Pentagon Procurement Process: Fair and Transparent in Tanker Deal, Pentagon SaysJune 18, 2010

 

The $50 billion aerial refueling tanker competition between Boeing and Europe's EADS will test the integrity of the Pentagon's procurement process, but the department is committed to ensuring a fair and transparent decision, said Aston Carter, the Defense Department's top weapons buyer. The terms of the competition were structured to make it clear why the winner was chosen, Carter said, according to a Reuter’s article.

Boeing and EADS are slugging it out in a long-running contentious battle to replace the Eisenhower-era fleet of KC-135 tankers. In 2004, Boeing won a lease-buy deal but it fell apart under the weight of a conflict-of-interest scandal. Then in 2008, Northrop Grumman (in partnership with EADS) won a contract to build 179 tankers, but Boeing derailed that victory by protesting the award.

The deadline to submit new bids is July 9 and the Pentagon alerted competing bidders to be prepared to start work by November 12, the article reported. Boeing and EADS are the top contenders, if not the only contenders.

Carter said Pentagon acquisition officials generally conduct a fair and thorough process that picks the best weapon for soldiers and the best value for taxpayers. He noted that protests—like Boeing's protest of the Northrop-EADS victory—were rare, but the Pentagon would handle them if it made a mistake, according to the article.

Frivolous protests, however, will not be tolerated. "I understand that people have a stake in this and I understand that people have strong feelings, but the integrity of the acquisition system is at stake in conducting the tanker competition in a decorous manner," he said.

Carter added that he did not anticipate a protest because it would be "crystal clear" to both the winner and loser how and why the decision was made, Reuters reported. The Pentagon would review the Air Force's acquisition decision, but the best way to protect against a protest was to have a fair and transparent process.

"What we can do is make sure that we have picked the winner based on merit," he said.