Print edition: 
Northrop Grumman won't bid against Boeing in a competition for U.S. Air Force tankers unless the terms of the competition change, a top executive told the Pentagon's top weapons buyer.
Northrop Grumman president Wes Bush sent a letter to Ashton Carter, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics.
"Absent a responsive set of changes in the final RFP (request for proposal), Northrop Grumman has determined that it cannot submit a bid to the Department for the KC-X program," Bush said in the letter.
Northrop Grumman planned to offer an Airbus A330 for the program and said it was convinced its offering would be the best.
"Furthermore, we are aware of how important it is to the credibility of the ultimate KC-X tanker award that it be arrived at competitively," he said.
It's clear, Bush said in the letter, that the draft request for proposal favors a smaller aircraft. In addition, the proposal imposes contractual and financial burdens on the company that it can't accept.
A Department of Defense official said it wants competition but it can't compel Northrop or Boeing to compete.
"Both offers have suggested changes to the RFP that would favor their offering," the DOD said.
"But the Department cannot and will not change the warfighter requirements for the tanker to give advantage to either competitor. The Department has played this right down the middle and will continue to do so."
For more on this story, come back to Kansas.com and look in Wednesday's Eagle.
