On Monday afternoon, the Air Force’s top acquisition official, Sue Payton, released a draft request for proposal amendment for the combat search and rescue helicopter replacement program “to foster open communications with our partners in industry, the Department of Defense, and Congress,” according to a short USAF release. The service plans to hold discussions with the three original offerors—Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Sikorsky—before it issues the actual RFP amendment next month. Later this summer, USAF expects the original offerors to provide “additional proposal information” on operations and support cost estimates. After which, it will conduct a fresh best value assessment and integrate that new assessment with the elements of its original evaluation that passed the scrutiny of the Government Accountability Office.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.