On February 27 prime contractors involved in Air 9000
Phase 7 offering the EC135 were sent an interesting letter from Rear Admiral Tony
Dalton, head of helicopter systems division in the DMO.
The EC 135 is being offered as part of the HATS
(helicopter aircrew training system) for two contenders: KBR and Boeing.
Other offerings include the Bell 429 partnered
exclusively with Raytheon.
The other offering is the A109 from Rotosim, a joint venture between CAE and Augusta Westland.
The EC135 tenderers have been reminded that since
Australian Aerospace and Eurocopter have a Project of Concern (PoC) with other
phases of the program with the MRH90, the Commonwealth may choose to 'terminate
further participation in the RFT if any tenderer has a PoC, as per the
conditions of the tender process.
These conditions have been highlighted before to both
prime and subcontractor companies but not quite so graphically.
ADM understands that the Commonwealth is giving
companies a 'heads up' that the conditions are there and can be used if needed.
RADM Dalton would like to see demonstrable evidence
that Australian Aerospace and Eurocopter have commitment to the remediation
program of phases 2, 4 and 6 under the PoC framework.
This is despite the fact that Australian Airspace does
not produce the EC135.
These companies have been asked to respond to the
letter and the issues raised in it.
ADM also understands that the Defence Minister
was unaware of the letter until contacted by one of the prime companies who
received the aforementioned letter.
Comment: This letter raises some interesting questions beyond
the HATS program. Why was the same letter not sent to every contender,
reminding them of the implications of the PoC framework? Do companies that have
programs on the PoC list bother bidding for anything? If so, what does that
mean for true competition?
An EC135 helicopter
