Obama Admin Bans US Aircraft Maker, Favors Non-US Firm with Ties to Iran on Light Aircraft Project
Late Thursday the Obama administration abruptly knocked Kansas aircraft maker Hawker Beechcraft out of contention for a $1 billion project to make a fleet of lightweight counterinsurgency aircraft for the Air Force. Hawker Beechcraft is, understandably, disturbed and asking questions.
The Air Force has notified Hawker Beechcraft Corp. that its Beechcraft AT-6 has been excluded from competition to build a light attack aircraft, a contract worth nearly $1 billion, the company said.
The company had hoped to its AT-6, an armed version of its T-6 trainer, would be chosen for the Light Air Support Counter Insurgency aircraft for the Afghanistan National Army Corps. The chosen aircraft also would be used as a light attack armed reconnaissance aircraft for the U.S. Air Force.
The piston planes are designed for counterinsurgency, close air support, armed overwatch and homeland security, The Wichita Eagle reported (http://bit.ly/ud7FDM).
Hawker Beechcraft officials said in a news release that they were “confounded and troubled” by the Air Force’s decision. The company said it is asking the Air Force for an explanation and will explore all options.
Hawker Beechcraft said it had been working with the Air Force for two years and had invested more than $100 million to meet the Air Force’s requirements for the plane. It noted that the Beechcraft AT-6 had been found capable of meeting the requirements in a demonstration program led by the Air National Guard.
“We have followed the Air Force’s guidance close, and based on what we have seen, we continue to believe that we submitted the most capable, affordable and sustainable light attack aircraft,” the company said.
The company has said that winning the contract would have kept its T-6 production line running after 2015. About 1,400 employees in 20 states – including 800 at Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita – work on the AT-6 and T-6 programs for Beechcraft and its U.S. suppliers and partners.
So that’s another 1,400 American jobs lost. And it gets worse. By knocking Hawker Beechcraft out, the Pentagon has limited the “competition” to one company, a company that is not only not an American manufacturer, it’s a government-owned entity with ties to our enemies. The company is Embraer, which is controlled by the government of Brazil and has close ties to the government of Iran, as Timothy Lee wrote for the Tatler on Nov. 10.
According to the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, “In 1989, Brazil chose to sell Tucanos, Embraer’s relatively low cost and basic military aircraft, to Iran.” Currently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force operates around 40 Embraer T-27 Tucanos, according to the Washington Institute. In fact, the Iranians use the Tucano as their primary close air support aircraft.
In recent years, Brazil has continued its troubling friendship with Iran and ruthless leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Hudson Institute notes that, “Another area of tension between Brazil and the United States relates to Iran. In November 2009, President da Silva invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Brazil. In May 2010, da Silva helped broker a deal in which Iran would ship only a portion of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey for reprocessing; the rest would remain in Iranian hands, where it could be further enriched for nuclear weapon production.”
That willingness to set ethics aside for the betterment of their bottom line illustrates the danger in the US purchasing military aircraft from Brazil.
The matter becomes even more troublesome as news trickles out about the recent Iran-lead assassination attempts on Saudi/US officials on American soil. Even more recently, details have emerged implicating Iran as the mastermind of an illegal plot to smuggle electronic components used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) out of the US through Iran for US on our troops in Iraq.
Why is the administration making a decision to exclude an American manufacturer in favor of a maker with such a history? This is the Obama administration’s second billion-dollar giveaway to the Brazilian government in 2011; the first was its outrageous offshore oil loan guarantee decision in March. The two decisions siphon more than $2 billion and more than 21,000 jobs out of the US economy. Of the two, putting a foreign manufacturer with ties to our enemies in charge of a project to build anti-terror weaponry may be the most disturbing. And this is the Obama administration’s second major decision against an American aircraft manufacturer, the first being the NLRB’s unprecedented lawsuit against Boeing and its South Carolina Dreamliner plant. Both states impacted — Kansas and South Carolina — are right-to-work states. And then there’s this president’s sustained rhetorical war against corporate jet owners. Somebody has to make those jets, and Hawker Beechcraft is among the manufacturers indirectly targeted.
Follow the Soros.
