Gates to meet U.S. senator on arms chief, tanker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates is due to meet Senator Richard Shelby on Thursday to discuss the nominee for chief Pentagon weapons buyer and a long-delayed aerial refueling plane competition.

Shelby's spokesman Jonathan Graffeo said the two men would meet at Shelby's congressional office on Thursday, following Shelby's meeting on Monday with Ashton Carter, President Barack Obama's nominee for defense undersecretary for acquisitions.

Shelby on Monday said he was encouraged by his meeting with Carter, but would maintain a hold on the nomination until after he met with Gates. He said Carter assured him that he wanted to buy the best value tanker and cost was not the only criteria.

Shelby and fellow Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, both of Alabama, are holding up Carter's confirmation by the Senate.

They are worried that a new competition for aerial refueling aircraft would result in a price "shoot out" that work against the larger plane proposed by Northrop Grumman Corp and its European partner, EADS.

Northrop was awarded a $35 billion tanker contract in February 2008, and planned to build that plane in Alabama, but the Pentagon canceled the deal after government auditors upheld a protest filed by losing bidder Boeing Co.

Northrop officials have said they are worried that an Air Force debriefing given to Boeing after the contract award may have included pricing data that could give it an advantage in the new competition.

Gates told reporters last week that he expected movement on the nomination soon.

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved Carter's nomination earlier this month, but it cannot be voted on by the full Senate until Shelby and Sessions lift their hold.