GAO rejects Airbus’ frivolous challenge of Navy helicopter contract, securing Florida jobs

The Leonardo TH-73A.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a comprehensive decision criticizing and rejecting Airbus’s frivolous protest of the U.S. Navy’s purchase of training helicopters from AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation (Leonardo).

Airbus’s decision to challenge the Navy, a move that threatened hundreds of American jobs, forced a temporary pause on the construction and delivery of Leonardo’s helicopters, thereby delaying vital military training exercises.

Following the GAO’s denial of Airbus’s challenge, Leonardo restarted production of the Navy’s aircraft at its facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The company will also employ up to 100 Floridians at a comprehensive maintenance facility near Milton, Florida. Considering the coronavirus pandemic’s significant economic fallout, Leonardo’s investment in Santa Rosa County, which will produce much-needed jobs, comes at a critical time.

On Jan. 13, the Navy selected Leonardo as the best-qualified company to manufacture new aircraft for the Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) program, which helps prepare Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard pilots. Leonardo’s new aircraft, said U.S. Navy Captain Todd St. Laurent, will be the “cornerstone of AHTS.”

“The TH-73A will provide a modern helicopter training platform that will serve rotary and tilt-rotor training requirements into the foreseeable future. These new helicopters will ensure the Navy has capacity to train several hundred aviation students per year at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field in Milton, Florida,” he said.

Nevertheless, Airbus challenged the Navy’s decision on Feb. 3, effectively halting the delivery of important military training equipment and potentially risking combat readiness.

Furthermore, the move came only three days after Airbus received the largest-ever fine for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).

Authorities in the U.S., France, and the United Kingdom uncovered Airbus’s far-reaching, systematic schemes to bribe government officials in exchange for lucrative contracts. The company also misled U.S. authorities in order to export U.S. military technology, which officials say posed a threat to national security.

Leonardo will produce and deliver a total of 130 TH-73A helicopters that will help prepare the next generation of military aviators. While deliveries were originally scheduled to begin this year and run through 2024, the potential impacts of Airbus’s protest on the Navy’s receipt of new aircraft are not yet clear.