Defense Secretary Restores Air Force's Authority Over Tanker Contract

Northrop Grumman Corp. and Airbus have been locking horns with Boeing Co. over the contract for several years. Its status as the only major new military airplane contract in the coming years, combined with the withered state of the U.S. economy, make it an especially big prize for lawmakers and defense contractors.

The Air Force picked Northrop as the winner in February 2008, but Boeing successfully protested the victory through the Government Accountability Office. In the wake of that setback for the Pentagon, Mr. Gates stripped the Air Force of its role running the selection and the Pentagon's top weapons buyer effectively took over the job.

In a speech at the Air Force Association's annual conference, Mr. Gates said the Defense Department "cannot afford the kind of letdowns, parochial squabbles and corporate food fights that have bedeviled this effort in the past."