Air Force tanker deadline may slip again

Raytheon Beats Boeing for SDB II Contract

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  • Even before word of EADS CEO Sean O’Keefe surviving the plane crash that killed former Senator Ted Stevens, industry analysts were saying the Air Force tanker deal may not be awarded on time. The Wichita Eagle reports awarding the $35 billion contract could be pushed all the way into 2012. A Morgan Stanley aerospace analyst wrote recently she expects the November deadline to slip to a 2011 decision. And another analyst quipped “We all know how well they’ve stuck to their deadlines in the past”. The current November deadline is 10 days after the midterm elections.
  • Raytheon will build a next-generation bomb for military fighter jets. The $450 million dollar Air Force contract is for a new weapon that will be used on jets from the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. The 250-pound bombs will have new sensors that’ll let them hit moving targets from standoff ranges in bad weather. Defense News reports that Raytheon won the contract over Boeing, which is behind the the new bomb’s predecesor.

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