Glass Half Full

US Aerospace has taken the high road in responding to the Government Accountability Office’s ruling earlier this week that denied the company’s KC-X bid protest against the Air Force. “While we are disappointed with the outcome, we are pleased that the GAO determined that there is no evidence of any bias against working with international partners in bidding for US military projects,” said Michael Goldberg, a director of US Aerospace’s board, in the company’s statement. He also thanked the Air Force for “the opportunity to bid,” and GAO for reviewing the case. The southern California-based company teamed with state-owned Ukrainian aerospace giant Antonov to offer an Antonov-based aircraft to be the KC-X tanker. Trouble is, the team turned in its proposal five minutes past the deadline; USAF therefore rejected the bid. GAO could not substantiate the company’s accusations that Air Force misconduct caused the tardy handover.