WASHINGTON -- Any day now, the Pentagon is expected to release a request for bids on a $35 billion contract to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers.

While other aerospace companies wait around for the announcement, Boeing is unveiling its secret weapon. On Tuesday, the company showcased its latest tanker technology by rolling up on Capitol Hill in a tractor-trailer. Inside were various air refueling simulators that Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., tested out.

"Gosh," Murray said as she worked the refueling boom, "I can do this!"

The exhibit served as a backdrop for Murray and other Washington lawmakers to make their case that Boeing deserves what they called, "a fair shot" at the tanker contract, especially in light of the World Trade Organization's preliminary ruling last week.

The WTO found that European Union governments illegally subsidized rival Airbus, whose parent company is competing with Boeing for the Air Force contract.

"If we have a fair open level playing competition for the tanker deal, there is no doubt that Boeing has the workers, the capability, the know-how to build tankers for the men and women who serve our country," Murray said.

Murray and other lawmakers are looking for President Barack Obama to direct the Pentagon to level that playing field. Last week at the Air Force Association conference outside Washington, D.C., Air Force Secretary Michael Donley reportedly said that despite the WTO ruling, the agency does not plan to change its acquisitions strategy.

It's a move that's angering some local lawmakers.

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Seattle, retaliated against those who claim Airbus didn't use illegal subsidies, also known as "launch aid," in prior Air Force tanker bids.

"Hogwash," Inslee said. "When the dust settles and the smoke clears on the WTO ruling, we will know loud and clear that every single Airbus airplane has received some sort of launch aid."

Some industry experts disagree.

At a recent Boeing Panel discussion sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute, trade analyst Claude Barfield cautioned against linking the WTO case with the tanker contract.

"That's sloppy and inaccurate thinking, Barfield said. "This is a defense-related project with its own set of rules. I do not know which of the two companies has the best plane, but I think it ought to be fought out on the basis of competition rules that the Defense Department is now setting up."

The Air Force is expected to release it's draft request for tanker proposals this week. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he wants a final decision to be made by 2010.