Half Of The Tanker Pie?

If the tanker contract isn't split, Congressman Artur Davis says there will be at least two more years of fighting and no tanker building.

Davis brought that message to Mobile in hopes of getting local support for a dual buy of the new fleet of refuelers. As it stands right now, Northrop Grumman and EADS are competing against Boeing for the entire 40 billion dollar deal.

There's some support for a split deal- but its not from the Department of Defense. Defense Secretary Robert Gates once said that he would split the deal "over my dead body."

Davis showed up in Alabama on Monday along with other leaders to push the idea. Davis says a dual buy would be a win-win. "I'm gonna be advocating that we make a major effort to get a dual award. So we can stop the politics. Stop the litigation. Stop the battles over the RFP (Request For Proposals) and let's start building tankers in Mobile. 96,000 jobs in this country would be created if we had a dual award."

Northrop won the bid last year and were about to break ground at Brookley Field. Then, Boeing protested and the whole contest was called off. A new winner is expected to be picked by next summer.

Northrop's new website is Best American Tanker.

Boeing's tanker website is United States Tanker.