USAF Gaffe Roils Tanker Contest
'Clerical Error' Misaddressed Firms' Bid Evaluations
Earlier this month, the U.S. Air Force sent letters to rival planemakers about their bids for the $35 billion-dollar tanker contest - but it mixed them up, delivering its technical assessment of Boeing's bid to EADS, and vice versa.
The mistake may imperil the service's latest, bend-over-backwards effort to advance the 179-aircraft program, whose previous incarnation was dissolved after the Government Accountability Office ruled the service improperly gave the contract to EADS and Northrop Grumman.
"Earlier this month, there was a clerical error that resulted in limited amounts of identical source-selection information being provided to both KC-X offerors concerning their competitor's offer," Air Force spokesman Col. Les Kodlick said Nov. 20. "Both offerors immediately recognized the error and contacted the Air Force contracting officers."
Kodlick said the service is analyzing the information that was inadvertently disclosed and has taken steps to ensure that both competitors have had equal access to the same information.
Sources said each firm received the Integrated Fleet Aerial Refueling Assessments (IFARA) of the other's bid. The IFARA models tanker operations in various scenarios to figure out how many tankers will be needed. The Air Force uses the assessment, along with fuel and construction cost estimates, to assay how risky the rivals' bids will be. In the last incarnation of the tanker contest, the IFARA was the single biggest risk factor.
Kodlick said the service also is trying to find out how the mistake happened and ensure that it is not repeated.
"The KC-X source selection will continue. This incident will not impact our schedule for source selection," Kodlick said. "However, certain aspects of the source selection have taken slightly longer than originally anticipated, and we currently expect the award to occur early next year."
Boeing and EADS formally declined to comment on the latest episode in the protracted refueling plane saga as Air Force officials briefed members of Congress...................