Tanker bid arrives after deadline, is rejected

[DHG750R]

Tanker bid arrives after deadline, is rejected..

Barely a month into the latest round of bidding, the U.S. Air Force tanker contract is back in controversy.

U.S. Aerospace Inc., one of three competitors for the potential $40 billion deal, was disqualified by the Pentagon because it missed the Air Force's deadline for submitting bids. The Los Angeles-based company, leading a team that includes the Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov, is challenging that decision in a protest filed Monday with the Government Accountability Office.
more..http://blog.al.com/live/2010/08/missing_air_tanker_deadline_by.html

[moose135]

I had read about that when the bids were submitted. This thing just gets stranger and stranger...

[PhilDernerJr]

I don't see why they didn't just submit on time. They don't really have a good argument, considering everyone else submitted well in advance of the deadline.

[moose135]

While it looks like they were cutting it close on the deadline, I guess they believe they arrived in time, and it was Air Force personnel who deliberately kept them up from arriving at the contract office before the deadline.

[Midnight Mike]

I don't see why they didn't just submit on time. They don't really have a good argument, considering everyone else submitted well in advance of the deadline.

Wow, so much for trying to make an impression, trying to submit a bid 30 minutes prior to the deadline. Sounds like somebody is trying to get some attention:tongue:



U.S. Aerospace claimed in a regulatory filing Wednesday that a courier delivered its bid to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio before 1:30 p.m. on July 9 - about 30 minutes ahead of the Air Force's 2 p.m. deadline. The company said Air Force personnel initially denied the courier permission to enter the base, then gave him incorrect directions to the contracting office.

[Matt Molnar]

No way their bid to use An-124s would have ever won anyway.

[cancidas]

with all the stupidity that's happenned in the past with this contract, bad show on the air froce's part if they deliberately delayed the submission.

[PhilDernerJr]

Non-military personnel getting on a base can be a tough process. I've seen it and experienced it many times myself, even with a DoD card.

Regardless, who shows up that close? When compared with the other competitors, even if it got in on time I would still throw theirs out just for being that late.

[Midnight Mike]

Non-military personnel getting on a base can be a tough process. I've seen it and experienced it many times myself, even with a DoD card.

Regardless, who shows up that close? When compared with the other competitors, even if it got in on time I would still throw theirs out just for being that late.

No kidding, this is a huge contract, had I been the owner, I would have delivered it, personally.

[Mateo]

I used to work for a government agency which served the public during a very strict opening schedule. Doesn't matter if you went to the wrong entrance, couldn't find parking, got stuck in traffic, had to go around the block because the Secret Service blocked off your usual access route; if you were there after the closing time, you were out of luck, please return tomorrow (and, yes, this service line often included couriers). I don't see any fault with anyone except the courier himself, and potentially the submitting company if his orders were to arrive as close to 2pm as possible.