She's Gone To Jail, But Damage -- To Reputations And The Bottom Line -- Continues

Hiring ex-Pentagon official Darleen A. Druyun (until October 1st, inmate number 47614-083 at the minimum security female camp at the Marianna, Florida Club Fed) seemed like a smart decision to some at Boeing (including CFO Michael M. Sears, who's joined her in trying on a new title: convict). Even if part of the deal was to take on a couple of her relatives. But that was then and this is now, and the Druyun (pictured below) case just keeps on costing the defense contractor, as more contracts are voided after government auditors find her fingerprints on them. The latest contract to be yanked from Boeing is Increment II of Small Diameter Bomb development.

The Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a 250-lb. precision guided weapon that has two advantages over present, more powerful weapons: it causes less "collateral damage," unintended damage to things other than the intended target, and it adapts wonderfully to the internal weapons storage of stealthy aircraft. To achieve lethality in a smaller package than existing weapons, the weapon needs to be more accurate than present GPS- and INS- guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions, the smallest of which is a 500-lb. weapon.

Boeing beat out Lockheed Martin in 2003 to develop and produce the SDB after two years of fierce competition, but now the Government Accountability Office has thrown out the award. Boeing had been working on Increment I, which is intended to develop a weapon for striking stationary targets. Boeing had expected to be awarded Increment II routinely before the GAO move. Increment II buildS upon the success of Increment I by adding a capability to strike moving targets such as vehicles or vessels. Instead, the Air Force will put the project back out to bid.

It is expected that more contracts will come under GAO scrutiny as the auditors continue untangling Druyun's web of double-dealing: she influenced hundreds of contracts during her long tenure as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition and Management; in several cases, officers that disagreed with her decisions were retired or sacked. It is possible that Boeing will not be the only contractor affected, also. The auditors are also reexamining noncompetitive contract awards to other major contractors.

FMI: www.boeing.com  www.af.mil  www.bop.gov