It appears only one company will submit a proposal for the Navy’s presidential helicopter program as two other firms confirmed they do not intend to bid, saying their offerings are at a disadvantage under the currently defined requirements.
The deadline for submitting proposals arrives Thursday. Sikorsky, a division of United Technologies [UTX], is the only company now expected to bid on the VXX program with its VH-92 airframe along with systems integrator Lockheed Martin [LMT].
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| President Obama exiting Marine One. Photo by the White House. |
AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy’s Finmeccanica who had partnered with Northrop Grumman [NOC], had previously said it would offer its AW101 airframe, but decided not to after reviewing the Navy’s final request for proposals (RFP) issued in May, a spokesman said, suggesting the competition favored another bidder.
“There are fundamental proposal evaluation issues that inhibit our ability to submit a competitive offering, and that provide a significant advantage to our likely competitor,” the spokesman said. “The decision to withdraw was most difficult, as we believe we have the best, most capable aircraft for the president and the one selected in the prior competition. Fair and meaningful competition for major U.S. government programs is absolutely essential to providing the most capable products for an affordable price.”
Boeing [BA], which was weighing whether to bid with its H-47 Chinook or the V-22 Osprey in partnership with Bell Helicopter, a Textron [TXT] company, now says it will propose neither.
“While both the Boeing H-47 Chinook and the Bell-Boeing V-22 are often used to transport military and government leaders in theaters of operation, we do not believe these aircraft would be competitive for this program as it is currently structured,” Boeing spokesman Damian Mills said.
A contract award without a true competition could subject the Pentagon to criticism. Navy spokeswoman Capt. Cate Mueller would not comment on the bidding process because it is ongoing. Mueller, however, said an initial draft RFP was issued in November 2012 and underwent revisions to reflect the input provided by interested companies.
“Industry feedback was given serious consideration throughout the RFP refinement process with the goal of maximizing participation from interested bidders,” she said.
The VXX program is designed to replace the VH-3 Sea Kings and smaller VH-60 Whitehawks that have been used by the Marine Corps to ferry presidents for decades under the call name “Marine One.” Both are built by Sikorsky, which said it is looking forward to bidding for the follow-on program.
“We have prepared our proposal anticipating a full and open competition against other industry teams. We firmly believe we have the ideal team to deliver the best aircraft, on time and within budget,” the company said.
“Our offering, the VH-92 helicopter, meets every requirement outlined by the Navy, and is a proven, safe and reliable aircraft to meet the needs of the office of the president,” Sikorsky said.
The Navy reopened the presidential helicopter replacement program following then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ decision to cancel a previous effort in 2009 after costs ballooned. Lockheed Martin and AugustaWestland were the two companies involved in that unsuccessful program, before Lockheed Martin decided to switch teams and join up with Sikorsky for the current one.