Saturday, June 16, 2012

US restarts competition for aircraft for Afghan air force

A-29 Super TucanoAfter conducting an internal investigation, bringing in senior staff and briefing Congress, the U.S. Air Force expects this month to restart a contentious competition to purchase single-engine turboprop attack aircraft for Afghanistan that pits the Brazilian company Embraer and its A-29 Super Tucano against Wichita, Kan.-based Hawker Beechcraft and its AT-6.

Embraer, however, is concerned about getting a fair shake in the new competition, the outcome of which will affect not only the two companies, but also possibly the future of growing Brazil-U.S. military cooperation as well as the prospects for U.S. defense companies seeking to do business in Brazil.

In March the Air Force abruptly canceled a $355 million contract it had just awarded Embraer to build 20 light air support aircraft for the Afghan air force after losing bidder Hawker Beechcraft sued the Pentagon.

Read more

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.