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Congress Threatens To Pull Funding for Air Force Tankers
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There was interaction between the Air Force and the bidders, she said, to make sure they understood the needs of the Air Force. "There's no mystery here about where each offerer stood in relation to the request for proposal," Payton said.
Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), whose congressional district includes a Boeing manufacturing plant, accused the Air Force of making changes to its requirements that favored Northrop's team after the proposal request was issued. But Payton denied the charge.
"The competition was totally unfair," Dicks said. "The Air Force made a big mistake." He said Congress should "stop this program," redo the procurement and "say this has to be built by a U.S. company."
Payton refused to give details on the technical merits and evaluations of the proposals in open session and before the competitors had been briefed.
The proposals were evaluated on five criteria, including past performance, cost and operations in a wartime scenario. Northrop's team met or exceeded the contract's requirements and supplied the "best overall value," Payton said. "Northrop brought their A game."
The Air Force has said the tanker program is its top acquisition priority, and Payton said it is "absolutely critical for the Air Force to move forward now on this program."
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing yesterday, Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne said Northrop's tanker is "clearly a better performer" than Boeing's.
Boeing has 10 days from the date it is briefed to dispute the Air Force's decision with the Government Accountability Office. Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing's defense unit, said yesterday at a Citigroup conference in New York that the company would protest the decision only if "we think there is an irregularity in the proposal phase."
