Boeing failure to deliver on recent defense contracts was a key reason the Air Force didn't pick it to fill a $40 billion contract for refueling tankers. Lexington Institute analyst Loren Thompson says the decision "was not a close outcome." Based on their track records, Northrop Grumman and EADS, not Boeing, were judged better able to deliver the tankers on time, he says, plus the KC-30 was considered a more capable plane. Top Pentagon weapons buyer Susan Payton said her team didn't consider the impact on U.S. jobs, but instead "balanced the requirements of the war fighter with the best interests of the taxpayer."