Boeing and Lockheed Martin challenge Northrop’s deal to build the Air Force’s new stealth airplane.
When the military needs new machinery, defense contractors rush to bid for the lucrative deals that can bring in billions of dollars over several years. But a recent Pentagon award is now being questioned by competing companies that say the military’s bidding process failed to adequately address the costs and risks of the deal.
Last week, Boeing and Lockheed Martin formally protested the Pentagon’s deal with competitor Northrop Grumman for development of a new long-range bombing plane, according to Reuters. The two companies had combined in a competing bid, and they now charge the Pentagon with a “fundamentally flawed” decision-making process that led to awarding Northrop with the multi-billion dollar deal.
The companies’ complaint suggests the Pentagon failed to properly account for proposals to keep costs down, or for the risks around Northrop’s ability to fulfill the contract with planes that perform as needed.
It is now up to Congress’ independent research arm, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to evaluate the complaint. The GAO says its ruling will be made by Feb. 16, 2016.
Boeing and Lockheed say that in evaluating the competing bids, the Air Force failed to account for their new technologies that make development and manufacturing more efficient. They also claim that Northrop’s recent expertise has been as a supplier, and not a primary contractor on aircraft programs, thus raising questions about the company’s capabilities.
Northrop noted that the new stealth bomber program is vital for national security and stated that as the only company with previous stealth bomber development experience it was best suited for the new project.
Northrop previously built the troubled B-2 bombers, which suffered from radar deficiencies and other problems and which ended production in 1992, after Northrop delivered just 22 planes at well above the original cost estimates.
Boeing won a similar challenge when it questioned a previous Air Force deal with Northrop to build a new line of refueling planes. Following the company’s challenge, the Air Force cancelled the contract with Northrop and awarded the tanker deal to Boeing.