B.R.I.C.S. http://juniperinthedesert.blogspot.com/2011/04/brics-new-world-order.html
http://juniperinthedesert.blogspot.com/2010/01/jim-oneill-another-false-messiah.html
This probably makes perfect sense to the Obama administration. After all, many of these planes will be used to arm the Afghanistan military. Because Iran already fields the Brazilian T-27, it will make it easier for Iran and Afghanistan to integrate their forces after we leave (simplifying spare parts supply and all).
This aircraft is to Replace our A-10 Wart Hog
That is incorrect. It is not a replacement for the Warthog. The F-35 is intended to replace some of the missions the Warthog does.
Nothing can replace the Warthog. Sui Generis. It should stay in production. Perhaps the most survivable military aircraft flying today.
“It should stay in production.”
The A-10 Thunderbolt has been out of production for over twenty-five years. The current fleet is being modernized, but no new aircraft are being produced.
The A-10 has been out of production for many years. I’m proud to say that I worked on that project back in 1978 and 1979, but I also have to report that the old Republic factory on Long Island where it was manufactured was one of the most outrageously corrupt places I have ever been in. The Air Force decision to stop building that marvelous airplane was undoubtedly influenced by that fact. And it wasn’t just the unions, either. Virtually every middle manager I came in contact with was on the take from somebody. Even my boss was paying them off, because you couldn’t open your toolbox down there without somebody demanding a handout.
The AT-6 is a modern incarnation of the old Chase concept, by the way. Updated with a turboprop engine and advanced electonics, but otherwise mush the same. It’s a good airplane, and the decision to disqualify Hawker-Beechcraft absolutely stinks to high heaven
Do you know anything about the cancellation of the T-46A back in the late 1970s? It was supposed to replace the T-37 but was cancelled. I’ve never heard a good reason why and hope you can enlighten me.
The A-10 has been out of production for many years. I’m proud to say that I worked on that project back in 1978 and 1979, but I also have to report that the old Republic factory on Long Island where it was manufactured was one of the most outrageously corrupt places I have ever been in. The Air Force decision to stop building that marvelous airplane was undoubtedly influenced by that fact. And it wasn’t just the unions, either. Virtually every middle manager I came in contact with was on the take from somebody. Even my boss was paying them off, because you couldn’t open your toolbox down there without somebody demanding a handout.
The AT-6 is a modern incarnation of the old Chase concept, by the way. Updated with a turboprop engine and advanced electonics, but otherwise mush the same. It’s a good airplane, and the decision to disqualify Hawker-Beechcraft absolutely stinks to high heaven.
All of Obama’s transactions favor foreign countries over American
companies and jobs. He is following Alinsky who advises to get everyone
you can to be dependent on government. It’s a trick used by marxists,
communists etc. I’d say he’s Marxist/Leninist and is carrying out
the Marxist/Lenists theory of economics winding up with a
a mediocre country and population. So expect more plus the deals we
don’t know about. Remember, Americans are lazy.
Regrettably, it will take a very long time to put things right when Mr. Obama and his little clown car full of cowards, incompetents and criminals is put out of office. History will be his/their judge but at this point, he truly does make James Earl Carter look like a patriot and a statesman.
Dullards and idiots are to blame.
How does one tell the American people that their President is a traitor and most likely an agent of a foreign or at least external power? What is the nature of this Soros orchestrated cabal? Was SMERSH prescient? Is Soros Dr. Goldfinger in the flesh? Communists, of course; Obama and Axelrod among others are Red Diaper babies and many home-grown communists have gravitated to them. There is serious Middle Eastern power and money behind this; it would be interesting to know just how Obama’s purported education was paid for. There was a lot of leftist foundation money also used in the currency and commodity price manipulation that helped to install him. But if you say in polite company that we are living under a junta established by a coup d’etat, you’d best be on the lookout for the guys in white coats. Scary!
