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.