Who Will Win the Bomber Contract?

The Pentagon is in the eleventh hour of evaluating proposals from Boeing and Northrop Grumman for the Long-Range Strike Bomber contract. Both teams have the skills to build the aircraft, but will technical proposals be the only consideration? Pentagon acquisition, technology, and logistics chief Frank Kendall said the award “will be based on the merits,” but each team has unique capabilities and financial circumstances. Prior performance on other big-ticket programs likely will be a factor, and the Defense Department is anxious to preserve as much competition as possible for future contests. Assuming comparable technical proposals and price, who is best positioned to win the LRS-B? (Read our full analysis.) (View the PDF version of the article, which will appear in Air Force Magazine‘s August issue.)