http://www.dsti.net/Information/News/79489
西科斯基公司可能成為美國空軍戰鬥救援直升機項目的唯一競標商
2012-12-18
[據英國《飛行國際》2012年12月12日報導]美國西科斯基公司可能成為美國空軍戰鬥救援直升機（CRH）項目的唯一競標者，該公司將在MH-60“黑鷹”特種任務直升機的基礎上開發一個改型來參與CRH專案競標。目前西科斯基公司正在為美國空軍製造“黑鷹”直升機，以填補其HH-60G機隊因戰損導致的數量缺口。過去一段時間內，美國空軍將西科斯基做為單一承包商的採購模式作為默認的方案，直到有競爭對手提出異議才決定開展全面競標。
然而，到目前為止其他競標商仍然沒有決定是否參與這一價值68.4億美元項目的競標。很多公司由於空軍提出的評估標準而退出該專案。一位分析師曾稱其標準導致該項目“從本質上成為了價格大戰”。
諾格公司稱，他們在對建議徵詢書進行了全面的評估後決定放棄參與該專案。公司原本的計畫是作為主承包商，使用阿古斯塔•韋斯特蘭公司的機體參與該專案。與之類似的還有EADS集團，也在對建議徵詢書進行評估後決定不參與競標。而曾於2006年贏得空軍最初的戰鬥搜救直升機換代項目（CSAR-X）的波音公司也選擇了退出。貝爾公司則稱，由於項目提出的費用要求，使得該項目無法引入先進技術。
空軍目前表示，由於要保證項目的公開性和透明性，他們將不會在方案徵詢書階段和選擇階段透露相關的專案資訊。（中國航空工業發展研究中心 李昊）
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/sikorsky-last-bidder-standing-in-usafs-combat-rescue-helicopter-battle-380157/
Sikorsky last bidder standing in USAF's combat rescue helicopter battle
PrintBy: Dave Majumdar Washington DC 06:18 12 Dec 2012 Source:
Sikorsky appears to be the only potential contractor willing to bid for the US Air Force's combat rescue helicopter (CRH) programme.
"Sikorsky intends to continue with its proposal to offer the air force a proven, affordable combat rescue helicopter system to perform the critical mission of saving warfighters' lives," the company says.
The company is likely to bid a modified variant of its MH-60 Black Hawk special operations aircraft for the USAF tender. It is already building Black Hawks as part of the service's operational loss replacement effort to shore up an existing fleet of HH-60G Pave Hawks - a type that would be replaced by the CRH. For a time, the USAF had considered placing a sole-source contract with Sikorsky, before eventually bowing to pressure from rivals to hold a full competition.
However, every other potential contender for the USAF contract, which is capped at $6.84 billion, has decided not to bid for the programme. Many of the contractors dropped out because of the evaluation criteria for the bids, says Dan Goure, an analyst at the Lexington Institute, who notes that this "essentially makes this a price shootout".
"A thorough analysis of the final RFP [request for proposals] has been conducted and Northrop Grumman has determined that it will not submit a bid to the US Air Force for the combat rescue helicopter programme," Northrop says. "We've reached this conclusion based on an extensive evaluation of customer requirements under the current RFP."
Northrop, which is partnered with European airframer AgustaWestland, had intended to offer a variant of the AW101 for the CRH effort. "This decision was made jointly with our teammate AgustaWestland and will have no effect on the team's pursuit of the US Navy presidential helicopter programme," it adds.
Like Northrop and AgustaWestland, EADS has also decided not to pursue the opportunity. "After carefully evaluating the RFP, we have decided that we will not submit a bid. As with any bid/no-bid decision, a multitude of factors were considered in our analysis," the company says. EADS has not publicly said which aircraft it had intended to offer, but it is likely it would have pitched the Eurocopter EC725.
Boeing, which had won the original combat search and rescue replacement vehicle (CSAR-X) contract in 2006 with its CH-47 Chinook, is also dropping out. "While both the Boeing H-47 Chinook and the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey have well-documented successes conducting search and rescue missions, neither aircraft is competitive for this programme as it is currently structured," the company says.
Bell Helicopter, which had considered offering its UH-1Y, is also declining to bid. "Unfortunately, the CRH requirements as written do not accommodate advanced technologies such as the V-22 or the UH-1Y, which offer lower overall operating costs, consequently neither product will be offered as a solution for the CRH programme," the company says.
The USAF, for its part, says that it is committed to an "open and transparent" process in selecting a new helicopter. "To ensure this occurs, we are prohibited from releasing information while in the request for proposal and selection processes," the service says.
Given the USAF's long and troubled history with acquisition programmes, there may be fall-out at the Pentagon over how the service has handled the CRH procurement, Goure says. "It may be perfectly legitimate, but in a world where DoD [Department of Defense], where [Deputy Secretary of Defense] Ash Carter is demanding more competition, they just wrote a contract that sort of precludes competition," he says.
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