Sikorsky and subsidiary PZL Mielec have revealed that they will not submit a bid for the Polish armed forces’ 70-strong utility helicopter tender if the terms of the acquisition are not amended.
The terms of the tender – reported to be worth some $3 billion – prevent the Sikorsky team from bidding for the procurement with its Polish-built S-70 Black Hawk offering, according to the companies.
These concerns led Mick Maurer, president of Sikorsky, to send a letter to the Polish government on 27 October outlining the company’s apprehensions, informing the MoD that it would not submit a bid if the conditions of the programme remained the same.
This letter only came to public attention after the Polish Ministry of National Defence issued a response to the letter on its website: “The final requirements concerning the multirole helicopter have been known since May 2014 and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation has such helicopters within the product range they offer.
“That is why we hope that it will place a bid in the set term that is [until] 28 November and that the letters it sent are only an element of negotiation tactics.”
Bartosz Glowacki
Sikorsky denies that the letter was a negotiation tactic, and subsequently issued a reply to the Polish government on the PZL Mielec website on 30 October: “The decision of the consortium is not a negotiation tactic as has been described and is not meant to exert any pressure on the Ministry of National Defence.
“It is simply meant to inform. All the more, it is not meant to compel it to take a decision that is contrary to the interests of the Republic of Poland.”
The MoD continued: “According to the knowledge of the Ministry of National Defence, other bidders announced placing their offers according to the requirements established by Armaments Inspectorate.
“Acting in accordance with the best interest of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defence does not plan to cancel the procedure at request of one of the bidders or to change its terms in a way that could be detrimental for Poland.”
It adds that the ministry is willing to conduct equal dialogue with all the bidders, “but in no proceedings it will succumb to pressure of the potential contractor as far as the terms of order are concerned”.
“We only want to give the Polish Armed Forces the option to consider one of the best and certainly the most proven utility helicopter in the world,” Sikorsky notes. “However, it is impossible to submit an economically viable offer that would be 100% compliant with each and every requirement, including technical, legal and financial aspects.”
Source: FlightGlobal.com
