Asks Court To Block UH-72 Lakota No-Bid Award

AgustaWestland has turned to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in an effort to block a contract awarded to Airbus Helicopters by the U.S. Army.

In early September, the Army awarded a no-bid contract to the aircraft manufacturer for 155 UH-72 Lakota helicopters, and announced that it could convert another 100 older models for training use, according to a report in Defense News. AgustaWestland said that it could have beaten Airbus Helicopters on price ... if it had been allowed to bid.

AgustaWestland's parent company Finmeccanica said in its September 19 filing that the Army's decision is "arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of discretion." It said that the company would suffer "irreparable harm" if the court did not put the contract on hold until the case is decided.

An analyst for the Teal Group told Defense News that it is the latest in a string of losses for Finmeccanica from the U.S. military. In 2013, the U.S. Air Force ended a contract with the company's Alenia Aermacchi unit to upgrade and deliver G222 transport planes to the Afghan Air Force citing poor performance. The Pentagon also has in recent years halted acquisition of Alenia's C-27J transport, and canceled the purchase of AgustaWestland's AW101 for the VH-71 Marine One program.

Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia told the paper that this latest lawsuit is an expression of Finmeccanica's "frustration" with the U.S. government over the contracts.

(UH-72 Lakotas pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.uscfc.uscourts.gov