Defense appropriators demand report from Air Force on CSAR-X

After months of controversy, House defense appropriators are weighing in on the Air Force’s new search-and-rescue helicopter program.

In marking up the 2008 defense bill, the appropriators are directing the Air Force to detail its source-selection criteria for the Combat Search and Rescue vehicle (CSAR-X) program and how the criteria were established.

{mosads}“The committee is concerned about the selection criteria and process by which this program has proceeded to source selection,” according to the bill language.

The Air Force report must outline the significant factors in the request for proposal (RFP) that determined the source selection, their importance and how each of the respondents to the RFP was rated against the factors. The Air Force has until Sept. 15 to deliver the report.

The CSAR-X program has been rocked by a series of industry protests. In November the Air Force selected Boeing’s Chinook helicopter as the next search-and-rescue helicopter, but the other two competitors, Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky, filed protests that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) upheld.

The Air Force modified its RFP and asked for more detailed information on lifecycle costs, but both Lockheed and Sikorsky filed new protests with the GAO, alleging that the Air Force failed to adhere to the guidance of the initial GAO decisions.
The Air Force is moving $123 million from the program to cover more immediate expenses as the protests put the $15 billion program on hold.

The Air Force has been working for years to replace its aging HH-60 G Pave Hawk helicopter fleet, which is dedicated to rescuing downed crews and others stranded on the battlefield.

The Air Force has been under substantial pressure from Congress  after picking Boeing’s larger Chinook. Lockheed Martin partnered with AgustaWestland offered the US101, while Sikorsky offered the S-92; both are considered medium-lift helicopters.