military
Air Force gets revised bids for copter
Boeing won a contract for the search and rescue helicopter in 2006, but its rivals won a challenge.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. all met an Air Force deadline to submit revised bids for a contract that could be worth $15 billion to build a new combat search and rescue helicopter.
The winner could be announced this summer for the contract. It would be managed by the Aeronautical Systems Center, part of the Air Force Material Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The winner would provide 141 new helicopters, designed to rescue downed flight crews.
Extras
Lockheed and Sikorsky, a United Technologies Corp. subsidiary, challenged Boeing's November 2006 win of the contract, contending that the Air Force had overlooked support costs for the aircraft. The Government Accountability Office, investigative arm of Congress, upheld the protest, concluding that the Air Force had been inconsistent in its evaluation of the contractors' proposals.
The deadline for the revised proposals was Monday.
Defense analyst Loren Thompson, of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said he expects that the Air Force will announce the contract winner by this summer. Development and production of the helicopter could be worth $13 billion to $15 billion under the contract, he said Tuesday.
Boeing's entry of the twin-rotor HH-47, a modern derivative of the Vietnam-era Chinook helicopter, could still make it the competitor to beat, because the Air Force favored the redesigned aircraft's size and versatility in the initial round, Thompson said.
"It opened a lot of people's eyes to the versatility of the Chinook," he said.
The companies declined to say how they revised their proposals. The Air Force wants the new helicopter operational by 2014, Thompson said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or
jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
