By Jim Wolf and Andrea Shalal-Esa Fri Feb 29, 9:23 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent EADS won a $35 billion U.S. Air Force refueling plane deal on Friday in a surprise blow to Boeing, until now the Pentagon's sole supplier of aerial tankers.Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and EADS (EAD.PA), "clearly provided the best value to the government," Sue Payton, the Air Force's top acquisition official, told reporters at a briefing.
The Air Force plans to buy 179 tanker aircraft over the next 15 years to begin replacing its KC-135 tankers, on average 47 years old, that were built by Boeing Co (BA.N).
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