WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s Congressional delegation continued its push for answers from the U.S. military over its handling of the failed Sikorsky bid in the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition.
On Friday, the group sent a letter to Gen. Lloyd Austin, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, asking him to direct the Department of the Army to provide a detailed briefing on its decision to reject Lockheed-Martin’s Sikorsky big to build long-range assault aircraft.
In December, the Army chose the Textron-owned company Bell to build a new aircraft that will replace the Sikorsky-produced UH-60 Black Hawk, which has been flying soldiers since the 1970s.
Sikorsky and Boeing – who helps with the aircraft’s construction – protested the Army’s decision and filed a complaint with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the Army’s decision on the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft contract.
In a statement when it was announced, the Army called the decision-making process “deliberate and disciplined.”
Since the decision was announced, Connecticut’s Congressional delegation has made multiple requests for a briefing and each time has been refused.
“As Members of Congress, we have a responsibility to conduct oversight of the Department of Defense to ensure proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars. For the last two months, we have unsuccessfully attempted to engage senior leadership in the Department of the Army to seek information on the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition,” the delegation wrote. “The Department of the Army has declined to provide us with a briefing, offering incomplete, misleading, and factually incorrect justifications as to why Members of Congress are not entitled to receive this information while the Government Accountability Office (GAO) evaluates a competitor’s protest.”
In its letter to Austin, the delegation outlined the four previous attempts to request a briefing.
“We ask only that the Department of the Army be held to this same standard and promptly provide this information to Members of Congress,” the delegation concluded in its letter.
Read the full letter here.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.