CHRONOLOGY-UPDATE 1-EADS jumps into U.S. tanker fray

April 20 (Reuters) - Airbus parent EADS' (EAD.PA) said it will challenge Boeing Co (BA.N) for a multibillion-dollar U.S. aerial tanker contract, the latest twist in a politically charged procurement drama that began just after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks. [ID:nN20110428]

This is the U.S. Air Force's third attempt since 2001 to begin replacing its existing fleet of KC-135 refueling planes, which are now nearly 50 years old on average. Two earlier efforts failed amid ethics violations and technical mistakes.

Following is a chronology of events in what Boeing's commercial airplane chief Jim Albaugh has described as "the longest-running soap opera since 'Days of Our Lives'":

* Sept. 25, 2001 - Darleen Druyun, then the Air Force's No. 2 acquisition official, meets with officials at Boeing to lay out a strategy to lease 100 Boeing 767s.

* January 2002 - Congress passes a law appropriating defense funds for fiscal year 2002 that includes language saying the Air Force may lease up to 100 Boeing 767s. A month later, Air Force requests information from Boeing and Airbus parent EADS about tanker capabilities.

* September 2002 - Facing questions from Arizona Republican Senator John McCain about the urgency to replace tankers, the Air Force begins to cite a significant corrosion problem. However, the comments are contradicted by formal studies that view the corrosion problem as manageable.

* October 2002 - While still negotiating with Boeing about the tanker lease, Druyun meets with then-Boeing Chief Financial Officer Michael Sears to discuss a job offer. Sears tells her: "This meeting really didn't take place." A month later Druyun retires and accepts a $250,000-a-year job with Boeing.

* Jan. 3, 2003 - Boeing announces Druyun's hiring. Watchdog group Project on Government Oversight describes it as "one of the most egregious examples in recent memory of the revolving door between the federal government and defense contractors."

* May 23, 2003 - Then-Pentagon chief arms buyer Edward Aldridge approves $23.5 billion Air Force plan to lease, then buy, Boeing 767 tankers, four days before he retires.

* Nov. 24, 2003 - Boeing fires Druyun and Sears for unethical conduct in Druyun's hiring. Boeing Chief Executive Phil Condit resigns a week later.

* March 29, 2004 - Pentagon inspector general says the Air Force's tanker procurement strategy was inappropriate and recommends a halt until the Pentagon resolves several issues.

* April 21, 2004 - Druyun pleads guilty to a conflict of interest violation for discussing a job with Boeing while still overseeing billions of dollars of its business with the Air Force. She is later sentenced to nine months in prison.

* Nov. 16, 2004 - Sears pleads guilty to violating federal conflict of interest laws. He is later sentenced to four months in federal prison.

* September 2005 - Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) says it will team with EADS to compete for an Air Force tanker contract, offering a variant of the A330 airliner.

* January 2007 - The Air Force releases final rules for a new tanker competition after agreeing to exempt a World Trade Organization dispute between the European Union and the United States that could have knocked Northrop out of the contest.

* April 2007 - Boeing and the Northrop-EADS team submit bids in the tanker competition. The Air Force says more than 150 experts will examine the bids.

* October 2007 - The Air Force's No. 2 acquisition official, Charles Riechers, is found dead at his home in an apparent suicide. Riechers was working on the tanker program and was under scrutiny for a temporary job arrangement by the service while he awaited Senate confirmation.

* January 2008 - EADS and Northrop Grumman promise to build tankers at an Alabama plant should they win. Boeing would build its plane at plants in Kansas and Washington state if it won.

* February/March 2008 - The Air Force awards a projected $35 billion contract for up to 179 refueling planes to Northrop and EADS, and Boeing protests the award on March 10, citing "serious flaws" in the acquisition process.

* June 18, 2008 - The GAO upholds the Boeing protest of the Air Force tanker contract award to Northrop after finding what it calls "significant errors" in the acquisition process. The Air Force begins to correct the errors.

* Sept. 10, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert Gates cancels the Northrop contract. He says the process is too politicized to resolve before the Bush administration leaves office.

* Sept. 25, 2009 - The Air Force releases draft rules for a new tanker competition. Northrop says the terms favor Boeing's smaller 767 tanker and in December informs the Pentagon that it will not bid unless significant changes are made.

* Feb. 24, 2010 - The Pentagon and Air Force release a revised final request for proposals, but lawmakers say the changes are slight and might not satisfy Northrop.

* March 8, 2010 - Northrop says it will not submit a bid. A day later, EADS officials rule out making a solo bid for the U.S. tanker contract under current terms and timetable.

* March 12, 2010 - French President Nicolas Sarkozy accuses Washington of engaging in protectionism with its revamped tanker rules. In Washington, the Pentagon signals it may extend the May 10 deadline to give EADS more time to prepare a bid.

* March 30, 2010 - Sarkozy, at a joint news conference with President Barack Obama in Washington, says EADS will bid if the tanker terms are fair and open.

* March 31, 2010 - Pentagon says it will extend tanker bid deadline by 60 days to July 9 if EADS agrees to bid, but the offer falls short of EADS' request for 90 extra days.

* April 6, 2010 - L-3 Communications Holdings (LLL.N) emerges as the most likely company to be a key supplier to EADS for its tanker proposal.

* April 15, 2010 - EADS scrambles to find another partner after L-3's interest in tanker bid wanes. U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, who heads the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is quoted as saying he hopes companies will not team with EADS, prompting Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama to accuse Dicks of "political intimidation."

* April 20, 2010 - EADS North America announces that it will compete directly with Boeing for the tanker contract, with its chairman Ralph Crosby calling it "a hell of an opportunity." (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Matthew Lewis)