Good article, sum up what we've been saying - Boeing a little arrogant about the procurement. Didn't offer anything distinctive, and treated the AF with contempt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/bu...hp&oref=slogin
My favourite part though:
(who do you think he's talking about? the UK? France? Japan? I think France)
....
Experts warned that excluding foreign competitors could prompt other countries to take similar steps against American defense manufacturers and that choosing inferior domestic products would only put military service members at risk. That tendency, acted on in other countries, has already created what one analyst, Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, called “a hideous mix of higher costs and reduced combat effectiveness.”
.....