Boeing Chief Executive James McNerney said he is worried that European defense giant EADS will enjoy an advantage in the upcoming tanker competition because of its exemptions from US laws on export controls. Speaking with The Seattle Times, McNerney said that the problem with the tanker competition is not the oft-cited subsidies EADS gets from European nations, but rather the export controls and business transparency regulations that have a major impact Boeing but not on the Europeans. “The only think that we ask for is that we play by the same rules,” McNerney said.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.