Representative Asks For Tanker Bid Delay

August 24, 2008 by admin · Comment
Filed under: Contract Awards, EADS, Military Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, U.S. Air Force 

U.S. Rep. Joseph D. Courtney, from Connecticut, has written to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to ask him to delay the renewed bidding for the $35 billion aerial refueling tanker contract. “It is important to get this decision right,” Courtney said, because it is “one of the most critical components of our national security.” Courtney is particularly concerned that there be adequate time for the RFP “to be vetted by the competitors and evaluated by Congress.”

The Pentagon is committed to a quick timetable, but Courtney argues that such an “unnecessarily aggressive timeline for a final decision, will once again tilt the outcome” in favor of EADS. Courtney is very interested in the process, because the Boeing tanker’s engines would be made by East Hartford-based Pratt & Whitney.

More details on Courtney’s letter can be found at Hartford Business.

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An editorial on the KC-45

April 2, 2008 by Dagpotter · Comment
Filed under: Boeing, Contract Awards, EADS, GAO, Northrop Grumman Corp., Protest, U.S. Air Force, commercial aviation, logistics 

The San Antonio Express-News points out that one of the goals of the DoD procurement process is to deliver the best value to the nation and the taxpayers. Money quote “All this would be well and good if they were talking about a job creations program or two kinds of widgets that were essentially the same. Instead, they’re talking about a system essential for the projection of American military power and a critical component of national security.” As the editorial points out Congress will criticize the services for wasting money, or as in here, not picking the right contractor.

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