New York Times: Again, Boeing Is Scrutinized on a Contract - by Leslie Wayne

For the complete report from the New York Times click on this linkAgain, Boeing Is Scrutinized on a Contract - by Leslie Wayne

When the Boeing Company won a $15 billion contract last November to provide the US Air Force with the next generation of search-and-rescue helicopters, Boeing officials were not the only ones surprised. So were executives at the Lockheed Martin Corporation and the Sikorsky Aircraft unit of the United Technologies Corporation, which were both promoting models that were newer, lighter and more nimble than Boeing’s 54,000-pound variation of its Vietnam-era Chinook.Rather than just lick their wounds, Lockheed and Sikorsky quickly lodged protests with the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s auditing arm. It was a long-shot effort — less than 30 percent of such protests prevail. But with so much on the line, the companies were livid.

In a rare decision that could overturn Boeing’s victory, the G.A.O. said on Monday that the Air Force should reopen the competition, and, if Boeing’s bid “no longer represents the best value to the government,” the Air Force should “terminate the contract.”