In Brief / AEROSPACE - Air Force wants fixed tanker price

The contest to pick the builder of new aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force may be delayed by at least two months because the Pentagon is pushing Boeing Co. and a team led by Northrop Grumman Corp. to offer a fixed price for as many as 80 planes, almost half the planned order, a top acquisition official said.

That’s a change from previous competitions in which the service sought bids on only the first production batches, delaying negotiations on later orders until a winner was picked.

The Air Force plans to build 179 planes over 15 years to replace its aging KC-135 fleet.