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WASHINGTON: The US Air Force wants to avoid a long delay in a $15 billion helicopter competition that the Government Accountability Office has urged it to reopen, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said on Wednesday.
Wynne told reporters after a House Armed Services Committee hearing that he hoped Boeing Co. could resume work on the Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter program in fiscal year 2007, which ends on Sept. 30.
“Our hope — and maybe we're optimistic — but I'd like to stay with what we got and get this product going as soon as possible,” Wynne said.
The GAO on Monday upheld protests filed by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp., against the Boeing contract.
It said the Air Force should amend the terms of the competition to make its intentions clear, reopen discussions with bidding companies, and then request revised proposals.
The Air Force responded a day later, saying it believed it could comply “more narrowly” with the ruling.
“'Narrowly' would be whatever I could do to get it done quickly and get on with the program,” Wynne said, when asked to explain the term. “I have a real need for this equipment.”
He said Air Force officials were still reviewing the GAO recommendations to determine the next steps, but said the GAO ruling appeared to be “pretty confined” to how the Air Force evaluated the life cycle costs of the various bidders.
During the congressional hearing on various Air Force issues, Wynne said Boeing and its HH-47 helicopter had “every chance” of continuing to be selected to build 146 helicopters to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk combat search-and-rescue helicopters. Boeing's HH-47 is a variant of the CH-47 two-rotor Chinook helicopter.
Wynne said the Air Force needed to handle the GAO ruling in a “transparent” and “fair” manner, but its narrow scope could pave the way for a speedy resolution.
Sikorsky on Wednesday disagreed, saying the GAO had identified “significant evaluation issues” during the protest.
“We believe the Air Force should take corrective actions necessary to address the significant evaluation issues identified during the protest, and we will be watchful and ready to work with the Air Force to that end,” Sikorsky said.
Lockheed on Tuesday had said it looked forward to learning more about how the Air Force intended to proceed.
The protesting companies could take the issue to federal court if they are dissatisfied with how the Air Force acts on the GAO recommendations.
Air Force officials said they had no timetable for any action at this point.
Meanwhile, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley told reporters after the hearing that the Boeing helicopter was large and not necessarily “the one I would have picked.”
But he added, “I'm okay with it. The system gave us this airplane. We'll make it work.”
Wynne said he did not view the adverse GAO ruling as an embarrassment for the Air Force, which is still recovering from a 2004 procurement scandal in which a former top weapons buyer was convicted of favoring Boeing in some weapons deals.
In fact, Wynne said, more companies were filing more protests against all the services, amid fierce competition for fewer deals. “We're not alone in this,” he said.
Lockheed had teamed with AgustaWestland Inc., part of Italian defense manufacturer Finmeccanica SpA, to pitch the 101 helicopter that has already been picked as the new presidential helicopter.
Sikorsky had offered its HH-92 helicopter.
