GAO Upholds Protests Of CSAR-X Awards, Wants Revised Bids

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) today sustained Sikorsky Aircraft and Lockheed Martin's separate protests of the Boeing Chinook's selection as the next-generation U.S. Air Force combat search-and-rescue helicopter. That service on Nov. 9, 2006 awarded Boeing a $712-million contract as the first step in the $10-billion, Combat Search and Rescue-X (CSAR-X) program to replace its aging fleet of about 100 Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawks with newly built HH-47s. The GAO found that the Air Force did not comply with procedures spelled out in its own request for proposals in calculating the life-cycle costs of the competing bids. Sikorsky has bid its HH-92 militarized version of the S-92 for the contract. Lockheed Martin's Systems Integration-Owego unit was teamed with AgustaWestland in bidding the US101 version of the latter’s EH101. The GAO recommended that the Air Force amend its RFP to clarify its intent, reopen talks with the bidders, then request revised proposals. If Boeing's bid does not again come out on top, the GAO said, the Air Force should terminate its contract. It also recommended that the Air Force reimburse Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin's costs for their protests. For related news