Lockheed, Sikorsky Say New RFP Is "Flawed"

In an effort to keep things moving on a project to replace aging combat search and rescue aircraft, the US Air Force has asked the Government Accountability Office to hasten its review process of another round of protests that were recently filed in a hotly contested $15 billion helicopter competition.

Boeing originally won the initial CSAR-X competition, with a version of its CH-47 Chinook twinrotor helo -- but Lockheed Martin Corp. and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. quickly mounted protests on cost concerns, saying the Air Force did not follow its own selection procedures in selecting the Boeing bird. Some of those protests were sustained by the GAO.

In May, the USAF revised its bid, after receiving a non-binding GAO recommendation February 26 to re-evaluate operation and support costs sections for a contract to replace 141 aging Sikorsky helicopters.

The losing bidders have both filed a new round of protests -- to the disappointment of the Air Force -- contending the amended request for proposals is flawed and demanding a broader second look at competing aircraft, according to the Dow Jones Newswire.

"The Air Force feels we have correctly adjusted the RFP to satisfy GAO guidance and concerns," said Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, a military advisor to civilian Air Force weapons buyers.

"We are extremely disappointed. The Air Force has been largely unresponsive to our questions and concerns. We are reviewing the RFP and keeping all our options open," said Sikorsky Aircraft spokesman Paul Jackson to the Connecticut Post.

The GAO has offered to process the new protests quickly and will even use mediation procedures. The USAF said Tuesday it will take the GAO up on its offer and did not plan to change the program timeline.

"While the Air Force will not comment on the contents of protests that are currently in the GAO, the service remains committed to and open and fair process," it said.

Loren Thompson, a Washington-based consultant for the Lexington Institute, believes the Air Force is facing an increasingly ugly battle on this issue.

"The Air Force is trying to force an early decision and little by little, the barriers to making that work are mounting up," she said.

Sikorsky has proposed its HH-92 Super Hawk for the CSAR-X role; Lockheed is pitching a variant of the three-engined US101 helicopter.

The Air Force wants to decide on a final winner, once and for all, by the end of the year.

FMI: www.usaf.mil, www.gao.gov