Comments on: Lockheed Martin Wins Marine One Contract

By: Johnny

Johnny — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 11:54:18 +0000

Finally the president can fly a real helicopter.
Sikorsky should realise that we entered the 21st century, their designs still look (and work) as if Igor self is running the show!! I know, because I fly both Sikorsky and european built helicopters.

By: crbn8

crbn8 — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 01:14:10 +0000

as an American TAXPAYER I am not only dissappointed but insulted and outraged at the Navy's descision to hand the next presidential helicopter responsibility to a foreign designed and built manufacture. No, that is not a misstatement, as anybody who is involved in the making of these type of aircraft can tell you, blade and rotor assemblies are the most flight critical components of helicopters and all manufacturers condsider them 'core technology'. These will NOT be 'made in the U.S.' but will come here fully ready to install from Europe. Even worse is the fact this contract is mainly R&D work, where do you think that will go?

By: Stormy Dragon

Stormy Dragon — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 22:43:51 +0000

To the extent that the next Marine One isn't "made in the US" is a problem, the problem is that Sikorsky, the company that invented the helicopter, has slipped behind its foreign competitors and no longer makes the world's premiere helicopters. Buying American just for the sake of buying American isn't going to do anything to fix that problem.

By: DC Loser

DC Loser — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 20:05:54 +0000

Congress' butting in on the award decision after the fact is to say the least, disappointing. This is playing politics with the decision by a panel of Navy contracting and technical experts. If they wanted a "made in the US" helicopter then they should have specified it in the Request for Proposal. But federal acquisition law didn't allow for that so that can't be used as a criteria for award. But Lockheed Martin are the big boys too and they won't take any crap lying down I can assure you.

By: IR

IR — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 20:03:20 +0000

Chris Dodd, Joe Lieberman, and some woman (presumably a local politician) were over at Sikorsky two days after the announcement acting like raving lunatics. The local news showed a piece from each of their speeches before the Sikorsky workers. The common theme (even from Lieberman) was that the decision was "payback" to a Blue state.

They acted, and came across, like children...or more apt...like they were channeling Howard Dean.
Cheers
IR

PS: And where was Chris Shays (one of the few Repub. CT congressmen)? He was in Iraq on his 8th visit to encourage a successful Iraqi election...

By: Bucky Katt

Bucky Katt — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 19:31:33 +0000

Hold your horses on that one:

Unclear whether Lawmakers will alter VXX award

By: flydiveski

flydiveski — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 18:42:04 +0000

Wonderful. Lock-Mart also built the NOAA satellite that fell over during construction, costing the taxpayer $300 million, and the Genesis satellite that crashed into the Utah desert because of L-M's faulty design instructions. Perhaps, for safety's sake, the Marines should drive a Lock-Mart helicopter from place to place, and not risk actually flying it.

By: DC Loser

DC Loser — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 17:36:54 +0000

Having been on military source selections before I'll just say that the winner won on how it met the technical specifications and cost better than the competition. Politics has no place in such a process, unless you let it into the process (such as the case with Druyun). If there is some shenanigan, you can bet Sikorsky would be filing a protest pretty fast.