Budget: $12B for five years for tanker

The Pentagon expects to award a contract for the new refueling tanker this summer and allocated $12 billion to pay for the program over the next five fiscal years. Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers, the Air Force's budget official, said the final request for bids will be issued this month. There is no guarantee Congress won't interject itself into the decision. Boeing and the Northrop Grumman/EADS team, which wants to assemble the tankers in Mobile, Ala., are locked in an intense lobbying battle over the $35 billion contract. (Source: The Hill, 02/01/10)