The Air Force will choose a winner in its CSAR-X competition in February, service Secretary Michael Wynne told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday. (UPDATE: Since then USAF officials have indicated it would be summer 2008 before the service makes a new award.) The Air Force reopened the protest-plagued program to allow the original bidders to submit new cost and performance data. Wynne said the language in “Amendment Five” of the request for proposals went out Tuesday, and contractors will have 21 days to look it over and offer comments. If no one objects, the final version will be released in November, and bidders will have 60 days to respond, Wynne said. After two successful protests, the Air Force is bending over backwards to accommodate contractors because it wants to get on with the program and avoid any further delay.
A recent seven-day exercise sent Air Force F-22s—along with other USAF aircraft—to austere, challenging environments across Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Agile Reaper, taking place for the second time after its inaugural edition last year, featured 800 Airmen and 29 aircraft across five different locations from April 10-16, training…