The Government Accountability Office on Wednesday denied US Aerospace’s legal complaint against the Air Force alleging that the service unfairly did not accept the company’s KC-X tanker bid. GAO attorneys concluded that “the US Aerospace proposal to build the KC-X tanker was received after the deadline for the receipt of proposals,” said Ralph White, managing associate general counsel for procurement law, in GAO’s statement. He added, “Consequently the Air Force acted appropriately in rejecting the proposal.” A company official declined to comment when reached by the Daily Report. Last month GAO ruled that there was “insufficient support” for US Aerospace’s claim that Air Force officials engaged in intentional misconduct to prevent the company from turning in a tanker bid. Stay tuned for more coverage. (GAO ruling)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.