UPDATE 1-Northrop files to dismiss Boeing tanker protest

(Adds details, Boeing statement, background)

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it asked the Government Accountability Office to dismiss the bulk of a Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) protest against the Air Force's decision to award Northrop and Europe's EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) a $35 billion refueling aircraft program.

The Air Force decision has sparked controversy in Congress, where some lawmakers have vowed to block funding for the Northrop deal, which they argue will shift valuable aerospace jobs to EADS's Airbus, a longtime rival of Boeing.

"Much of what Boeing complains about was contained in the KC-X request for proposals and should have been questioned, and even perhaps protested, before the submittal of Boeing's final bid," said Northrop spokesman Randy Belote.

Chicago-based Boeing filed its protest with the GAO, the nonpartisan congressional agency that evaluates contract disputes, on March 11. It argued its bid was evaluated unfairly and the competition was seriously flawed.

GAO is due to rule on the matter by June 19.

The Air Force rejected Boeing's offer on Feb. 29 and awarded the contract for 179 new aerial tankers, which provide fuel to fighters and other warplanes, to Northrop and Airbus.

Northrop said many claims raised in Boeing's protest motion were "untimely" and should be dismissed because they should have been filed before Boeing submitted its final proposal in early January.