The Pentagon plans to reopen the competition this summer to replace the Air Force’s fleet of aerial tankers, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates still wants to go with one supplier – either Boeing or the Northrop Grumman/EADS North America team. Gates, who announced his proposed fiscal 2010 budget today, also wants to put more money into the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project. Both projects are important to the Gulf Coast region. The tankers would be assembled in Mobile, Ala., if the Northrop/EADS team wins. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the designated home of the Joint Strike Fighter Training Center. (Source: Multiple, 04/06/09)