Art Chance, you are connecting the dots. Had not seen as cogent a statement since Glenn was railroaded off Fox. Lamprey, you make a good point. Now, Some Guy, since when did the politicals have nothing to do with a procurement contract? What state builds the engines? Is GE’s Immelt involved? We almost gave the tanker contract to AIRBUS until the story got out. The Airforce One helicopter to Italy. Is Beech in a Right to Work state as with Boeing’s new Dreamliner plant? What about the F22 versus F35 contracts? All bad smells lead to the Beltway, (or the Occupy tent cities), but not to Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Why does Obama have the right to decide where and how our taxpayers’ dollars
are spent? Where is Congress, from whence the money is supposed to flow? Do we not have the will, the strength, the constitutional right to stop Obama’s
willful destruction of the country? One after another of his stupid decisions
get published, criticized, proven wrong. And nothing happens. I say “where the hell are the brakes to stop this foolishness.” I am watching, reading, listening to the complaints, and I’m sick to death of it. For God’s sake,
someone has to wise up pretty soon…..January 2013 won’t be soon enough.
Amen!!
Well, considering that Hawker-Beechcraft is primarily surviving on government funding (C-12 variants for ISR use and the T-6A trainer) since Obama did such a job of killing the business aircraft market, I reckon the Man figures they’re in no position to effectively fight back. This person needs properly removing in 2012 so that we can start repairing this country.
Obooma! My head explodes in outrage and disbelief, every single week. Who/what is this man?!
Guess Hawker Beechcraft didn’t pony up enough money to Democrats.
Obviously, Obama is selling out the U.S. for Soros money. He’s a 2-bit vvhore.
If it hurts American interests, it’s cool… maybe the rest of the world will like us better then.
A billion for a fleet of WW II era trainers? What are they doing, buying vintage collectible ones?
No, they’re not the WWII T-6 Texan trainers. They’re the new generation T-6 Texan II powered by a large turboprop engine (IIRC, about 1500 HP), pressurized, ejection seats, cutting edge avionics, etc. Other than being low wing monoplanes, there’s absolutely nothing in common between the old T-6 and the new one.
This is the T-6II, a new turboprop powered glass-cockpit aircraft. It shares nothing but the name with the WWII-era T-6.
“The piston planes are designed for counterinsurgency”
Wrong..
The new T-6 is a state of the art, glass cockpit, ejection seat trainer in use by both the Navy and Air force. It uses a modern turbo-prop engine. It it is replaceing the T34-C, that is also a turo-prop.
http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=124
1,100 horsepower Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turbo-prop engine
I guess he’s sticking it to Canada as well.. perhaps for PM Harper’s unwavering support for Israel..
WRONG . . . The sentence “The piston planes are designed for counterinsurgency” correctly refers to the AT-6. The “A” in the designation means Attack. What you posted from the AF.MIL website is a statement about the T-6, a trainer aircraft currently in use by the USAF and Navy. They are two different aircraft with totally different missions, albeit from the same manufactuter and core aircraft design. The primary Air Force trainer that the T-6 replaced, the T-37, also had an Attack version–the A-37.
The error is saying the plane has a piston engine. It doesn’t. It’s powered by a large turboprop engine.
Actually, the “A” in AT-6 (referring to the “Texan” trainer built by North American Aviation in the ’40′s) references its’ classification as an “advanced” trainer, to distinguish it from the “PT” series “primary trainers” that pilots transitioned through to get into single-seat fighters.
In Vietnam, some of the Texan’s successors, the T-26 Trojan (the USAF stopped using the “PT” and “AT” designations which were created by the old Army Air-Corp, and all Trainers were designated “T”), were outfitted as close ground support aircraft.
I think you mean the T-28 Trojan. The T-28A was the Air Force trainer, 900hp (I think). The B model used by the U.S. Navy had 1400 hp engine and the C model had a tail hook.
You would think that 70-odd years after it was placed in service, somebody might have come up with something better than the WWII P-51 Mustang! The wing and tail plane on that thing are straight off a Mustang. The general form of the fuselage is Mustang except for the turbine rather than a Packard-Merlin. Hell, maybe the Brazilian company has a modern airplane, not that I think that would have anything do do with Comrade Obama’s decision.
It may LOOK a little like a Mustang, but that’s coincidental. What isn’t coincidental is that at one time a company in the USA actually WAS converting P-51 airframes to turboprops, for the same mission. I think they may even have sold some into South America somewhere. So you ain’t far wrong.
