USAF reverses Super Tucano purchase,could reopen competition

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... se-368892/

USAF reverses Tucano purchase 

Washington DC 59 minutes ago

The US Air Force has been forced to reverse a contract award for the turbo-powered Embraer Super Tucano fighter after conducting an internal review of the selection process.

The reversal comes after USAF leaders pledged to clean up their acquisition process following a series of embarassing procurement blunders for tankers and helicopters.

The move also appears to re-open the light air support [LAS] contract to competition nearly four months after the USAF controversially eliminated the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 from the competition.

David Van Biden, the USAF's top acquisition official, "is not satisfied with the quality of the documentation supporting the award decision," said Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley in a prepared statement.

Meanwhile, General Donald Hoffman, chief of air force material command, has launched a "commander directed investigation" into the selection process, Donley said.

The USAF considered two bids for LAS contract to supply 20 turboprop fighters for the Afghan air force to perform counter-insurgency missions.

Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation offered Super Tucano and a Hawker Beechcraft/Lockheed Martin team proposed the AT-6 Texan II.

In early November, the USAF informed the AT-6 team that their aircraft had been eliminated from the competition, but did not explain the reason.

That message, however, became lost within Hawker's internal mail system, and the company failed to respond until 11 days later.

Hawker's protest with the Government Accountability Office was rejected after the agency determined the company failed to submit its case before the contractual deadline.

Hawker filed an appeal in the Court of Federal Claims, and that litigation process is ongoing.

Beechcraft has been busy meanwhile, as the photo below shows:

http://www.deagel.com/library1/medium/2 ... 700005.jpg


http://newsroom.hawkerbeechcraft.com/ne ... d-rockets/

Beechcraft AT-6 Becomes First Fixed-Wing Aircraft to Employ Laser Guided Rockets

WICHITA, Kan. (Feb. 14, 2012) – Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company (HBDC) today announced its AT-6 Light Attack aircraft has successfully employed laser-guided rockets during recent test sorties at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

In January, the AT-6 became the very first fixed-wing aircraft to launch a laser-guided rocket.

The weapons testing is part of the ongoing congressionally funded operational evaluation of the AT-6, executed by the Air National Guard and Air Reserve Command Test Center (AATC).

AT-6 Employs Laser Guided Rockets

“This is a big milestone in the future of Hawker Beechcraft’s Light Attack program,” said Derek Hess, HBDC director, Light Attack. “We continue to see great interest in the AT-6 from military forces around the globe and the capability to employ laser-guided rockets is another reason why the aircraft is unmatched in the light attack aircraft market today.”

The 2.75” laser-guided rocket testing included BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and Raytheon’s TALON.
The weapons were fired from approximately three nautical miles and guided to their targets using either an airborne laser from the AT-6 or a ground laser from the Eglin AFB range.

Both rockets performed flawlessly and were scored as hits on their respective targets.

[Hans Rolink]

The tanker deal all over again...
Of course, when your product is not chosen by the customer, you just go to court. Maybe something to suggest to my own management the next time the company I work for loses a contract to a competitor.

Hans.

[Le Addeur noir]

The tanker deal all over again...
Of course, when your product is not chosen by the customer, you just go to court. Maybe something to suggest to my own management the next time the company I work for loses a contract to a competitor.

Hans.

I think pork barrel politics is at play here,especially in an election year.

The KC-767 was by far the inferior choine and no dount the AT-6 will be as well.

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/ ... L720120229

UPDATE 1-US Air Force must redo Afghan plane contest soon

Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:53pm EST

* Afghan air force needs planes for close air support

* General vows "hell to pay" if not innocent mistake

* Investigation under way

WASHINGTON, Feb 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Air Force officials must quickly redo a competition for 20 airplanes for the Afghan air force after substandard documentation forced the service to scrap a $355 million contract award, the top Air Force general said on Wednesday.

Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz acknowledged the issue was an embarrassment for the Air Force, which struggled with acquisition problems over the last decade, and said "there would be hell to pay" if the documentation problem was not an innocent mistake.

The Air Force on Tuesday abruptly canceled a contract awarded to Sierra Nevada Corp and Brazil's Embraer in December for 20 light-support aircraft to be used for training the Afghan air force, and said it was investigating problems with documents used to make the decision.

"If in fact this was a failed source selection, it is a profound disappointment," Schwartz told a defense reporters breakfast. "Not only because our institutional reputation is at stake, let's face it, but also because our Afghan partners need this capability."

Schwartz said there were also budget pressures to quickly redo the competition, since funds for the program expire at the end of fiscal year 2013.

Asked if the program could be completely eliminated given mounting budget pressures, Schwartz said the planes were still essential to giving the Afghan air force the ability to provide close air support for ground troops.

He said the U.S. Air Force decided to cancel a contract award after discovering substandard documentation for the decision while preparing for a lawsuit filed by competitor Hawker Beechcraft Inc.

The Air Force has told the companies it is still deciding whether to restart the contract award process with new rules or to retain the previous rules, but Hawker would be allowed to participate after being knocked out of the competition last year. It will also seek to have Hawker's lawsuit dismissed.