Air Force to amend ‘request for proposal’ on light air support contract
Hawker Beechcraft and its AT-6 aircraft appear to be back in the running for a controversial Air Force light air support contract, after news Friday that the Air Force is amending its “request for proposal.”
On Tuesday, the Air Force will release a draft of the amended proposal to Hawker Beechcraft and Sierra Nevada Corp., which teamed with Embraer to bid on the contract.
Air Force officials will meet with each party that day to review changes made in the draft proposal line by line, it said. They will be able to submit comments before a final amended proposal is issued, the Air Force said.
“Representatives from Hawker Beechcraft will meet with United States Air Force (USAF) procurement officials in connection with the Light Air Support (LAS) contract on April 17,” Hawker Beechcraft said in an e-mail Friday afternoon. “We look forward to meeting with the USAF and sharing our views on the importance of ensuring that the competition results in the selection of an aircraft that meets or exceeds the highest possible U.S. Department of Defense standards and continue to believe the AT-6 is the right aircraft for this critical United States mission.”
The Air Force expects to decide on a contract winner in early 2013, it said in its statement.
That would mean the first aircraft delivery would be made in the third quarter of 2014, a delay of about 15 months, the Air Force said.
The news comes after the Air Force launched an internal investigation into the process of how it had awarded a $355 million contract to Sierra Nevada for 20 Super Tucano airplanes from Embraer. The planes are to go to the Afghan army.
The Air Force eliminated Hawker Beechcraft and its AT-6 aircraft from the competition in November, saying the company had not adequately corrected deficiencies in its proposal. The next month, it awarded the contract to Sierra Nevada.
The contract is expected to be worth up to $1 billion with follow-on contracts.
Hawker Beechcraft appealed the Air Force’s decision with the Government Accountability Office, questioning the selection process and whether it was conducted legally. The appeal was thrown out because it was filed too late in a mail mix-up. The company then filed suit in January in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the Air Force issued a stop work order on the contract as a result.
Hawker Beechcraft also alleges that the requirements changed in the middle of the process and that the selection process was not sufficiently transparent.
The contract is just one of several challenges the company faces. Another is Hawker Beechcraft’s financial health; the company is reportedly preparing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Embraer has problems of its own. It’s on a trade watch list for possible violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The act bars payments to foreign officials by U.S.-based firms in consideration for contracts.
“It’s not going to happen,” Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said about the contract with Embraer. Roberts spoke this week at a Wichita Aero Club meeting.
Hawker Beechcraft is a “great company,” Roberts said. “Since we’re going to do this, we ought to do it with the best damn company around.”
The Air Force’s internal investigation focuses on the execution of the selection processes and procedures, according to the news release.
Changes to the request for proposal are intended to more clearly define the evaluation criteria and tighten the decision-making process, it said.
A new source selection team was appointed to evaluate the new proposals.
A second phase of the investigation is under way, the Air Force said. That is focusing on assessing the quality and consistency of source selection procedures used in other Air Force systems acquisition programs, it said.
This week, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff visited the White House and reportedly discussed the light air support contract when she met with President Obama.
Administration officials declined to say what the two leaders discussed in relation to the contract.
Brazil’s foreign ministry cautioned recently that “this development is not considered conducive to strengthening relations between the two countries on defense affairs.”
Should Embraer lose out on the contract, experts said Boeing might feel the repercussions as it competes for a contract to supply 36 F/A-18 Super Hornets to the Brazilian air force, worth between $4 billion and $7 billion.
This story was originally published April 13, 2012 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Air Force to amend ‘request for proposal’ on light air support contract."