Deal for almost 400 rotorcraft could proceed despite investigation over leaked data
The US Army’s aviation branch has decided not to delay two new helicopter acquisitions, despite an emerging scandal over contractors improperly obtaining internal programme documents.
The army’s planned procurements of 368 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH) and 322 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) are under investigation, but the former deal could be concluded this week with the award of a contract for either Bell Helicopter’s 407 or Boeing’s MH-6 Little Bird. The service also plans to release a request for proposals for the LUH from 26 July, according to a recent acquisition document.
Both programmes face investigations for acknowledged misdeeds that took place about eight to 10 months ago. The ARH matter was settled internally last November, but was first publicly acknowledged by Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) last week to Flight International. One of the two ARH teams notified the army last September that it possessed a digital copy of the service’s capabilities development documents for the programme. It is understood that the second ARH competitor also then acknowledged possession of the same documents. AMCOM referred the incident to army investigators, but it was not clear last week whether a probe has been completed.
The LUH matter surfaced in April, when one of the potential bidders notified the army that it had obtained multiple internal army planning documents for the competition. AMCOM has also referred this case to army law enforcement officials and an investigation is under way.
In both cases, the army has responded to concerns about competitive integrity by releasing the internal documents to all of the interested bidders. “We believe our actions in informing the interested parties and in disclosing the information and initiating the investigation are directed toward maintaining and restoring the integrity of the competition,” says AMCOM.
The command was unable to comment on whether the army will wait for the investigation to be completed before releasing the LUH tender. Some potential bidders remain concerned about competitive fairness, noting that the contractor involved may have used the internal documents to shape the requirements in their favour. AMCOM says it does not know whether the process was compromised, noting: “That will also be part of the investigation.”
STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
