Companies Have Less Than A Month To Revise Proposals

It's a CSAR-X start-over. Heeding recommendations from the Government Accounting Office, the US Air Force announced this week it requested a new round of bids for a $15 billion contract to replace 141 combat search-and-rescue helicopters.

The Associated Press reports the Air Force said Wednesday it had given revised drafts for bids to the three companies competing for the lucrative contract -- Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, and Boeing.

As ANN reported, Boeing won the original competition in November 2006, fielding an SAR variant of the CH-47 Chinook twin-rotor helicopter. Lockheed and Sikorsky protested to the GAO almost immediately, claiming the Air Force's approach to determining the aircraft's long-term service costs was inconsistent the guidelines originally spelled out in the proposal.

The GAO upheld one of those protests -- saying the USAF was inconsistent in evaluating operating and maintenance life-cycle costs for the proposals.

Sikorsky is offering a SAR variant of its S-92 helicopter in the CSAR-X competition; Lockheed fields a version of the AgustaWestland EH101.

The Air Force asked for a new round of bids in late May. This time around, Sikorsky protested... claiming the revised RFP addressed the GAO's concerns, while neglecting other areas of protest. Sikorsky and Lockheed had asked for a reevaulation of claimed performance figures for each helicopter.

The latest request for bids does not reopen the competition, as only the three original bidders may submit new proposals; however, all three have the option to change almost all aspects of their bids, including pricing and helo specifications.

The USAF, eager to get its new helicopter fleet, is operating on an accelerated timeframe. Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne told members of the House Armed Services committee Wednesday the revised bids are due in mid-November. The service hopes to award a new deal by mid-February 2008.

FMI: www.af.mil, www.sikorsky.com