If Boeing Co. loses its protest of the Air Force’s decision to buy at least $40 billion worth of aerial refueling tankers from a competitor, it may abandon plans to sell its own tanker internationally, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Boeing had counted on the Pentagon to provide enough production volume to make an international tanker business viable, said Mark McGraw, the executive in charge of the Chicago company’s tanker program. “Without that foundation of the Air Force program, it’s very hard to be competitive in that international market,” he said.

The Government Accountability Office is expected to rule on Boeing’s protest as soon as Wednesday. The 100-day deadline for the review ends Thursday.

Boeing’s backers say the Air Force made a mistake in picking a European airplane for use by the U.S. military. Northrop Grumman Corp. and its partner, Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., say they submitted a superior proposal.

An Air Force spokesman declined to comment ahead of the GAO’s decision.

Boeing has sold a handful of its tankers, based on the 767 jetliner, to the Japanese and Italian air forces. But it has encountered stiff competition, losing several battles to a version of the Airbus-based tanker that the U.S. wants to buy.

“The last five international head-to-head competitions with a Boeing 767-based tanker have been won by an A330-based tanker,” said Northrop spokesman Randy Belote.

Read the full Wall Street Journal story

.(subscription required)