US aerospace giant Boeing said it may exit the rebidding for a $35-billion contract to build US Air Force aerial refuelling tankers unless allowed more time to rework its proposal.

The Department of Defence (DoD) was forced in June to rebid the contract after congressional auditors found flaws in the air force's decision to award it to Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, parent of Airbus.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) audited the bidding process after Boeing challenged the decision.

Boeing's defeat by a European company had raised protectionist hackles in the US Congress and shocked the market. Boeing has been the sole supplier of the refuelling tankers.

The Pentagon contract is for 179 aircraft, the initial phase of a fleet replacement project worth some $100bn over the next 30 years.

A Boeing withdrawal from the rebidding would leave the lucrative contract without competition.

Boeing spokesman Dan Beck said that his company needs six months to present a new bid because the company believes the new requirements now call for a plane that can carry more fuel than the original proposal.

'We have asked the Pentagon to allow a six-month timetable for submittal of proposals in this competition,' he said.

'The reason we're asking for that is since the issuance of the draft request for proposal (RFP) two weeks ago, as we've engaged in our discussions with the Pentagon, and .... they're asking for a different kind of airplane than they asked for in the first competition.'

Beck added, 'If we don't get the sufficient time to prepare that proposal, there's really little option for us other than to no-bid in this competition.'

The Boeing spokesman said that after three meetings between Boeing and Pentagon officials, the company has concluded the new bid will require a plane capable of carrying more fuel than the plane it originally offered.

'This is a new competition. Make no mistake about that. The requirements have changed,' Beck said.

At a news briefing, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to reveal the specific timelines for the RFP to be released next week.

'The proposal will have the specific timelines in it. I'm not going to get into it now. And whether or not a company desires to compete is entirely up to them,' he said.

Asked about Boeing's request for a six-month timetable, Whitman said the DoD 'is interested in moving ahead in an expeditious fashion.

'We have taken what the GAO has told us, what they have recommended for us to do, which in the scheme of the overall proposal were relatively minor but important, addressed all the concerns that the GAO raised,' he said. - TradeArabia News Service