Boeing 
is the winner of the Air Force’s KC-X tanker competition, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley announced Thursday. The service chose the Chicago-based aerospace giant’s 767-based NewGen Tanker over the A330-based tanker model that EADS North America offered in the high-stakes competition. Boeing has received the initial development contract, valued at more than $3.5 billion, to provide the first 18 new-build tankers by 2017. The Air Force intends to buy 179 of them to replace its oldest KC-135s. Donley said the new tanker’s designation will be the KC-46A. While Donley said both companies had submitted a proposal that was “awardable,” Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn said “Boeing was a clear winner” during the same Pentagon briefing. Lynn said he believed that the evaluation process was “transparent and open” and would not provide grounds for EADS to file a legal protest. But he noted that the company has the right to do that if it thinks it was treated unfairly. For more, continue to Air Force Picks Boeing Tanker.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.