Pentagon chief says Air Force tanker contest fair

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force competition for a $35 billion aerial refueling tanker contract won by Northrop Grumman (NOC.N) and its European partner EADS (EAD.PA) was fair, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday.

The win by a team including a non-American manufacturer over Boeing Co (BA.N) has been criticized by some U.S. lawmakers. Boeing, the No. 2 U.S. defense company, has not yet decided whether to protest the decision.

"I believe, based on the briefings that I've received, that it was a fair competition and a merit-based decision," Gates told reporters.

The Pentagon chief would not speculate about the impact that congressional action on the Air Force decision could have on relations with European partners.

But he noted that defense manufacturing was a global business, something he said lawmakers understood.

"The reality is that we sell aircraft and ships and weapon systems all over the world," he said. "The four countries that I just visited in Asia and in the Middle East -- Australia, Indonesia, India and Turkey -- all have an interest in acquiring American aircraft, as an example.

"So there is a global aspect to this business, and I think that there's an understanding of that" in Congress, he said. (Reporting by Kristin Roberts and Andrew Gray, Editing by John Wallace)