It seems after investing around $100 million in this project, Hawker-Beechcraft has been excluded from a contract, worth almost $1 billion, to build a new light air support plane.What intrigues me is the Brazilian company Embraer, the likely contract winner, is currently under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Justice Department, for possible violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act...
Well, amigo, that certainly seems curious. I wonder how that might have happened?
...it seems George Soros has a connection to Embraer through Harbin-Embraer Aircraft a Chinese-Brazilian joint venture, and Hainan Airlines, which Soros owns a significant stake in.
Surely that must be a coincidence.
...[There may be] nothing sinister going on behind the scenes.It’s troubling, however, that Hawker-Beechcraft was given no real explanation for this decision. It’s also troubling we’d buy a military aircraft from a foreign manufacturer, under any circumstances. As bad as Americans need jobs, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Never mind the national security factor.
Hawker-Beechcraft isn't giving up.
It's still a mystery... but it's one that Hawker Beech intends to get to the bottom of... Hawker Beechcraft has confirmed that they will file a suit with the Court of Federal Claims following notification late last week that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has declined to review its protest of the decision by the U.S. Air Force to exclude the company's Beechcraft AT-6 from the Light Air Support (LAS) competition.
The company still has no concrete reasons for the AT-6's exclusion, having been denied explanation by the US Air Force on two occasions. The LAS contract is valued at nearly $1 billion of U.S. taxpayer money and exclusion of the AT-6 could result in a de facto award to a non-U.S. company.
Hawker says that keeping the contract in the U.S. would preserve 1,400 jobs at 181 companies around the U.S.
But leave it to President Obama -- who "will not rest" until every American has a good job -- to outsource the construction of military aircraft.
Hat tip: Winter Soldier.
eh well the super Tucano is a proven design, the AT-6 is just a prototype. I'd go with the Tucano too. The Tucano is one heck of a plane.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that the Tucano is a more capable airplane for some scenarios, and it might make sense for a country to have some of them. But the point is irrelevant in this competition, because the Hawker Beech entry met the stated Air Force requirements.
ReplyDeleteVery importantly in this case, the Tucano development was heavily subsidized by the Brazilian government; while on the other hand, the US Air Force led Hawker Beech on for several years, knowing full well that Hawker Beech was sinking $100M of its own money into an airplane intended solely for the Air Force's mission. Then, before even completing its source selection evaluation, the Air Force disqualified Hawker Beech for no given reason.
The Air Force led Hawker Beech on by making it clear (off the record, as usual) that further buys of the T-6 trainer would depend on Hawker Beech's participation in any upcoming light attack airplane competition.
Then, at the end, in a typically stupid fashion, the Air Force procurement bullies pulled the rug out from under Hawker Beech, making it clear that Hawker Beech had been set up to be a stalking horse in a trumped up "competition."
This kind of heavy-handed procurement malfeasance has been a hallmark of the USAF for decades, resulting in the destruction of many capable companies and the loss tens of thousands of skilled American jobs at all levels over the past 40 years. The number of companies big enough to endure this kind of bullying by US Air Force continues to decline.
It is no secret that the US Air Force is the world's worst customer. The mystery to me is why any rational CEO would waste his company's resources on trying to deal with them.
This kind of fraud by the US Air Force procurement commands has much to do with $700 toilet seats and worse -- my guess is that even that seat price is a giveaway, considering all the wasted effort in dealing with them.
Buying military aircraft from Communist China--brilliant. Right before an election? Double brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThe SCOAMF has has out-Louis XIV'd even himself.
I like the ov-1 bronco. They even made one with flir and a 20mm turret.
ReplyDeleteThis is consistent with past Brazil-related activities by this administration.
ReplyDeleteWhy Brazil?
Read this piece on Leo Gerard;
http://theulstermanreport.com/2011/12/16/leo-gerard-the-most-powerful-man-in-obamas-america/
Seems to me they'd do just as well to have Boeing start making P-51 Mustangs.
ReplyDelete