Posted on 11/20/2011 8:52:19 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Hawker Beechcraft loses out on big Air Force contract
By Dan Voorhis
The Wichita Eagle
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. says the Air Force has informed the company that it lost out on a military contract worth nearly $1 billion.
The company had hoped to win the Light Air Support contract with its AT-6, an armed version of its T-6 trainer. But on Friday, the company said it received a letter from the Air Force saying the AT-6 had been excluded from the competition. The company wants an explanation.
According to the company’s news release: “The letter provides no basis for the exclusion. We are both confounded and troubled by this decision, as we have been working closely with the Air Force for two years and, with our partners Lockheed Martin, CMC Esterline, Pratt & Whitney Canada, L-3 WESCAM and CAE, have invested more than $100 million preparing to meet the Air Force’s specific requirements.”
The piston planes are designed for counterinsurgency, close air support, armed overwatch and homeland security.
Hawker Beechcraft said it continues to believe the AT-6 is the most capable, affordable and sustainable aircraft in the competition based on the Air Force’s specifications. The company has said that winning the award would have kept its T-6 production line running after 2015. The company has said that 1,400 employees in 20 states – including 800 at Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita – work on the AT-6 and T-6 programs at the company and its U.S. suppliers and partners.
The company said Friday that it had no further comment, for now.
The decision appears to leave the field open to the Super Tucano built by Brazil’s Embraer for the initial contract to supply 35 with the potential for 55 aircraft worth up to $950 million. And that doesn’t include foreign sales.
The Air Force’s move surprised aircraft industry analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group.
“They seemed to be the front runner for the contract,” he said of Hawker. “They had the most infrastructure spread over the most states and the most political support.”
He said the loss is not critical to the company’s survival, but it would have been a great boost to maintaining work and workers as the company’s T-6 contract runs down.
“The challenge is to build for the military market until the civil market comes back,” Aboulafia said. “And nobody knows when the civil market will come back, probably some time next year, but there’s no guarantee.”
Analyst Wayne Plucker, industry manager for aerospace at Frost & Sullivan, downplayed the importance of the contract to the company.
“It might lead to more layoffs and other adjustments internally, but I don’t think it significantly affects them as a going concern,” he said. “They just need to find another product niche.”
He said the Super Tucano was built specifically for this kind of mission, while the AT-6 is an adaption that wasn’t perfect. Embraer has struggled to sell enough of the planes so it has priced them very aggressively.
U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, said in an e-mailed statement that he was disappointed by the decision..
“I have already demanded answers from the Pentagon on why they made this very unfortunate decision, and will continue to do so,” he wrote. “This contract is critical both to our nation’s security and to jobs in Wichita, Kansas.”
Another great idea to rely on foreigners for our military.
My guess is that one of O’dumby’s supporters has stock in the Brazilian company.
EXactly. I think of Brazil, I think of George Soros.
Could be a quid-pro-quo in exchange for the F/A-18 contract that Boeing has been chasing. Not sure if that’s a good idea, but...
yeah, send the money and the jobs overseas. It’s not like we need money or jobs here in the USA. /s
Playing games for two years to end up with the plane the military wanted in the first place.
Or may be the fact that the Brazilian product is in service with 4-5 countries and has seen combat, does count for something against the AT-6, which is just about past prototype stage.
The apparent winner
Hawker Beechcraft also relies on foreign manufacturing. And Embraer will build the Super Tucano in the US, if it does get the contract.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/sierra-nevada-leads-super-tucano-bid-for-usaf-deal-352676/
The FX-2 fighter deal that Boeing is competing in is worth at least 7billion US and the number of fighters could go up from 36 to 120.
http://defense-update.com/20110121_fx-2_sela.html
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2008/q3/080815b_nr.html
Buying and building a handfall of Super Tucanos is a basement bargain by that logic.
True, but it could be a big thing for the Brazilians so don’t discount the theory out of hand.
Supplying aircraft to the USAF, even if it’s just a “handful of Super Tucanos” would be a very big deal prestige-wise and would give that company immense clout when it comes to negotiating other sales.
Besides, it’s an easy condition to add to the list from their side of the deal.
Your credible response doesn’t address why the apparent front runner for the contract was suddenly advised without any reason whatsoever that they no longer were in consideration.
Wondering why they were apparently in the front running category in the first place if as you say.
The AT-6 was never the front runner. The Embraer Super Tucano was alwys the front runner and the favored platform from the beginning. It was politics that has caused the delay in awarding the contract to the only viable source.
That was short and to the point; and correct.
Thats how we got the Berretta 9mm pistol We wanted to place some intermediate range nukes in Italy.
Where is their plant located? Is it...say...in a southern state? A red state? A right to work state?
As for manufacture, the Super T's are going to be built from kits in the U.S., not unlike the beginning of the LUH-72 contract.
LOL... I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.
All I know is that my friends in service hate the Barretta.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.