air force tanker order

Aerospace is an intensely nationalist business. But not only do aircraft makers get tied up in international political dogfights, such battle lines are drawn between states as well. Witness the just-completed competition between blue state Boeing and red state Airbus.

The Air Force, still in need of airborne refueling craft, plans to buy 179 of these so-called tankers starting in fiscal 2011. The $35 billion contract for turning out about 15 planes a year may be awarded by June 2010, according to Bloomberg News. The Air Force has tried many times to make this...