Gen. Schwartz: Handling of Aircraft Contract for Afghan Military an 'Embarrassment' for U.S. Air Force

2/29/2012
By Eric Beidel

Air Force leaders once again are having to apologize for errors in awarding weapon contracts. This time the controversy is over a procurement program to provide the Afghan military with light-attack aircraft.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz told reporters in Washington, D.C., Feb. 29 that the service plans to investigate the circumstances that led to the December award of a $355 million contract to produce 20 light attack aircraft to Sparks, Nev.-based Sierra Nevada and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The losing bidder Hawker Beechcraft successfully protested the decision. The Air Force subsequently terminated the program.

Schwartz said the Air Force expects to start a new competition before the funding authorization expires at the end of fiscal year 2013.
Schwartz said that that source selection documentation “didn’t meet standards.” He wouldn’t go into detail, though he expressed regret for the incident.
The controversy comes on the heels of other high-profile Air Force acquisition flubs, including a decade-long effort to replace the service’s tanker fleet that was marred by scandal and saw two contract awards overturned.
If the light-attack aircraft investigation shows that the problems with source selection weren’t the result of an innocent mistake, “there will be hell to pay,” Schwartz said.
The A-29 Super Tucano turboprop aircraft that had been selected for the Afghan military was intended to help train forces to take over the country's security and allow the United States and NATO allies to downsize their presence, the general said. The planes are necessary for Afghan forces to provide close-air support for their army, he said.
“It is important to giving the Afghan military, the air force in particular, the capability that’s needed, and that is one of the things I’m truly sad about,” Schwartz said. “Notwithstanding the embarrassment of this to us as an Air Force, it’s the fact that we’re letting our teammates down.”
The Air Force will do everything it can to get to the bottom of the matter and go through the process again “if time permits,” he said.

Topics: Defense Contracting, Defense Department, Procurement, Acquisition Reform

Comments (0)

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Please enter the text displayed in the image.

Characters *

Legal Notice *

NDIA is not responsible for screening, policing, editing, or monitoring your or another user's postings and encourages all of its users to use reasonable discretion and caution in evaluating or reviewing any posting. Moreover, and except as provided below with respect to NDIA's right and ability to delete or remove a posting (or any part thereof), NDIA does not endorse, oppose, or edit any opinion or information provided by you or another user and does not make any representation with respect to, nor does it endorse the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other material displayed, uploaded, or distributed by you or any other user. Nevertheless, NDIA reserves the right to delete or take other action with respect to postings (or parts thereof) that NDIA believes in good faith violate this Legal Notice and/or are potentially harmful or unlawful. If you violate this Legal Notice, NDIA may, in its sole discretion, delete the unacceptable content from your posting, remove or delete the posting in its entirety, issue you a warning, and/or terminate your use of the NDIA site. Moreover, it is a policy of NDIA to take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other applicable intellectual property laws. If you become aware of postings that violate these rules regarding acceptable behavior or content, you may contact NDIA at 703.522.1820.

I have read the legal notice.

Find an Article VIEW ALL ARTICLES