WASHINGTON—Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney on Friday lost out on one of the biggest Pentagon contracts in recent years.
The Air Force awarded its $35 billion tanker aircraft contract to
"We are disappointed by the USAF's selection for the Tanker KC-X program," Pratt said in a statement. "Pratt & Whitney feels the Boeing KC-767 with PW4000 power met all requirements for the KC-X tanker recapitalization project."
The selection of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman and its European-based partner, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., came as a surprise to industry officials and lawmakers. Boeing had been supplying refueling tankers to the Air Force for nearly 50 years and had been widely expected to win the deal.
The tanker deal is also certain to become a flashpoint in a heated debate over the military's use of foreign contractors since Boeing painted the competition as a fight between an American company and its European rival. Boeing is expected to protest the decision.
Members of Connecticut's congressional delegation defended Pratt's workmanship and pledged to find out why the Air Force opted for Northrop.
Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., whose district includes Pratt's East Hartford complex, called it a bad decision.
Larson said he considers the Boeing aircraft to be superior. In addition, selecting Boeing would have kept more jobs in America rather than sending them overseas, the congressman said.
"The Airbus planes are less fuel efficient, too big to land at many European airstrips and ship jobs overseas at a time that we need to keep them in this country," Larson said in a statement. "We will talk to whoever we need to to figure out why this decision was made and what we can do about it."
Sen. Chris Dodd called Pratt workers "the best in the business" and said it was a great loss for the state and the nation.
"I am disappointed in the Pentagon's decision, which is just the latest example of the Administration outsourcing one of America's key national security assets," Dodd said in a statement.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., also said she wants to find out why Boeing lost out.
"Frankly I think the Air Force made a poor decision," she said in a statement. "The Boeing and Pratt and Whitney team put together the best value solution, which has unrivaled capability and operational flexibility. This proposal was also the most cost-efficient option, which is critical in light of tight budgets."
Hartford-based
Windsor Locks-based aerospace manufacturer Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., was also expected to provide key systems for the aircraft if Boeing had won the contract.
