NOTÍCIAS

After impasse with Embraer, the Pentagon may take over procurement for the Air Force

The head of the US Air Force has warned that the Pentagon may assume control of the main acquisition decisions of the Air Force, after cancelling a contract worth US$ 355 million last week with Brazilian company Embraer, due to problems with documentation.

"It’s possible", said General Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, when asked whether officials from the Pentagon might take control of the procurement of military material once again, as they did after a scandal with important acquisitions in the mid-2000s.

Schwartz said that it was embarrassing that the Air Force had found documentation to be inadequate for the contract with Sierra Nevada Corp, Embraer’s partner in the purchase of 20 Super Tucano aircraft that were to be used in Afghanistan.

He said that the head of acquisitions at the Pentagon, Frank Kendall, would be making a recommendation about the question of inspection after analysis of the facts of the case to identify the causes of the mistake.

SUPER TUCANOS

On March 2 the US Under-secretary of State, William Burns, said that the US government would be willing to maintain the US$ 355 million contract with Brazil for the purchase of 20 Super Tucano aircraft from Embraer.

The previous week the US Air Force had informed that the contract with the Brazilian government would be cancelled. The Americans are going to investigate and reopen the bidding process, which is also being contested in the US courts by North American company, Hawker Beechcraft, after its AT-6 aircraft was excluded from the bid, which led to the business being suspended at the beginning of January. The contract had been awarded by the US Air Force to Embraer and its partner, Sierra Nevada Corp.

 

• Source: Folha de São Paulo