Potential Leak of Classified Air Force Data on Bomber Contract Protest

Confidential information about a competition for a next-generation U.S. bomber should not have appeared in a Forbes magazine article and the Pentagon is looking into the matter, according to Reuters

Boeing and Lockheed Martin in November contested the Air Force's $80 million contract with Northrop Grumman to develop the new long-range strike bomber.

Forbes contributor Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute think tank, published a column on the magazine's website Nov. 6, the day the protest was filed. Northrop’s cost to develop the plane was roughly twice what the competing industry teams had bid, he wrote.

The level of detail in the column raised concerns given the classified nature of the bomber program, according to three sources interviewed by Reuters.

Thompson said did not know of any specific investigation that had been launched into how he obtained the information.

"The Air Force does not comment on whether or not media articles might contain classified information," said Major Robert Leese, an Air Force spokesman.