Alabama’s senators are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to take quick action on the aerial refueling tanker competition.
Gates halted the multi-billion dollar competition between the Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman-EADS earlier this year after government auditors found the contest flawed. He planned for the new presidential administration to tackle the bid. But Gates was asked to stay on under an Obama administration next year.
Gates warned of defense spending cutbacks in this L.A. Times story.
And Rep. John Murtha, who chairs the House subcommittee on defense appropriations, warned yesterday that tanker procurement could be two years off.
Sens. Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby sent Gates a letter today asking him to move forward quickly with the Air Force bid.
In February, the Air Force awarded the contest to Northrop and EADS, which would assemble their tankers in Alabama.
Boeing, which would have built its tankers in Everett and Kansas, successfully protested the award to the Government Accountability Office.
Here’s an excerpt from the Alabama senators’ letter:
It is critical to ensure our warfighter gets the most capable tanker our nation can provide in an expedient, best value process. Mr. Secretary, as you know, the average age of our current tanker is now older than the average age of the pilot who flies it. As such, we also have very serious safety concerns with a continued delay in the selection of a replacement tanker.
Acknowledging the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recommendation that a full re-competition is not warranted, we urge the Department to quickly move forward with an acquisition strategy that follows the established competitive process and simply addresses the eight issues of concern stated by the GAO. Further, the tanker replacement program should be based on a best value process. A best value acquisition strategy allows the government to procure the most capable equipment at the most affordable price.
Our primary interest is to ensure that the capabilities of our tanker fleet are the very best and that our armed forces receive the equipment they need in executing future operations. As the foundation of our ability to project force globally for the next half century, we must obtain the best platform for the $100 billion taxpayer investment.
It is time to acquire the best plane for our armed forces; our warfighters deserve nothing less. We respectfully urge you to act now and implement an acquisition strategy that meets our national security needs.
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