Lockheed Martin cuts Orion price in last-ditch RAF bid

A LAST-MINUTE bid to overturn a UK Ministry of Defence procurement recommendation in favour of the British Aerospace Nimrod 2000 has resulted in Lockheed Martin cutting up to 15% from the price of its Orion 2000 bid for the Royal Air Force's £2 billion ($3 billion) replacement maritime-patrol-aircraft project.

Lockheed Martin, which is teamed with GEC, submitted a revised costing to the UK Ministry of Defence in the wake of the Equipment Approval Committee recommendation in favour of the Nimrod 2000. In its revised bid, Lockheed Martin is understood to be arguing that it can use Loral's UK resources in cutting costs. It acquired Loral, which had itself offered updated secondhand P-3s in the competition, this year.

Source: Flight International