Award of CSAR-X contract expected this fall

[unhappycamper]

Award of CSAR-X contract expected this fall
Staff and wire reports
Posted : Tuesday Aug 19, 2008 18:55:18 EDT

The Air Force is on track to select a new combat search-and-rescue helicopter this fall to replace 101 HH-60G Pave Hawks, despite Pentagon investigators’ ongoing review of the initial contract award to Boeing Co. that was later overturned, a senior service official said Tuesday.

In November 2006, the Air Force awarded Boeing a $15 billion contract for 141 HH-47s, an upgraded version of the Army’s venerable CH-47 Chinook.

Lockheed Martin Corp., which offered the US101, and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., which bid a militarized version of the S-92, protested, arguing that the service had ignored its own weight specifications and unfairly evaluated the candidates’ life-cycle costs.

In February 2007, the Government Accountability Office recommended that the Air Force change the proposal request and reopen discussions with bidders, and the service responded with a modified request for proposals. But before the contract could be re-awarded, Lockheed and Sikorsky protested again, saying the proposed revisions would simply ensure that the HH-47 was chosen again. GAO upheld that protest in August 2007.

The Air Force released the fifth and final amendment to the request for proposals Nov. 15. All three competitors have since resubmitted their proposals in their entirety.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/08/ap_airforce_helicopter_081908/

[NYVet]

1. There is all kinds of waste in government.

How about 1 million dollars for a pedestrian bridge in Poughkeepsie, $500,000 for a parking facility in Provo, $450,000 to eliminate public corruption and reduce white collar crime, $400,000 for copper wire theft prevention in Las Vegas, $3.9 million added for a vehicle paint facility at Fort Eustis, Virginia, $1.35 million for the Rolls Royce solid oxide fuel systems development, $600,000 for the Wisdom Way Solar Village in Ma, and $25 million by 30 House members for the National Writing Project. The Department of Education (DoE) did not request the earmarked funds, since $3 billion already exists to improve the writing skills of professionally trained teachers.




At an approximate cost of $106,000 each, I think that helicopters that are going to be able to find and recover missing or wounded soldiers are well worth the price when compared to those 8 items.

[unhappycamper]

2. You're off just a tad.

$15 billion divided by 141 is $106,382,978 a copy.

[NYVet]

3. Sorry about that, I wrote it at 1 am.

But the comment still stands. What price do we put on a human life?

[unhappycamper]

4. American or Iraqi? n/t

[NYVet]

5. In this case, the bird could be used to pick up anyone, not just American soldiers.

But even if it is only used to pick up and transport American soldiers, then fine. Still money well spent.