John McCain Inserts Himself Into KC-X Competition

October 23, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: KC-X, KC-X Tanker News, Syndicated Industry News 

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) whose efforts frustrated the Air Force’s attempts to award Boeing a lease deal for the new tanker back in 2001 – 2004 started the whole competition now says that he wants an independent “watchdog” as part of this source selection. He was not clear as to who he would want to do this but hopes to have an unbiased source selection.

If there is a protest over the latest attempt the GAO will be the “independent” agency tasked with sorting that out. If they fail there is always the U.S. Court of Appeals. Those should be independent enough for Senator McCain.

GAO to decide KC-45 protest soon

This article is a good summary of the KC-45 contract. The GAO is supposed to rule on Boeing’s protest within the next two weeks. One would have to bet that they will disallow the protest. There is a chance though, that somehow the Air Force screwed up in how they applied the criteria. Then the process would be reopened again, like the CSAR-X. The article also raises the issue of the US Presidential election. John McCain was the key person that got Boeing in trouble over the attempted lease deal five years ago, and Senator Obama represents the state where Boeing now has its headquarters. Congress has also held off weighing in while the protest wound its course. It is best to think that this is not over yet.

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