Boeing and Lockheed Martin concluded the
selection process for the Long Range Strike
Bomber was fundamentally flawed. The cost
evaluation performed by the government did not
properly reward the contractors’ proposals to
break the upward-spiraling historical cost
curves of defense acquisitions, or properly
evaluate the relative or comparative risk of the
competitors’ ability to perform, as required by
the solicitation.
That "flawed evaluation" led to the selection of
Northrop Grumman over the industry-leading team
of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, whose proposal
offers the government and the warfighter the
best possible LRS-B at a cost that uniquely
defies the prohibitively expensive trends of the
nation’s past defense acquisitions. On
27 October 2015, the Defense Department awarded
the development contract to Northrop Grumman.
The initial value of the contract is $21.4
billion, but the deal could eventually be worth
up to $80 billion.
In a press statement Randy Belote, vice
president of strategic communications for
Northrop Grumman Corporation stated, "Northrop
Grumman Corporation is disappointed that its
former LRS-B competitors have decided to disrupt
a program that is so vital to national security". |