That was the Cavalier (later Piper) PA-48 Enforcer. In the end, only about 10% of the two prototypes were legacy Mustang components.
Obama is hurrying China’s ascent, by damaging the American economy and making a majority dependent on the largesse of a condescending Federal Government.
Even better yet, most of the Aviation industry, including that part, is pretty solidly union. So he slit the throats of those thousands of union workers in favor of a company involved with supporting a terror directing and exporting country like Iran.
Oil drilling subsidies to Brazil. Aircraft contracts to Brazil. Avowed Marxist guerilla as president of Brazil, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilma_Rousseff ,
Truth commissions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15799705
Makes perfect sense. Heck, S&P thinks it’s great. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2011/11/17/brazil-government-debt-gets-sp-upgrade/
Fellow travelers.
Man, some commenters are FOS here. Perhaps this whole article is based on disinformation from a losing bidder! I notice at no time does it claim the Beech option is better value for money on price or lifetime cost.
“We have followed the Air Force’s guidance close, and based on what we have seen, we continue to believe that we submitted the most capable, affordable and sustainable light attack aircraft,” the company said.
You may want to do a little more research on this issue. Both relevant concerns, which aircraft is superior and origin of manufacture, are not so cut and dry. Hawker Beechcraft is not exactly all-American, and the AT-6 is unproven. More than 70% of the parts for the A-29 Tucano are US made already, with the contract calling for even more US-based production, and the general consensus is that the A-29 is a superior platform.
I’m not suggesting this indicates good decision-making by Zero’s administration (see also: performance data on blind hog’s & squirrel’s acorn-finding abilities), but we’ll be operating this weapon system longer than Zero will be President, and I’m more concerned that the aircraft chosen be the most mission-capable & survivable of the two.
When all things are considered, the right answer may be “neither”, as it is more likely that the last 10 years is when we needed this aircraft, not the next 10.
Again, I’m only saying that the issue is a bit more complicated than it appears at first blush.
Geez, no fan of Obama, but this piece is pathetic. This decision had nothing to do with the politicals, and everything to do with the Hawker plane sucking. Really, DoD makes a contract decision, and the best you can do is say that the firm DoD chose sold planes to Iran IN 1989 WHEN THE U.S. DID NOT HAVE TRADE SANCTIONS ON IRAN?
Are you going to be there 10 years from now to apologize to the families of the pilots who go down in the garbage Hawker plane? No? Then STFU.
Geez, no fan of Obama, but this piece is pathetic. This decision had nothing to do with the politicals, and everything to do with the Hawker plane sucking. Really, DoD makes a contract decision, and the best you can do is say that the firm DoD chose sold planes to Iran IN 1989 WHEN THE U.S. DID NOT HAVE TRADE SANCTIONS ON IRAN?
How will the letters to the families of the pilots who go down in the garbage Hawker plane go? “The DoD regrets to inform you that your son is dead because we felt politically pressured to buy an inferior aircraft to send your son into combat in.” Unless you’re volunteering to write those letters, STFU.
as a former Tomcat driver and naval officer, I find your comments interesting in the sense that you make no case for or against either plane other than blindly trusting that the folks in DOD are making sound non-politically influenced decisions. I do not share your faith in this organization. In fact, I believe the DOD has never been more of a political beast than it is today (which is saying something).
Finally, I was under the impression this is a forum for discussion of opinion, pejoratives telling your idealogical opponents to “shut the ____ up” do little to win over others to your point of view, but speak volumes about your own intellectual rigor.
I hope the DOD makes the right choice.
A former Tomcat driver should know goddamn well what it’s like to fly in an aircraft you can’t trust. Whoops, did my underpowered engine compressor-stall again? Doh!
The F-14 was re-engined starting in the late 1980′s. The Tomcat was the recipient of a much more powerful GE engine, replacing the Pratt TF-30. The author may not have realized it if he was a later generation F-14 jockey.
With 80% of green loans going to Obama cronies and a host of other political favors for other countries, why would this be any different? Where’s your proof it’s inferior? We regret to inform you partisan Some Guy is stupid.
