With the recession lingering and state unemployment high, much of Alabama is paying attention to the contest between Northrop Grumman/European-based aircraft manufacturer EADS and Boeing over which bidder will build a refueling tanker for the U.S. Air Force.

If Northrop Grumman/EADS wins, the plane will be assembled at a $600 million factory to be built at Mobile's Brookley Field Industrial Complex. Many Alabamians will find work there.

So far, every step in the process has been challenged by one side or the other.

Boeing and its supporters in Congress are pushing the Pentagon to factor in a World Trade Organization dispute that claims EADS received illegal support from the French government. In a counter claim, it is being asserted that Boeing also has received similar help in the past from Washington.

EADS says the charges against it are irrelevant to the competition. The Pentagon says that even if the charges were true, WTO bylaws prohibit them from being factored into the contest.

Meanwhile, both sides talk about lost jobs, technological setbacks and national security.

And now a delegation from Mobile has gone to Washington and raised the possibility of splitting the contract, something Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he opposes. However, Northrop Grumman/EADS, apparently after concluding the deck is stacked against them, is also beginning to talk about a split buy.

Meanwhile, the Air Force tanker fleet gets older and older.

If a split buy is what it takes to get planes built and flying, then that is the route to go. However, it should be clear that the tanker being built is the best tanker for the job. Earlier competition gave the contract to Northrop/EADS based on that criteria, and any split buy must take that into consideration when determining which company's design is accepted.

Naturally, this page hopes that either with a divided contract or an all-or-nothing decision, Mobile gets much of the work. However, let's keep in mind that the main purpose of this contract is to build the best tanker for the Air Force.

Though what is ultimately decided will obviously stimulate the economy of the state and region where the work is done, this is not an economic stimulus effort.

The decision should be based on national security needs first and foremost.