La USAF decidirá en 2011 que avión sustituirá a sus anticuados KC-135 en la labor de cisterna, en lugar de la fecha límite marcada de 20 de diciembre de 2010.
EADS y Boeing están luchando encarnizadamente por este contrato por 179 aviones, el cual ganó la europea EADS junto a Northrop Grumman en 2008, pero que se canceló por apelación de Boeing al Congreso.
Actualmente Northrop no participa en el concurso (KC-X), programa que la USAF considera vital para su futuro.
EADS presenta un Airbus 330 modificado, mientras Boeing presenta un B767.
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The US Air Force said a final decision on a lucrative contract for a new aerial refueling tanker will be delayed until early next year, instead of a December 20 deadline.
The announcement marked the latest setback in a protracted contest that pits the US aerospace giant Boeing against rival EADS, the parent company of France-based Airbus.
Earlier this year, the Pentagon had promised to choose a winner in the contest in November and then had recently said it would declare a choice no later than December 20.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) and Boeing are in a bidding war for the deal to replace 179 aerial refueling tankers in an aging Boeing-built fleet.
In 2008, EADS in partnership with Northrop Grumman won the contract for the tankers, but the deal was canceled after a successful Boeing appeal to the investigative arm of Congress.
Northrop has dropped out in the latest contest.
US Air Force commanders see the planned KC-X aircraft as crucial to bolstering American air power and are anxious to replace the older Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers that date back to the 1950s.
In the last competition, EADS and Northrop offered a modified Airbus 330, while Boeing proposed an altered 767 in its bid.
Members of Congress have lobbied heavily on behalf of the rival firms, hoping to secure coveted jobs in their states.
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