Pentagon's record contract: a recording error

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department said on Thursday it was awarding what might have been its richest-ever single contract at $24 billion, but it erred by a factor of 1,000.

The supposedly huge deal, listed in the Pentagon's daily contract digest, was said to have gone to Boeing Co for engineering support of the Air Force's KC-135 refueling fleet.

"No one at Boeing knows of a contract of anything of this magnitude," said Forrest Gossett, a company spokesman in St. Louis.

The Air Force referred callers to Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where the contract was handled. A base spokesman, Ralph Monson, said the real deal was for $24 million -- a difference of more than $23.9 billion.

"The correct figure was $24 million," he told Reuters, adding three extra zeros had been tacked on by mistake.

"No clue how," he said after checking with the base's bean counters. "Thanks for bringing it to our attention."