According to Reuters news service, the Air Force has asked the Government Accountability Office to review its decision upholding protests by Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky over the award of the combat search and rescue helicopter replacement program to Boeing. GAO managing general counsel Michael Golden told Reuters USAF “filed a request for reconsideration.” Boeing officials said this week that a recompetition would be unfair to them. Lockheed maintains that USAF used old data in its original evaluation. The Air Force, of course, does not want to delay the program start.
With a shrinking fleet and growing operational demand, Air Force Special Operations Command sees the new OA-1K combat scout aircraft as key to a “new era,” officials say.