Once again, for the second time in four years, the Air Force's drive to bring on a new aerial refueling aircraft has hit the wall. It's now anybody's guess how long the program will be delayed, and the prospect of Congress injecting itself in the process looms large. In June, government auditors dealt the latest blow, upholding a Boeing protest based on a claim that the service made serious errors in giving Northrop Grumman a $35 billion contract to replace aging aerial tankers. The auditors recommended that US AF take steps to correct the problems, possibly to the point of redoing the competition.
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