At Boeing, shock — and then anger

He said the decision to have Northrop and EADS build the new tanker would be difficult to overturn if an appeal occurred. Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group in Fairfax, Va., said the decision was not “what anyone expected” because Boeing had the home team and incumbent advantage. He said there is very little historical precedent that a protest would result in overturning an award.