SPARKS, Nev., April 17, 2012 — Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) filed a motion with the United States Court of Federal Claims April 16 asking for judicial review of the results of the Commander Directed Investigation (CDI) in the still-pending lawsuit filed by Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company (HBDC) against the U.S. Air Force. The lawsuit resulted in the USAF setting aside the Light Air Support (LAS) contract previously awarded to SNC and opening a Commander Directed Investigation into the source selection process. The Air Force announced April 13 that Part 1 of the CDI was completed. SNC’s motion seeks court review of Part 1 of the CDI to allow the judge to have all the relevant facts available to make a fair and expeditious decision on the way forward in the lawsuit.
“We believe it is important to the goals of transparency, a fair and open competition and the integrity of the process that the Court now review the results of the Air Force investigation and actions, including determining whether the agency’s proposed corrective actions were justified and reasonable,” said SNC Taco Gilbert, Vice President of ISR Business Development at SNC. “The results of the CDI, after all, speak to the very core of the litigation brought by Hawker Beechcraft. If this matter can be expeditiously resolved through the court, it is better for American taxpayers, U.S. jobs, our military men and women, our partner nations and for our nation’s security.”
Hawker Beechcraft sued the US Air Force in December 2011 after being disqualified from the LAS competition for failure to adequately correct deficiencies in its proposal and because its plane was found technically deficient and presented “unacceptable mission capability risk.” It asked the Court to review the selection process surrounding the USAF decision to disqualify HBDC from the LAS competition and subsequently award the LAS contract to SNC.
“At the time the Air Force took its corrective action, neither the Judge nor the parties had full insight into the initial basis for the Air Force’s dissatisfaction with the documentation supporting the source selection decision-making process. Now that material information exists on this pivotal issue, it is in the best interest of all parties that it be reviewed as a part of Hawker Beechcraft’s continuing lawsuit. The Federal Claims Court also is the appropriate forum for this review as it is subject to a protective order and will protect proprietary source selection information,” Gilbert said.
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