Members of the Florida congressional delegation Friday urged Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in a letter to take the steps necessary to ensure the $427.5 million Light Air Support (LAS) contract to Sierra Nevada Defense Corp. (SNC) moves forward without delay.
Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Reps. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) and Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) cited national security for urging the LAS contract to go forward. Sierra Nevada’s subcontractor on LAS, Embraer [ERJ], plans on building its A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft in a facility at Jacksonville International Airport, Fla. Embraer said Friday it signed a 10-year lease on a 40,000 square foot facility at the airport, which is in Crenshaw’s district (Defense Daily, March 19). Brown’s district encompasses much of Jacksonville.
The initial LAS contract is to provide 20 light attack aircraft to Afghanistan’s nascent air force.
“Unfortunately, the road to providing U.S. commanders in Afghanistan with the light air support capability they requested long ago has been paved with numerous unnecessary and costly delays,” the lawmakers wrote. “Now, the window for providing this resource and training in time to make a difference is quickly closing.”
Losing LAS bidder Beechcraft is currently protesting the LAS award to SNC. The Air Force Friday directed SNC and Embraer to start work on the A-29s despite Beechcraft’s protest (Defense Daily, March 18).
The lawmakers said in their letter that they are ready to assist “in any manner” to ensure these aircraft arrive in Afghanistan without further delay. Crenshaw spokeswoman Barbara Riley said yesterday an example would be allowing work to continue during the protest.
This is the second time in the LAS saga Beechcraft has protested after losing out on the contract. Beechcraft last protested in 2011 before the Air Force threw out the previous award to SNC citing documentation issues.
The Government Accountability Office, which handles contract protests, will make its decision no later than June 17 (Defense Daily, March 11).