GAO Again Tells USAF to Re-Bid CSAR-X

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has again told the Air Force it should request revised bids in its $10 billion Combat Search-and-Rescue-X (CSAR-X) helicopter competition and start from scratch in evaluating them, according to Reuters. In a March 9 letter, the GAO “reminded” the service that numerous issues with its late 2006 choice of 146 Boeing Chinooks to replace aging Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawks remain unresolved. But the GAO could delve into them if the Air Force doesn’t adequately reconsider that choice. The GAO considered those issues “academic” because it agreed on Feb. 26 with Sikorsky Aircraft and Lockheed Martin that the USAF hadn’t calculated life-cycle costs as it said it would. Sikorsky offered the S-92 and Lockheed Martin a variant of the EH101 together with its manufacturer, AgustaWestland, and Bell Helicopter. The Air Force had said it would interpret the Feb. 26 ruling “narrowly,” hinting it might not re-bid the contract.  For related news