WASHINGTON – Northrop Grumman will announce later today it will not bid on a $35 billion contract to start replacing the Air Force’s aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers, Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., confirmed

The decision by Northrop Grumman does not automatically mean Boeing will win the contract. There were reports the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS), the parent company of Airbus, might consider bidding. But Dicks said he didn’t think that was likely.

Northrop Grumman is expected to make its announcement after the financial markets close.

Northrop Grumman had teamed with EADS and offered a tanker based …

Read more »

The likelihood that Boeing is moving more of its operations to South Carolina hit a nerve with our elected officials. Here are the comments from the governor, Senate minority leader and Senate majority leader.

(Posted in the order in which they arrived in my e-mail box.)

UPDATE: I Dream of Jeanne has a comment, too.

Here is Gov. Chris Gregoire‘s take:

Gov. Gregoire’s statement on Boeing 787 second line

OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire today issued the following statement on Boeing’s 787 second production line:

“My philosophy is ‘it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.’ I am continuing to work with both sides to urge them to keep talking and reach an agreement that would result in the second line being located in Washington. Senator Murray, Representative Dicks and Representative Larsen are also working hard on this and I appreciate their tireless efforts. If there is a deal to be struck, we will leave no stone unturned in trying to strike it.
Read more »

This from Washington, D.C. correspondent Les Blumenthal:

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray has invited the machinists union and Boeing to her office to talk about the second assembly line for the company’s new 787 aircraft.

Boeing is expected to decide in the next week or so whether to put the final assembly line for the Dreamliner in Charleston, S.C., or at its facility in Everett. South Carolina is a right to work state, which means workers are under no obligation to join a union even if other workers in the same company are unionized. Everett workers are unionized.

Boeing has been …

Read more »

When Gov. Chris Gregoire asked Boeing what else it needed from the state before it made it’s decision about a second 787 assembly line, the company said “No.”

“He said, ‘I’ll let you know if there is,’ ” Gregoire said today of her recent meeting with Boeing Commercial Airplane Group president Jim Albaugh.

“There’s nothing more we can do,” Gregoire said, the day after releasing a report that makes the economic and quality of life case for keeping both assembly lines in Everett. Boeing has said it is looking at other states to build some of …

Read more »

That’s sorta what state Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, had to say about Gov. Chris Gregoire‘s release of the case to keep the 2nd assembly line of the 787 in Washington.

What he did say was this: “The only ranking that counts when it comes to Boeing will be the one made in the corporate board room.”

Read Hewitt’s full news release below. And scroll further down the blog for the earlier post on Boeing, et. al.

Sen. Mike Hewitt’s statement on Gov. Gregoire’s 787 ‘business case’ report

Today Gov. Gregoire issued a report titled “The Business Case for Consolidating Boeing 787 Assembly in Washington.” Sen. Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, issued this statement in response to the report. Hewitt is the state Senate Minority Leader and a member of Gov. Gregoire’s Council on Aerospace.

“While this report is beautiful and glossy and filled with rankings, is there really any substance here that Boeing hasn’t already considered? I want the company to stay in Washington as much as everyone else, but it’s time to stop resting on rankings and look at where we really are on the ground.
Read more »

Probably not. But hey, we’ve got a report that came out after Boeing started leasing buildings in South Carolina.

This report, “The business case for consolidating Boeing 787 assembly in Washington,” just came out today.

It’s not exactly like closing the barn door after the horse gets out. It’s more like publishing a report that says “our barn was the best barn” after the horse gets out (and leases a barn in South Carolina.)

I’m trying to post a link here. The link works now, thanks to Dave Wickert.

Gov. Chris Gregoire says she will meet with reporters tomorrow …

Read more »