UPDATE 1-Northrop lobbying Congress hard over tanker win

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By Bill Rigby

NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is systematically lobbying members of the U.S. Congress to build support for its victory in a controversial contest to supply refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force.

Northrop, which teamed up with Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) to clinch the first stage of the $35 billion program, is facing an official protest from losing bidder Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and threats from some lawmakers to block funding of the deal.

"We're making our way through them," said Paul Meyer, vice president of Northrop's air mobility systems unit, referring to individual members of Congress. "We are going to be very prevalent and stay focused in front of the press to make sure the facts are always on the table."

Boeing, which was widely expected to win the tanker contract, has faulted the Air Force's decision-making process.

Meanwhile, its congressional supporters -- chiefly from the states of Washington and Kansas, where Boeing has its main plane-making plants -- have accused the Air Force of exporting jobs and endangering national security by awarding the job to the Northrop/EADS team.

Northrop, which plans to adapt an Airbus A330 jet into a tanker for the U.S. Air Force, has countered that no U.S. jobs or military technology will be sent abroad.

"We're not going to spend any time on ... the states of Washington and Kansas, because they have a vested interest in a different outcome," Meyer said on a conference call with Wall Street analysts on Tuesday. "But everyone else we are systematically going through."