however, the award was protested by boeing, the other bidder on the project, which was upheld by the gao. in response to the new contest, on 8 march 2010, northrop grumman announced it was abandoning its bid for the new contract, with its ceo stating that the revised bid requirement favored boeing. on 20 april 2010, eads announced it was re-entering the competition and intended to enter a bid with the kc-45.