The Air Force’s top acquisition official, Sue Payton, told Rebecca Christie of Dow Jones Newswires that the service’s review of the operations and support costs for the combat search and rescue helicopter replacement program proposals would “do more than just clarify” its evaluation process. Payton said USAF planned to do a “standalone assessment” of each of the three original offerors—Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Sikorsky—revamped operations and support cost data. The Air Force recently received clarification from the Government Accountability Office about its review of protests submitted by Lockheed and Sikorsky and now feels confident that the only issue with its original award to Boeing was its operations and support cost analysis.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024.