he tanker debate goes on in the US

The tanker debate goes on in the US. The Pentagon denied over the weekend that the bid submitted by Northrop Grumman and EADS might benefit from European government subsidies. In a comment piece, International Herald Tribune assesses the “Air Force tanker mess”. The US daily highlights that the USAF really needs new tankers to replace its “decades old” ones. But the DoD seems “incapable” of procuring a new fleet. For the newspaper, “healthy competition” is the best way to ensure the Pentagon buys the best planes at the best price, and the GAO did not say which was the best plane, in fact. Now, the Pentagon is likely to follow the government watchdog’s recommendations, but a new bidding process could very well be “further tainted by election-year politics”. Reuters (27/06), Dow Jones Newswires (27/06), International Herald Tribune, The Washington Post (27/06)