Boeing submits new bid for USAF refuelling contract

Boeing has submitted its fresh bid to supply refuelling aircraft for the US Air Force.

It comes a day after arch-rival EADS delivered its attempt to win the contract to the Pentagon.

The contract, which has been long delayed, is worth $35bn (£23bn).

Earlier this week, a World Trade Organisation (WTO) investigation into whether Boeing receives illegal subsidies from the US government postponed its decision on the matter.

Both the US and the European Union have reported each other's companies to the WTO, alleging illegal subsidies.

The WTO ruled at the end of June that the EU had paid illegal subsidies to the EADS subsidiary, Airbus.

The EU and Airbus criticised the delay over the Boeing decision.

Boeing is struggling due to the major delays faced in the introduction of its 787 Dreamliner.

The firm said that its hand-delivered proposal would offer a US-made tanker, based on its 767 planes, meeting all Air Force requirements at the lowest cost to the taxpayer.

It added 50,000 jobs and 8,000 suppliers would be supported if it won the contract, adding it was the "only company in this competition with rich experience in developing and manufacturing derivative aircraft for the warfighter".

The US hopes to have chosen a winner by November.

It is replacing its current fleet of tankers, some of which date back to the late-1950s.

Several previous attempts to choose a contractor have failed - one because of a dispute between Boeing and its then-rival Northrop Grumman.

The decision is highly political and although EADS plans to build its craft within the US, it is seen as very much a European business.

BBC