Air Force urged to reopen rescue helicopter bidding

The Air Force should reopen the bidding on a contract worth up to $15 billion for 141 search-and-rescue helicopters, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.

The contract was awarded last fall to Boeing Co., which beat out rival proposals by Lockheed Martin Corp. and United Technologies Corp.’s Sikorsky Aircraft unit. Under the contract the Air Force will acquire a variant of Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook.

In a summary of its decision, the GAO said it found that the way the Air Force evaluated the life-cycle costs of operating the helicopters was “inconsistent” with the approach required under the terms of the competition.

The GAO recommended the Air Force amend the final terms of the competition to make its intentions clear, reopen discussions with the bidders and request revised proposals.

If Boeing’s new offer no longer represents the “best value to the government,” then the Air Force should terminate its contract, the GAO said.

Lockheed welcomed the GAO’s findings. It had teamed with AgustaWestland Inc., a unit of Italy’s Finmeccanica, to pitch the EH-101, already chosen as the new helicopter for the U.S. presidential fleet.

Sikorsky’s entrant in the bidding was its HH-92.

Shares of Chicago-based Boeing fell $1.35 to $88.93.