WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force has awarded a $35 billion contract to build the next generation of air refueling tankers to Boeing Co.
The announcement was made at the Pentagon late Thursday afternoon after the financial markets closed. It was certain to be welcome news in Washington state and Kansas, where much of the work on the tanker will be done.
The $35 billion contract is a major boost to the company and to Boeing workers in the Puget Sound area and in Wichita, Kan., where the planes will be built. Officials say about 50,000 jobs are at stake.
The planes will be based on Boeing’s 767 jetliner. Boeing had competed with the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, known as EADS, for the deal. It was a major disappointment for Alabama, which had been counting on the work at a long-shuttered military base in Mobile.
The Air Force has tried for nearly a decade to replace its aging fleet of Eisenhower-era tankers, the equivalent of a flying gas station.