Cocaine is a helluva drug. Rick James
Of course, I am only somewhat humorously insinuating that your are using drugs as a reason for your seriously flawed logic as stated in this comment.
You do realize that the T-6 has been in use for many years by the US military as a training craft and the AT-6 has already passed military trials to begin being used as a counter-insurgency aircraft? I mean, you understand that the plane has been proven? The US military already has the logistical support for the T-6 which is the base plane. The avionics and weapons systems also were already in the supply system. The Air National Guard solution is the least in cost. They bolted on systems that already existed to a plane that already exists and answered a request by our forces.
Do a little Google work. You will find that the AT-6 is already tested and available. That supports the thesis of this article. Why would the US military want to buy a plane for the Afghanistan Air Force that does not have commonality of parts?
It can hardly be understood that there are not enough Democrats who are patriots that could enable the Republicans to impeach the traitor in the White House.But then there are those Democrats who already have tossed their religion under the bus in support of Federal Funding for abortion.It`s a hell of affairs now embedded in the country`s psyche.
Contest the contract award.
And make sure the Contract Officer knows you are doing that as it is the CO that has their butt on the line. Make sure that the justification is in writing. Take them to court.
And, yeah, follow the money on this. Because there must be a reason why DoD would go against the FAR and DFAR for a foreign award where there is a US maker that is able to give a competative price. Once the award is contested, the paperwork on the decision can be had… when there is a US equivalent to equipment, then going foreign has some hurdles to jump over, especially if the US equipment is competatively priced.
This stinks.
The Beech T-6 Texan II is the winner of the USAF’s JPATS (Joint Primany Aircraft Training System) competition of the 90′s. This high performance turbo prop aircraft is used to train pilots before they climb into their first jet, the supersonic T-38 Talon.
A bunch of US companies competed for that JPATS contract and most if not all were teamed with foreign manufacturers who had already built smaller turbo props or small two seater jets.
Beech teamed with Pilatus of Switzerland. Northrop teamed with Embraer of Brazil. Each company took the existing fore/aft aircraft and souled it up to meet USAF requirements.
Both the Beech/Pilatus and the Northrop/Embraer Super Tucano became very good airplanes. Think a two-seat turbo prop version of the legendary P-51 Mustang but with ejection seats, advanced avionics and very modern high performance all-attitude engines. The Super Tucano was designed with hard points so it could be armed for drug interdiction or other light attack roles to help offset costs by offering it for sale to foreign governments like we sell F-16′s and F/A-18′s.
The Air Force chose a foreign design in the Pilatus. Perhaps they should have chosen the Embraer design, as they have obviously decided the Super Tucano (which Embraer went on to produce after they parting ways with Northrop, taking advantage of the millions of dollars of design development effort to improve Embraer’s basic Tucano.)
This would not be the first time the USAF has tacitly admitted to secting the wrong aircraft.
One element might be cost: which do you think would be cheaper? A precision built gold plated Swiss Rolex of an airplane or a capable but also world class Brazilian product that competes effectively on the world market?
I’m guessing the Tucano already fits the bill while the Beech would need serious modification, a lot of development cost and years of testing.
Think the debacle that surround the new USAF KC-30 tanker.
The Northrop Grumman/EADS aircraft is flying now and is being purchases by governments around the world. The air force realized that, awarded the contract to Northrop Grumman with the reasoning their design offered “more of everything” they needed the aircraft to do, yet through political corruption from people like Norm Dicks (D-Washington) got the contract that would have created thousands of non-union jobs to Alabama un-awarded so Boeing can spend the next ten years converting their obsolete 767 line that nobody in the world was buying into an already-obsolete and overpriced tanker. You watch: that tanker will cost more and take longer to come on line, then need upgrade money to reach Air Force requirements. Boeing has already admitted they lied about its cost, choosing to absorb the $400 million they knew it it was going to cost more than they estimated during the fake “competition” after the contract with Northrop was withdrawn.
Maybe, just maybe, the USAF is actually selecting the proper aircraft for the Afghan mission this time. Had they selected the Super Tucano in the first place this would all be moot.
