Thursday
Jul102008
Boeing protest heard loud and clear
Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 5:57PM
The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces met to discuss the contract award protest filed to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) by Boeing and the future of the KC-135 aerial refueling tanker. Ranking committee member Jim Saxton (R-Nj.) said that he was not going to advocate Boeing or Northrop Grumman, the Los Angeles based corporation that secured the 35 million dollar contract from the Department of Defense (DOD). Boeing filed a protest with the GAO after they lost the contract to Northrup Grumman.
Deputy General Counsel for the GAO, Daniel Gordon testified. He said that Boeing raised a number of challenges to the contract between the DOD and Northrop Grummon. As a result the AGO conducted a five-day hearing, in which 11 witnesses from the DOD testified. At that point, Gordon said, it was understood that the air force made numerous errors that could have affected the outcome between Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
Saxton said that the most important thing is that the aging aerial refueling tankers are replaced. He said that it is imperative to get new tankers out to the “war fighters” as soon as possible.
Deputy General Counsel for the GAO, Daniel Gordon testified. He said that Boeing raised a number of challenges to the contract between the DOD and Northrop Grummon. As a result the AGO conducted a five-day hearing, in which 11 witnesses from the DOD testified. At that point, Gordon said, it was understood that the air force made numerous errors that could have affected the outcome between Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
Saxton said that the most important thing is that the aging aerial refueling tankers are replaced. He said that it is imperative to get new tankers out to the “war fighters” as soon as possible.
Alabama Senators Want Equal Playing Field For Aerospace Contract
At a press conference Tuesday, delegates from Alabama led by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said they are disappointed with the Pentagon and U.S. Air Force's Request For Proposal (RFP) for a next-generation aerial refueling tanker, the KC-X, arguing that the RFP is biased towards the manufacturer Boeing.
Also bidding for the KC-X is defense contractor Northrop Grumman, which if chosen by the Pentagon to carry out the project, plans to build a new assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama.
Rep. Jo Bonner, (R-Ala.), whose Congressional district includes Mobile, says the new plant would create nearly 48,000 new jobs in his state.
“We look forward to build the world’s best tanker...but that's only if the Department of Defense is serious about giving us a fair shot and fair competition,” Bonner said.
Yesterday, every delegate from Alabama signed a letter that was sent to Defense Secretary Robert Gates requesting a new draft of the proposal. The letter argues that the RFP lacks an “assessment of risk associated with either schedule, past performance or price.”
The letter also states that the some of the RFP’s new requirements for the tanker could be satisfied by the KC-135 refueling tanker, which was designed over 50 years ago.
In February 2008, the U.S. Air Force chose Northrop Grumman’s bid for the KC-X project, but later that year the Department of Defense halted the project.
"This new request for proposal has changed...in so many ways. And in just about all those ways, it is tilting the process towards Boeing,” said Shelby.