F-35 engine and KC-X tanker raise competition questions

Posted on: Aug. 28th, 2007 || Source: Flight Global | E-mail Article | Print Article

Competition has been at the core of US defence procurement for decades, but faced with mounting budget pressures the Pentagon its trying to limit or even eliminate competition in key programmes.

Arguing it cannot afford to operate two of everything, the Department of Defense wants to "sole source" the US Air Force's KC-X tanker and the engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter - business worth billions of dollars.

The DoD's claims that competitive procurement will not produce promised savings have met with scepticism in a Congress lobbied heavily by the potential losers. The result is a war of words between incumbents and insurgents.

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