Northrop, EADS put off groundbreaking for tanker factories

Northrop Grumman announced Friday that it has postponed the planned June 28 groundbreaking for two facilities in Mobile, Ala., designed to produce Air Force tanker planes based on the Airbus A330.

The move came a day after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained Boeing's protest of the Air Force tanker award to Northrop and its partner, Airbus parent company EADS (European Aeronautic Defence & Space).

If Northrop and EADS win the tanker award, Airbus will build a factory to assemble the A330s in Mobile, alongside a planned Northrop facility for installing military systems and finishing the tankers. Airbus would also assemble A330 commercial cargo planes at its plant. The two facilities, if built, will together employ around around 1,800 workers.

No new date has been set for the groundbreaking at Brookley Field in Mobile.