And on top of that, the Brits selected the Tucano over the Pilatus (the plane the T-6 is derived from) as well. Plus the Beechcraft brand is owned by a Canadian company. The T-6 JPATS program suffered major (like 50%) cost overruns.
So basically, we’re complaining because one foreign-owned but produced in the USA aircraft lost a competition to a cheaper, just as capable (maybe more so) foreign-owned but produced mostly in the USA aircraft?
And the Iran smear is pretty lame. I mean, it’s not like American companies never sold arms to Iran…
In 2008, Kansas voted for McCain by a margin of 57-42%.
So of course they must be punished.
Kansas also has two Republican Senators, a former Republican Senator as Governor, and all the House representatives currently are Republicans. Do you think that had something to do with this contract un-award too?
Much like when the National Agriculture Bio-Defense center (currently on Plum Island) contract was awarded to Kansas when there was a Democrat House member representing the area, and then all of the sudden went into dispute when she lost her seat to a Republican. Unexpectedly.
The KC Star article referred to the AT-6 and its competitors as “piston planes.” Actually, neither the AT-6 nor its competitor has a piston engine–both are turbine-powered. “Piston plane” is not a synonym for “turboprop.”
It is evidently impossible to count on the dinosaur media for even the most basic levels of accuracy in dealing with any technological subject whatsoever.
Some guy: we did not have normal relations with Iran since the hostage crisis in 1979. How do you know the US planes suck? If you’re on troll duty, you’ll have to do better than that.
The Obama administration saw Wichita and assumed it was the Koch brothers.
Bryan, you are usually right on but in this case there are a few facts wrong and some others missing in your post.
Embraer is a privately owned public company. It is not controlled by the Brazilian government (it was privatized 17 years ago), and as such it has nothing to do with the shenanigans between the Brazilian former president Lula and Ahmadinejad.
The sale you mention in the article was the first and last from Embraer to Iran. As far as I know 20 years has passed since Embraer last engaged in any business with that country. Interestingly enough due to the amount of US technology in its planes, the US government has essentially veto power in any Embraer sales, something it has already used to block the sale of Super Tucano to Venezuela.
Interestingly enough, the Hawker partner Pilatus has also sold trainers to the Iranian Air Force. Maybe we should talk about those close ties as well…
On the jobs side, Embraer is offering its product in partnership with Sierra Nevada Corporation, and it will be *entirely* manufactured in the US, and it will generate 1,200 jobs in the country. More information at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2722537/posts.
Thanks, Fernando. I’m tickled to see that the new factory will go to my hometown: “The A-29 Super Tucano will be built in Jacksonville, FL by American employees and with parts from American companies. Aircraft training will be provided in Clovis, NM. More than 60 U.S. suppliers in 19 states will supply parts or services for this contract. At least 1,200 U.S. jobs will be supported through this contract.”
I am sorry but as a Canadian I can tell you that for the most part the Democrats are the worse at protectionism. If you want to improve your small industry get rid of the ITAR because it prevents companies from trading with your allies. Protectionism in the US gets to incredibly silly levels, importing screws for old Landrovers would require two different duty levels depending if it was a steering part or a brake part, despite it being the same screw.
I can’t speak about the quality of Beechcraft products, but much of the US defense industry is producing dismal stuff at highly inflated prices. They became spoiled by Congress protection.
The best thing you could hope for is a low dollar and open borders, then your small scale industry can perform at it’s best.
It is painful to watch these continued smear jobs on Embraer at this site – which I really want to continue to respect. ” Ties to Iran”? Really? Because of a deal over 20 years ago, when the company was owned by the Brazillian government? Is there even one person at the company today that had any decision making power in that sale?
Your editorial staff needs to seriously start vetting this garbage, the jingoism is beyond crass. Incidentally, how many of Embraer’s suppliers are US companies manufacturing in the US? Almost all of them. Where is Embraer’s latest manufacturing facility being built? The USA.
It is OK to be concerned about jobs. This hyper nationalistic and fact challenged crusade against a perfectly legitimate company has to stop though. You should be embarrassed.
