By Marina Malenic
The Air Force will delay awarding a contract to build its combat search-and-rescue helicopter replacement fleet, the service said yesterday. Industry sources say they were told to expect an award in the spring instead of this fall, as originally planned.
Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Sue Payton has directed the Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) program office to issue an amendment to the request for proposals (RFP), according to an Air Force statement.
“The offerors have been notified of the pending amendment that will be released soon,” the statement reads. “The purpose of the amendment is to further clarify how the Air Force will make its source selection decision.”
Boeing [BA] won the initial contract, estimated to be worth $15 billion, two years ago. But the competition was reopened after losing bidders Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Sikorsky [UTX] twice filed protests that were sustained by the Government Accountability Office.
Meanwhile, the program remains under investigation by the Pentagon inspector general’s office over whether the previous competition unfairly favored Boeing.
“This amendment and resulting delay to the award of contract is not associated with the DoD Inspector General’s ongoing audit of the CSAR-X requirements development process,” yesterday’s Air Force statement reads.
A report from the inspector on the matter is expected later this year.
The CSAR-X award delay follows Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ decision this summer to postpone awarding a contract for the KC-X aerial refueling tanker, said to be worth some $35 billion. A new administration will decide how to proceed with both programs.