WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department, Air Force and Boeing Co brushed off a Northrop Grumman Corp complaint that Northrop had been fundamentally disadvantaged in a renewed battle to sell the Air Force a potential $50 billion mid-air refueling fleet.

The department and the Air Force jointly reiterated their view that Northrop's tanker-related pricing information given to Boeing after a canceled award last year created no competitive disadvantage because the data in question are inaccurate, outdated and not germane to this source-selection strategy. (Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

U.S.