Will Not Come Until First Quarter Of 2014

An award for a new U.S. Air Force rescue helicopter will not come before the first quarter of the next fiscal year, which will begin October 1.

The winning company is not really a secret. All of the bidders except Sikorsky have dropped out of the competition, according to a report from Reuters. Air Force spokesman Ed Gulick said that several factors went into pushing the award, which will be valued at as much as $6.8 billion, to a later date. Those included the need to complete an independent cost estimate, and government furloughs.

The Air Force said it did not write the RFP to favor Sikorsky. The service has been planning to replace its aging fleet of HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft for several years. It had originally selected Boeing's H-47 Chinook, but protests from other bidders caused the Air Force to cancel that $15 billion contract.

Gulick said that the delay was not due to the fact that only one company remained in the competition. Analysts said that some "embarrassing" problems with acquisitions in the past have made the Air Force very cautious about the contract, and they wanted to be sure this one was solid before proceeding.

FMI: www.af.mil