Los Angeles Times: Northrop-Airbus team wins 40 billion aerial tanker deal - by Peter Pae

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Northrop-Airbus team wins 40 billion aerial tanker deal - by Peter Pae

In a stunning upset that could reshape the nation's aerospace industry, Northrop Grumman Corp. and European partner Airbus were tapped Friday for a $40-billion Pentagon contract to build 179 aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force. Century City-based Northrop upset rival Boeing Co. in a surprising win that analysts said could alter the companies' fortunes and erode the Pentagon's long-standing policy of buying weapons systems made by U.S. companies. The award, likely to be the nation's last big Pentagon purchase for at least a decade, will have enormous economic consequences. It will create thousands of jobs around Mobile, Ala., which will become the site of a Northrop production facility, as well as in Southern California.

The Air Force decision is a blow to Boeing's prestige. The deal ultimately could be worth $100 billion.