The Connecticut-based Sikorsky has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office over the Air Force’s modus operandi for re-competing the combat search and rescue helicopter replacement program, making the protest picture complete since Lockheed Martin filed a new protest last week. Sikorsky spokesman Paul Jackson told the Connecticut Post, “Our original concern remains that the Air Force is not fully considering the complete merits of the individual aircraft platforms.” The GAO reportedly has indicated it can perform a speedy resolution of the latest protests.
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.