CT-Based Sikorsky Loses Challenge Over Black Hawk Replacement Contract

Apr. 6—Lockheed Martin lost its challenge of a U.S. Army award to Bell, leaving it with one last-ditch option to reverse the decision in favor of its Sikorsky subsidiary in Stratford as prime contractor to produce a long-term replacement for the Black Hawk helicopter alongside Boeing.

The Government Accountability Office had set an April 7 deadline to rule on Lockheed Martin's challenge of the Army decision to go with the Bell V-280 Valor as its future, all-purpose utility aircraft. The Black Hawk has held that role since the early 1980s, keeping Sikorsky a fixture among the handful of the largest employers in the state under Lockheed Martin and prior parent company United Technologies.

GAO indicated on Thursday it would release a public document explaining its decision after it was reviewed for any sensitive information.

Had GAO sustained Lockheed Martin's protest it could have recommended the Army open up a second bidding process to give Sikorsky and Boeing another crack at the program. GAO does not have arbitrator power to force a reversal, but there is plenty of precedent for the Pentagon complying with GAO decisions, including Sikorsky getting a second chance to bid for a U.S. Air Force helicopter program it subsequently won with the Jolly Green II rescue helicopter now being manufactured in Stratford.

For the Army's Future Long Range Assault Aircraft program to phase out the Black Hawk, Sikorsky and Boeing put forward a helicopter design they call Defiant-X, which features a stacked set of counter-rotating main rotor blades and a "pusher" propeller to achieve speeds far faster than the Black Hawk, with vastly improved maneuverability as well.

But with its tilt-rotor engines that allow it to take off like a helicopter then fly like an airplane, the V-280 Valor easily bests the range of Defiant-X, with a range of anywhere from 600 to 900 miles loaded for combat. That would allow military commanders to dispatch missions from bases farther away from a target landing zone, a major consideration for any future operations in the Pacific Rim and in other regions to better protect air bases from enemy attack.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn., termed the decision "misguided and inexplicable" on Thursday and said he expects a full explanation from the Army.

"My understanding is the Sikorsky helicopter is more reliable, more versatile and more cost-effective," Blumenthal told CT Insider. "I have a responsibility as a member of the Armed Services Committee to conduct oversight and ensure that our military receives the best possible equipment of all kinds, so that is never has a 'fair fight' and that it has the kind of air superiority that our troops on the ground need."

Blumenthal added it is important to U.S. strategic considerations that Sikorsky remain a viable supplier to the U.S. military, maintaining a trained workforce in Connecticut in addition to Bell in Texas.

The U.S. Army had not granted multiple requests by Connecticut's Congressional delegation for details on its decision, which could have a major impact on Sikorsky's headquarters plant in Stratford over the long haul as the V-280 Valor phases out the Black Hawk over time as the Army's biggest aviation program. In a joint statement from Blumenthal, Sen. Chris Murphy, D- Conn., and Connecticut's five Democrat representatives in Congress, the delegation lauded Sikorsky workers' track record in building "military and commercial birds" for decades.

"We have been working relentlessly to relay this to the Army to no avail," Connecticut's Congressional delegation stated in a joint news release. "Our investments must be smart. We need answers as to why and how the Army made this decision."

GAO wrote in its Thursday decision, "The Army reasonably evaluated Sikorsky's proposal as technically unacceptable because Sikorsky failed to provide the level of architectural detail required. ... GAO also denied Sikorsky's various allegations about the acceptability of Bell's proposal, including the assertion that the agency's evaluation violated the terms of the solicitation or applicable procurement law or regulation."

Lockheed Martin gave no immediate indication whether it would seek to challenge the decision in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

"We remain confident the Lockheed Martin Sikorsky and Boeing team submitted the most capable, affordable and lowest-risk Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft solution," the companies stated in a joint news release. "We will review the GAO's decision and determine our next steps."

Bell chose the V-280 name for the 280-knot cruising speed it designed the aircraft to achieve, incrementally faster than Defiant X. Bell reported the Valor has hit 315 knots an hour in flight tests, or roughly 360 miles an hour.

GAO confirmed Thursday that Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky based part of their protest on what they believe to be a far higher cost for the Army to acquire and maintain the V-280 Valor, including the cost of having to restructure ground-based operations to accommodate the aircraft which is nearly half as much wider as the Defiant-X. The Sikorsky- Boeing design is roughly the same size as the Black Hawk, removing the need for any wholesale reconfiguration of hangars and other support facilities.

It is a consideration not just for the U.S. military, but also international partners who do not have experience with tilt-rotor aircraft, with Japan the only other country today to fly tilt-rotor aircraft.

Bell has yet to state where it will manufacture the V-280 Valor, with the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey long assembled in Amarillo, Texas. Bell produced 13 Ospreys last year for the U.S. Marine Corps, for which Sikorsky is now building the CH-53K King Stallion in Stratford that is the largest helicopter ever fielded by the U.S. military.

Bell is building a V-280 test facility in Grand Prairie, Texas, not far from its Plano headquarters. Textron has its headquarters in Providence, R.I.

Bell and Sikorsky are squaring off as well to produce an armed scout helicopter that would fill the role performed today by the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, and previously the Bell OH-58 Kiowa light observation helicopter which the Army mothballed for good in 2017. It represents Sikorsky's last major opportunity to remain a major part of the Army fleet whenever the Black Hawk hits its sunset, which might not be until 2070 or beyond.

Includes prior reporting by Ethan Fry and Luther Turmelle.

[email protected]; @casoulman

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