CSAR Contract Delayed Again

[unhappycamper]

CSAR Contract Delayed Again
April 15, 2008
Philadelphia Inquirer

The long-anticipated awarding of a $10 billion contract for a military search-and-rescue helicopter has been delayed again -- from July to October -- to comply with changes in the law restricting use of imported specialty metals.

Boeing said April 14 that it had received a draft of the new bid proposal, called Amendment 6, in what the Air Force calls its CSAR-X competition.

This has evolved into a bitter competition involving three big defense contractors, all with major operations in the Philadelphia area.

In 2006, a new model of the Philadelphia-built Boeing Chinook won the initial competition. The victory promised future orders for 144 helicopters and as many as 400 new jobs at the Boeing Co. plant in Ridley Township, Delaware County.

But objections from rivals -- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. -- persuaded the Government Accountability Office to order a new round of bidding and revised specifications.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/csar-contract-delayed-again.html