RAYTHEON HAS lost a contract to build components for the McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III, following a bout of competitive bidding, and is to be replaced by Marion Composites.
The contract, covering winglets and landing-gear doors for the military transport-aircraft, is one of several on which MDC had asked companies to rebid as part of its submission of a multi-year bid for 80 C-17s.
The rebidding process is part of a programme-wide initiative to pare down costs of the C-17.
Most existing suppliers have had their contracts renewed after a stiff competitive bidding process but, in this case, Raytheon which originally provided the winglet and doors, has been outbid by Marion Composites.
The move comes as MDC squeezes the unit price of the aircraft, which has tumbled from $300 million in early 1995 to an expected average of $173 million, or even less. A "should-cost study" in 1995, which was concluded that, MDC could aim at a unit price of $212 million.
MDC eventually proposed in November 1995 a unit price of $190 million to the US Defense Acquisition Board, which later gave the go-ahead for procurement of a total of 120 C-17s for the US Air Force.
The price has since been whittled down further as a result of the Defense Department's decision to award a seven-year, $14.2 billion multi-year contract.
First deliveries of the gear doors and winglets from Marion will begin in February 1998. The company already makes composite leading edge and trailing edge panels for the wing flaps, as well as nose and tail radomes.
Production is now at, six aircraft a year but is set to rise steadily from 1997 to reach 15 a year by 2001.
Source: Flight International
