Boeing hails U.S. decision on tanker competition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) on Wednesday welcomed the Pentagon's decision to cancel a $35 billion aerial tanker competition for now, and said it would allow more time for the complex competition to be conducted.

"The Boeing Company welcomes the Defense Department's decision and believes that it will best serve the warfighter in allowing the appropriate time for this important and complex procurement to be conducted in a thorough and open competition," said spokesman Dan Beck.

Boeing lost the initial competition to Northrop Grumman Corp and its European partner EADS (EAD.PA), the parent of Airbus. But the Pentagon decided to redo the competition after government auditors found significant errors. Boeing had threatened to withdraw if it did not get six months to submit a revised bid.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; editing by John Wallace)