In a matter of hours, the Pentagon will announce the winner of the KC-135 replacement. The project officially started a decade ago,during which several high profile ethics investigations into Boeing were launched, several individuals involved in the bid were jailed, Boeing employees were sacked, the CEO of Boeing resigned, and EADS won the bid in a 2008 upset only to have the win overturned by the GSA.
I for one, am hoping for EADS' KC-30 (the original KC-45) to win the competition.
Update: Boeing is the winner of the KC-135 Replacement contract
Now comes the fun part, EADS is going to appeal the decision, and over the next six months, their appeal will be considered (and eventually rejected). As compensation, I am willing to wager that the KC-30 will be considered as a KC-10 (the DC-10 based tanker) replacement. That order, however, will be for a paltry 60 aircraft. Had the KC-30 won this competition, Boeing would have likely pitched a KC-777 as a KC-10 replacement, which they would have likely won.
Still, this outcome is quite a surprise.
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