Really? Voce tem que abrir os olhos para a realidade brasileira. (translation: You have to open your eyes to brazil’s reality). Embraer is a crooked, government enterprise. Contract disputes have plagued this organization since its inception in the 60′s, brazil’s dictatorship.
Countless are court cases of Embraer’s missed deadlines, production misshaps, contract specifications completely out of whack and please, tell american’s how many planes literally ‘fell out of brazilian skies.” Countless numbers of pilots, maintenace and support personnel have lost their lives due to these mishaps. All this because (os sindicatos) the unions are the government’s handmaidens…cover-ups are a way of life, in brazil.
Folha de Sao Paulo, Exame and Jornal do Brasil, detail these incidents.
No, Embraer has a checkered past, and now America’s taxpayers will be on the hook for countless billions of dollars both in substandard aircraft and decades long court cases.
America! Wake-up. This is a selling of our American sovereignty to some third world, tin horn (marxist)dictatorship. Vote massively this 2012 election for rampant fraud is before our very eyes.
Thank you so much for educating me about a country where I lived for decades and a company I worked for during several years! I’m sure all my personal experience is false and your made up “facts” are spot on!
If you gave yourself the reasonably simple task of googling airplane accident rates, you would find that there has been ONE fatal accident with an Embraer commercial jet. And it was due to the crew putting down on a hill instead of the airport (there was nothing wrong with the plane). Interesting factoid – those planes have better safety records than both Boeing and Airbus narrow bodies. This is the safety record of the private company Embraer is today.
But don’t let reality get in the way of your hate.
Just did some research. My conclusion is that the A-29 Super Tucano is a vastly superior light attack aircraft than the A-6A.
Lots of conjecture and no discussion about the DoD Source Selection procedures (FAR 15), applicable Arms Trafficking regulations, etc. Not that politics can’t play a role in a source selection of that value, but there are multiple layers of oversight, including source selection advisory councils, multi-independent review teams, etc. If a decision is made to exclude a company from competition, or the competitive range, then it is well documented and goes through many approval levels, especially for a program that large. Additionally, Hawker Beechcraft Corp can request a full debriefing in accordance with FAR 15.505 and 15.506 and then they can choose to let the public know about why they were eliminated from the competition. All you did was use a corporate new release complaining about rejection. It’s intellectually dishonest to use this to try and lay blame on the administration, there are plenty of other serious issues that deserve the public’s attention. What a waste of time. Would you prefer the government not follow rules, regulations including requirements for competition? Wait, I thought sourcing government contracts to a specific contractor because of the amount of jobs it would create in a certain congressional district is an example of pork-barrel spending?
The HBC AT-6 doesn’t really exist. It is a prototype only. Plus HBC is half owned by Goldman Sachs and the effort to win this LAS contract was nothing more than a hail marry pass at another bailout. See the article below — stop the conspiracy theories — and learn some facts!
End-Game for USAF Competition?
By Ed Timperlake
November 20, 2011
11/20/2011 The headline in the Wichita Eagle says it all—“Hawker Beechcraft loses out on big Air Force contract”
Reporter Dan Voorhis writing for The Wichita Eagle, (November 18 2011) points out that;
“Hawker Beechcraft Corp. says the Air Force has informed the company that it lost out on a military contract worth nearly $1billion.
“The company had hoped to win the Light Air Support contract with its AT-6, an armed version of its T-6 trainer. But on Friday, the company said it received a letter from the Air Force saying the AT-6 had been excluded from the competition. The company wants an explanation.”
http://www.kansas.com/2011/11/18/2108059/hawker-beechcraft-said-air-force.html
To clarify using Occam’s Razor that the simplest explanation may be the best before an orchestrated campaign to attack the integrity, professionalism, judgment and rational for a very wise USAF decision a simple point can be made. The opening principle of the request for entry into the selection process has the below first sentence in the RFP and everything that occurred may have followed:
“BACKGROUND AND REQUIREMENTS: LAS aircraft must be a non-developmental item (NDI) that is production-ready. No development or testing funds are available. ” Introduction of LAS Solicitation FA8615-10-R-6088”
In response to the Air Force decision Hawker Beechcraft immediately issued what may go down in history as one of the worst press statement ever made. Not only does the press release demonstrate why they were eliminated HBC may also find out, by their own words that any legal recourse for any protests are staggeringly bad.
