The Air Force intends to “set aside,” or terminate, the contract awarded to Sierra Nevada for the Afghanistan Light Air Support (LAS) program, effective March 2, according to a service spokeswoman.
In an e-mail statement released to the media, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said the top acquisition official was not satisfied with the evidence to support the award.
“(But) since the acquisition is still in litigation, I can only say that the Air Force Senior Acquisition Executive, David Van Buren, is not satisfied with the quality of the documentation supporting the award decision,” the statement said.
For the competition, Sierra Nevada, with Brazilian partner Embraer, is offering its A-29 Super Tucano while Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company is bidding its AT-6. The Air Force in late December awarded the contract to Sierra Nevada after eliminating Hawker Beechcraft earlier for not having its proposal in the “competitive range.”
Hawker Beechcraft protested the decision with the Government Accountability Office, but the case was dismissed on the grounds the company didn’t file a timely protest request. It then filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims seeking to block execution of the contract on the basis of the Air Force “being unresponsive to a request for an explanation as to how it lost.” This move prompted the Air Force to order Sierra Nevada on Jan. 4 to stop work until the dispute was resolved (Defense Daily, Jan. 6).
The Light Air Support program is designed to provide Afghanistan with a light ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft. Sierra Nevada’s $355 million winning contract is for at least 20 planes (Defense Daily, Jan. 6).
The Air Force Materiel Command has initiated a Commander Directed Investigation into the matter, the Air Force e-mail statement added.
An Air Force spokeswoman said it was unknown if the program was going to be restarted.
Sierra Nevada Vice President of ISR Business Development Taco Gilbert said in a statement he believes the company’s submission “fully met” the requirements of the service’s request for proposals.
“We are disappointed by this decision. We offered the U.S. Air Force a fully proven and cost-effective Light Air Support solution–-and one that would be made in America, create and support American jobs and result in economic investment in the U.S. We know that our submission fully met the requirements of the U.S Air Force Request for Proposal (RFP) and that Sierra Nevada Corporation fully complied with the RFP process as set out by the U.S. Air Force,” Gilbert said.
“The Air Force has yet to tell us what the path forward is,” Gilbert added in a telephone conversation.
Hawker Beechcraft Chairman Bill Boisture said in a statement the contract is about more than just 20 aircraft or a billion-dollar contract.
“It is about the U.S. Air Force’s ability to build relationships with U.S. partner nations around the world for a generation to come,” Boisture said. “We continue to believe the American manufactured AT-6 is the right aircraft for this critical United States mission.”