Thu, Mar 15, 2007
May Reevaluate Operating Costs Instead
Despite strong recommendations from the Government Accounting
Office to the contrary, representatives at Boeing say they doubt
the US Air Force will reopen competition for the $15 billion CSAR-X
contract award for a new search-and-rescue helicopter.
As Aero-News reported, last
month the GAO ruled on protests by Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky,
and recommended the USAF reopen bidding on the CSAR-X contract
awarded to Boeing in November 2006. Last week, Air Force officials
replied, essentially, the USAF doesn't have to comply with the GAO
suggested -- as the agency's ruling is nonbinding, and carries
little real legislative weight.
Though of course Boeing doesn't want to see its contract slip
away, this week the American aerospace manufacturer took something
of a middle-of-the-road position on the matter, opining to
Bloomberg the Air Force will probably opt to review operating and
support costs figures for the three entrants in the
competition.
Rick Lemaster, Boeing program manager for its winning CSAR-X
entry, the HH-47, said that was the main point of the GAO's
recommendations, anyway.
"We expect the Air Force will address the specific issue
identified by GAO and not permit other bidders to set an agenda for
an entirely new competition that might be in their interests but
not in the best interests of the service," Lemaster said.
"Enhancing the Air Force's ability to save the lives of our
soldiers and airmen sooner rather than later should be the most
important consideration."
Lockheed had offered its US101(center), jointly produced by Bell
and a variant of the helo named as the new Marine One presidential
transport in 2005. Sikorsky pitched its S-92-based HH-92 (bottom)
in the competition to replace the Air Force's existing fleet of
Sikorsky-built HH-60 Pave Hawks.
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