The Air Force last week awarded Sierra Nevada a contract to build 20 airplanes being procured for the Afghan government under the Light Air Support (LAS) program.
Sierra Nevada teamed with Brazil’s Embraer to offer the A-29 Super Tucano. It had become clear that Sierra Nevada was poised to win the $355 million contract after the Air Force in November notified Hawker Beechcraft, which had teamed with Lockheed Martin [LMT], that their AT-6 offering had been eliminated from the competition.
“We believe in the goals of the Light Air Support mission and are proud to be able to support the United States in its partner-building efforts in Afghanistan,” said Taco Gilbert, Sierra Nevada’s vice president of ISR business development.
Meanwhile, Hawker Beechcraft said last week it had filed a lawsuit with the Court of Federal Claims seeking to block the Air Force from carrying out the contract. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) rejected a Hawker Beechcraft protest. Hawker Beechcraft has also complained the Air Force has been unresponsive to requests for an explanation.
“This is yet another example of the Air Force’s lack of transparency throughout this competition,” Bill Boisture, Hawker Beechcraft chairman and CEO, said. “With this development, it now seems even clearer that the Air Force intended to award the contract to Embraer from early in this process.”
Hawker Beechcraft has found support from lawmakers representing its home state of Kansas, where the planes would be built.
Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) accused the Air Force of being “secretive and evasive.”
“I am deeply disappointed by this announcement,” he said. Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) expressed similar sentiment.
The A-29s under the LAS program are to be built in Jacksonville, Fla., Sierra Nevada said.
The LAS program is intended to provide the Afghans with a counterinsurgency tool and is funded by Afghan security forces. The United States has provided billions of dollars in security aid to the Afghan government over the past 10 years.
The Air Force is also looking into buying its own aircraft under a separate program known as Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR).
The service has identified the need for a small aircraft that could be used for low scale air support missions that do not require the heavy firepower and higher cost associated with using traditional support aircraft.