Boeing lands $21bn tanker deal
The contract means jobs saved in Washington state
Aircraft maker Boeing has won a controversial contract to lease 100 tanker aircraft to the Pentagon.
Boeing, whose performance has suffered from the slump to hit the global aviation industry over the past three years, stands to earn $21bn over the course of the contract.
The 100 Boeing 767s will be built and modified at Boeing's works in the north-western state of Washington, allowing the US Air Force to speed up the retirement of its current fleet of refuelling tankers, whose average age is 43.
Some in Congress have criticised the deal, including Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, who has called it a disguised handout to Boeing.
He and other opponents have repeatedly delayed the deal, in unhappiness at the decision to lease rather than buy the aircraft.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2933600.stm