The Air Force recently issued the draft version of its newly revised solicitation for its next-generation rescue helicopter, the CSAR-X, giving the three industry teams vying to supply the aircraft until the end of the month to provide feedback.
The draft document, known as Amendment 5, is the Air Force’s newest response to resolve a standing legal impasse with Lockheed Martin [LMT]-led Team US101 and Sikorsky [UTX] over how the service picked Boeing [BA] over them in November 2006 to build the modern rescue platform. The three teams are competing for the rights to provide 141 new helicopters under multi-billion-dollar Combat Search and Rescue Replacement Vehicle, or CSAR-X, program. The CSAR-X helicopters will replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of HH-60G Pave Hawks.
“Amendment 5 will allow the CSAR-X offerors to make changes to all price/cost and non-price/cost portions of their proposals,” the Air Force stated in the notice that it posted Oct. 23 at the Federal Business Opportunity web site on the release of the draft revised RFP.
Boeing is offering the HH-47, a variant of the tandem-rotor Chinook helicopter. Sikorsky is competing the HH-92, while Team US101 is bidding its US101 helicopter, a variant of which the Navy chose in 2005 to ferry U.S presidents in future decades.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has on two separate occasions upheld protests lodged by Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky over the Air Force’s choice of the HH-47 (Defense Daily, Feb. 27 and Sept. 4). After the GAO’s first ruling in February, the Air Force attempted to resolve the issue by modifying how it would calculate the estimated maintenance manpower costs of the three designs. But after the GAO’s second ruling in August, the Air Force agreed to accept a much broader body of updated cost and non- cost data in revised proposals.
“I will tell you that the Air Force did a superb study and downselected the Boeing [model],” Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne said of the original source selection while testifying on Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee. “The GAO has told us, go back.”
Accordingly, he continued, “My direction to the team is: You treat every contractor like they just walked in the door. So right now we have to treat every contractor like they are brand new, including Boeing.”
Amendment 5 is the new revision to the original CSAR-X request for proposal (RFP) of October 2005 that will lay out the changes to the solicitation. The offerors have until Oct. 30 to provide their input that may influence the wording or content of the final version of the revised solicitation. The Air Force anticipates issuing the RFP in final form around mid November, Wynne said during the hearing.
Air Force officials have said they would like to have the three teams submit their proposals before the Christmas holiday in late December, but Wynne spoke of January yesterday. And while Wynne said selecting the winner may be possible in February, Air Force acquisition officials have mentioned later in the year, perhaps May, as being likely.
Among its details, the draft amendment indicates a change in the mandated initial operational capability (IOC) date of the new helicopters. The Air Force originally wanted the first squadron of five CSAR-X helicopters available before the end of FY ’12. Now the service states in the draft document that IOC is “desired as early as” the fourth quarter of FY ’12, “but not later than” the third quarter of FY ’14.
Development of the initial version of the CSAR-X, the Block 0 helicopter is expected to start in FY ’08, with long-lead production notionally commencing two years later, the draft language reads. Development of the more sophisticated Block 10 follow-on variant is anticipated to begin approximately three years after the start of Block 0 work, it states.
The notional funding profile through FY ’13 for CSAR-X research, development, test and evaluation activities is: FY ’08: $70 million; FY ’09: $220 million; FY ’10: $280 million; FY ’11: $250 million; FY ’12: $260 million; and FY ’13: $300 million. The estimated funding for production is: FY ’09: $15 million; FY ’10: $190 million; FY ’11 $525 million; FY ’12: $550 million; and FY ’13: $740 million.
The Air Force states in the document, while there will be no funding flexibility in FY ’08 and FY ’09, there will be some latitude between FY ’10 and FY ’13 to support an offeror’s proposal.
“While funding flexibility exists in the FY ’10 to FY ’13 timeframe, not more than $100 million per year can be moved into or out of an individual fiscal year,” the language reads. “Additionally, total funding during the FY ’10 to FY ’13 timeframe shall not be exceeded.”
The notional production schedule for the 141 helicopters laid out in the draft document calls for four aircraft in FY ’11, followed by six in FY ’12, nine in FY ’13, 14 in FY ’14 and then 18 each year from FY ’15 through FY ’20.
The draft document also indicates that the offerors will now be given the option to give an oral presentation on the mission capability and risk of their bids within two weeks of submitting their proposals.
Further, the Air Force said it will require an offeror to conduct a new flight evaluation of its proposed helicopter model if it determines that “an offeror, as a result of RFP amendment 5, has proposed a substantially different non-developmental baseline aircraft” than what participated in the original CSAR-X flight evaluations. These were held in November 2005 at Nellis AFB, Nev.
Boeing said in a statement issued on Wednesday it received Amendment 5 and is reviewing it. Lockheed Martin spokesman Frans Jurgens said yesterday the company is also studying the content of the draft amendment. Sikorsky did not respond to a query by press time Oct. 25.
The Air Force had intended to host equal information disclosure (EID) briefings this week in order to ensure that all of the teams are on a level playing field and no team believes that it is at a competitive disadvantage due to the perceived release of competition-sensitive data since the original award to Boeing in November 2006 (Defense Daily, Oct. 5).
However, Boeing said as of yesterday, these briefings are on hold due to “the losing bidders’ objection” to the Air Force’s plans to conduct these briefings.
“Boeing has complied and cooperated with every Air Force revision and request in good faith and we believe it’s time our competitors did the same thing,” the company said in a statement issued Wednesday. “We remain confident that the Boeing HH-47 remains the best choice and in the end will be selected by the Air Force again based on its superior capabilities and low risk. The bottom line is that it’s time to finish this process and start building helicopters.”
Lockheed Martin declined to comment on EID briefings, while Sikorsky did not respond by press time.
As the competition unfolds, the Air Force is executing site surveys of the potential beddown locations for the new rescue helicopters.
Officials from Air Combat Command (ACC) are to visit Moody AFB, Ga., which is home to the 23rd Wing that operates Pave Hawks, among its inventory of rotary- and fixed-wing platforms.
ACC teams have already visited Nellis AFB, Nev., and Davis Monthan AFB, Ariz., Lt. Col. Bernie Willi, chief of the CSAR test and integration branch within the command, said earlier this month.
The command will also survey a fourth, yet-to-be-disclosed location that likely will be located in the western part of the United States, he said.