After having sent technical analyses to the wrong companies, the Air Force reportedly learned that one of the firms, EADS, had opened a computer file with information about the bid of its rival, Boeing.

As a result, the Air Force decided to resend each company the other's information and allowed them to review it.

"Air Force officials have analyzed the information that was actually accessed by one of the offerors and have taken steps to ensure that both competitors have equal access to this information," the Air Force said in a statement.

The move was first reported by the New York Times on Wednesday, with an official saying forensic investigators that inspected computers from both companies concluded that an EADS worker had opened a file with details of how Boeing's proposal performed in a technical evaluation.

The Air Force insisted it would ensure "a level playing field" in the hard-fought contest but Boeing expressed concern over the episode, leaving open the possibility of an eventual formal protest.

The incident "is a concern for us," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

"With these unanswered questions unresolved we are keeping our options open," Muilenburg said at a Credit Suisse defense and aerospace conference in New York.

The chief executive of EADS North America, Sean O'Keefe, told reporters last week that his employees had not read files with data about Boeing's proposal.

The documents related to an efficiency analysis of the competing aircraft, looking at how many tankers would be required to carry out a particular air refueling scenario.

The mix-up threatens to derail the troubled and long-delayed tanker project, which has been marked by scandal, transatlantic political tensions and intense lobbying in Congress.

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), the parent company of France-based Airbus, and US giant Boeing are competing for the deal to replace 179 aerial refueling tankers in an aging Boeing-built fleet.

In 2008, EADS in partnership with Northrop Grumman won the contract for the tankers, but the deal was canceled after a successful Boeing appeal to the investigative arm of Congress. Northrop has dropped out in the latest contest.

Boeing won an earlier contract in 2003 but corruption allegations, which led to the conviction of a former Air Force official, forced the Pentagon to start the contest over again.

US commanders see the planned KC-X aircraft as crucial to bolstering American air power and are anxious to replace the older Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers that date back to the 1950s.

The Pentagon had promised earlier this year a decision in November or December, but the Air Force said it expects an award early next year.

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