Archive: defense
Tanker Questions Take Flight
Congress has begun poking around on why and how the Air Force botched the effort to award a $40 billion contract for refueling tanker planes. The questions came one day after the Pentagon said it would conduct another, expedited competition to decide who should get the extraordinarily rich deal: Northrop...
By Robert O'Harrow | July 11, 2008; 12:03 PM ET | Comments (10)
Oh My
Hate to seem like I'm picking on defense contractors and the hardworking DoD acquisition workforce. But people. Please. What is going on here? Officials from the Government Accountability Office, in testimony before House lawmakers released yesterday, said cost overruns and missed deadlines are getting worse. The GAO review found...
By Robert O'Harrow | April 30, 2008; 04:01 PM ET | Comments (4)
This Is No Joke
Just in time for April Fool's Day, the Government Accountability Office issued a report (gao-08-467sp) that documents the horrible truth of an open secret in town: That contracts for ships, aircraft and satellite are billions over budget and delayed by years. Here's what the GAO had to say about the...
By Robert O'Harrow | April 2, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (15)
Tanker, Influence and Questions
Here's another thought or two about the $40 billion Air Force fuel tanker contract and some related matters. Please, gentle readers, be patient. Goverment Inc. is feeling a bit slow and doesn't understand everything that's happening. It feels like some people don't want us to understand who is promoting...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 28, 2008; 11:02 AM ET | Comments (23)
Tanker
The officially controversial $40 billion deal for the Air Force fuel tanker keeps on kicking up dust in Washington. First there was the surprise award to Northrop Grumman and its partner, European Aeronautic Defence and Space. In other words, NOT to Boeing, which many insiders assumed had a virtual...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 26, 2008; 06:47 AM ET | Comments (18)
How Future?
The Government Accountability Office minced no words in expressing its alarm about the Army's Future Combat Systems project. Five years and many hundreds of millions of dollars into the project, and there's still no way to say "if or when the information network that is at the heart of...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 11, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
Tanker Deal Backlash
The Pentagon's remarkable decision last week to stiff Boeing and award a $40 billion deal for refueling tankers to rivals Northrop Grumman and European Aeronautic Defence and Space continues to roil Congress. A Boeing win was a foregone conclusion -- or so it seemed. As Loren B. Thompson, a...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 5, 2008; 06:12 AM ET | Comments (26)
Going Down II
There's more coming out on the Air Force's contention that its jet fighters and other equipment are in dire need of upgrades, needs it says willl go unmet unless the Air Force receives billion more than planned in the next few years. Government Inc. touched on this once earlier...
By Robert O'Harrow | February 22, 2008; 11:50 AM ET | Email a Comment
Life in Wartime
The Defense Department is suggesting changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation that would mandate that contractors learn the lines between acceptable and illegal behavior under the international laws of war. This according to a story on the InsideDefense.com Web site. Under the Pentagon proposal, contractors "'shall institute and implement...
By Robert O'Harrow | January 21, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Defense and the Future of Contracting
The Defense Authorization bill approved by the House on Tuesday includes several sections that could have a substantial impact on federal contracting practices. Here's the link. Section 802 would sharply restrict the use of lead system integrators. Those of you in the know will think of the Coast Guard's...
By Robert O'Harrow | January 18, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Murtha, Politics and Money
Those of you interested in earmarks may enjoy reading about a company called Concurrent Technologies Corporation. It operates out of the district of Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, and has benefitted from many millions of dollars in direct congressional appropriations. I wrote the story today. If nothing else, check out...
By Robert O'Harrow | November 2, 2007; 10:51 AM ET | Comments (5)
'Abnormally High' Profits
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency and contractor Northrop Grumman got hit hard by Pentagon's Inspector General's Office, which recommended canceling a services contract that gives Northrop "abnormally high profit rates," according to a Bloomberg news story. The contract is worth up to $375 million. Northrop has already received $63 million...
By Robert O'Harrow | October 19, 2007; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (20)
The Fabric Of Life
The Justice Department is investigating whether a North Dakota properly manufactured Kevlar cloth that served as the key component in 2 million helmets sold to the military. I first heard about the investigation this summer. Several publications ran stories this summer. Though this has been sitting on my desk...
By Robert O'Harrow | September 7, 2007; 09:35 AM ET | Email a Comment
