| Throwing the Americans Crumbs Now?
Boeing, Lockheed, bid on $5.4 billion Air Force award
BY EDMOND LOCOCO
Bloomberg News
Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., the top two U.S. defense contractors, will compete separately for as much as $5.4 billion in U.S. Air Force orders to support all of the service's weapons systems, including those used by Special Operations Forces.
Work includes maintenance, spare parts and repairs for programs including C-130 transport planes and B-52 bombers, Boeing said in a statement today. Lockheed will also bid, spokeswoman Wendy Owen said.
The Air Force is trying to save costs by uniting under one set of contracts work now carried out under two types of awards. Boeing said it's the only company in the competition that now has orders under both types of existing contracts. The Air Force will select as many as 10 teams to receive work under the new type of 10-year contract, called the Future Flexible Acquisition and Sustainment Tool.
The new program will include about $3.4 billion for work now carried out under a type of contract called the Flexible Acquisition and Sustainment Tool, and about $2 billion allocated to Air Force Special Operations Command tasks.
The new awards are anticipated to come around Sept. 30, when the current contracts expire, Boeing spokesman Forrest Gossett said.  |