Air Force opens contract for war plane to Hawker Beechcraft after admitting error

WICHITA, Kan. (AP)

The U.S. Air Force said today it plans to rescind a disputed $354 million contract for a light air support plane and open an investigation into the award, saying it was not satisfied with documentation supporting the decision.

Wichita-based Hawker Beechcraft Corp. had challenged the award, claiming its own AT-6 aircraft was wrongly excluded from the selection process. Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corp. was given the contract Dec. 22 and was to work with Brazil-based Embraer, which makes the Super Tucano airplane.

At stake is which company will build the light air-support aircraft, a single-engine turboprop supporting security efforts in Afghanistan. The contract ultimately could be worth nearly $1 billion, depending on future orders.

Hawker Beechcraft sued after the government dismissed its protest over being blocked from the contract. The Air Force last month halted work on the contract, but said at the time it was confident of the merits of its decision.

On Tuesday, the Air Force said it advised the Department of Justice that it will take corrective action and set aside the contract to Sierra Nevada effective March 2.

Citing the ongoing litigation, Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley would only say that David Van Buren, the Air Force's senior acquisition executive, is not satisfied with the documentation supporting the award decision.

"While we pursue perfection, we sometimes fall short, and when we do we will take corrective action," Donley said in an emailed statement.

Gen. Donald Hoffman, commander of the Air Force Material Command, has initiated an investigation into the matter, the Air Force said.

Hawker Beechcraft said in a statement that it had received notice Tuesday from the Air Force that the company will be reinstated to the competition.