADS to compete. In the end, the company will only submit a proposal if there is a fair chance to win, after evaluating all relevant factors.”

If EADS, the parent company of jet-maker Airbus, decides against bidding, the only competitor for the multibillion dollar tanker award would be Boeing. The Chicago-based company has already announced it will pursue the contract with a modified version of its 767.

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Staff writer John T. Bennett contributed to this report.