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03/10/2008: "Here Comes The Other Shoe"

Following the receipt of a Air Force debrief, Boeing announced this evening that they will file a formal protest with the Government Accounting Office requesting a review of the decision to award the replacement tanker deal to the Northrop Grumman / EADS team.

"Our team has taken a very close look at the tanker decision and found serious flaws in the process that we believe warrant appeal," said Jim McNerney, Boeing chairman, president and chief executive officer. "This is an extraordinary step rarely taken by our company, and one we take very seriously."

"Based upon what we have seen, we continue to believe we submitted the most capable, lowest risk, lowest Most Probable Life Cycle Cost airplane as measured against the Air Force's Request for Proposal," McNerney said. "We look forward to the GAO's review of the decision."

No real surprise here. Whether for show or representative of genuine surprise at the decision, this is the first step in what is doubtless going to be a protracted legal battle.

If you're a concrete merchant in Alabama hoping to get in on that new EADS facility, I'd hold off on stocking up on inventory just yet ...