“We have been notified by the United States Air Force in a letter that the Beechcraft AT-6 has been excluded from the Light Air Support competition. The letter provides no basis for the exclusion. We are both confounded and troubled by this decision, as we have been working closely with the Air Force for two years and, with our partners, have invested more than $100 million preparing to meet the Air Force’s specific requirements. Additionally, the AT-6 has been evaluated and proven capable through a multi-year, Congressionally-funded demonstration program led by the Air National Guard. We have followed the Air Force’s guidance closely and, based on what we have seen, we continue to believe that we submitted the most capable, affordable and sustainable light attack aircraft as measured against the Air Force’s Request for Proposal. We have requested a debriefing from the Air Force and will be exploring all potential options in the coming days.”
By their own words “We have followed the Air Force’s guidance closely….” HBC admits that they are to be measured by the terms of the RFP— see the initial RFP opening requirement stated above-they were not ready to compete and the AF called them on that fundamental point as the public evidence evolved to make that very clear.
Additionally, in making their defense and initiating a demand for an explanation they publicly state that they have spent $100 Mil in their continuing and ongoing effort to develop the AT-6 to compete in a non-developmental contest!—Priceless. Physician heal thyself!
In a request to Embraer on how much they invested in preparing the Super Tucano for the flight testing part of the competition it was their estimate that it was under $50,000 to fly the aircraft to the test site, fly the test missions and then return to Brazil. Since RFP paper work is constant among competitors the accurate ratio of $100 Million to $50,000 says it all. Additionally, the $100 mil was US taxpayer dollars, and the $50,000 was at the Super Tucano’s teams risk funding.
The AF evaluation team proves that “The Right Stuff” can be shown in all dimensions of creating a modern airpower combat team. From an office at Wright-Pat to eventually the combat skies over Afghanistan our war effort to help the that country and quickly leave just took a turn for the good.
I did a ten year stint as a Contract Administrator for two companies that did D.o.D. work in the 1980s and 1990s. Still was doing a little of it off and on for may last employer, right up to 2008 when I retired. That requirement for “non-developmental” is EXACTLY the sort of thing that get slipped in to restrict competition, and which is regularly protested, and for good and sufficient reason. Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt in disgust.
Brazil’s administration is heavily marxist. It’s judiciary is notoriously corrupt.
Case in point, an air collision between two aircraft several years ago, over Brasilia. One a brazilan commercial passengenger jet, another a private American executive jet aircraft. Pilot error was a deciding factor in the brazilian commerical aircraft’s case.
But Brazil’s Lula government got involved and sucessor, Dilma’s (avowed marxist), have twisted all facts in such a fashion brazilian courts have now demanded extradition of american pilots (from the USA to Brazil)standing trial in Brazilian courts!
What’s this have to do with Embraer? one asks.
Imagine a contract dispute. Parts delivery problems. Copyright infringement issues as regards military grade, secret instrumentation. Production delays. Specification “change orders.” And on, and on. All these have to be decided in Brazil’s court of law…as corrupt as they are. In the meantime, Embraer halts delivery of orders to the USA!!! How’s them apples??? HUH!!!
We The People are going to be on the hook for this boondogle for years and years. If any American thinks for a moment this isn’t the “goose that laid a golden egg” for Brazil…boy, have the American’s got another think coming.
Brazilians are masters at forging alliances, only to twist them into unrecognizable pretzels later in the contract process. They’ll find every way possible to slip by compliance…and how is the FAA handling THIS possibility, HUH? So, Brazil will, by hook or by crook, fleece the American taxpayer.
Embraer is as crooked an organization as the country’s legal and administrative systems. Oh woe is We The People…on the hook for countless more billions of dollars tossed down the rat hole.
Vote massively this 2012 election for massive fraud and corruption abounds and is all around We The People.God Bless America.
Okay, now you’re just lying. The American crew on the incident you cite turned off their transponder (locator device, for the nontechnically inclined). I’m not in favor of criminally prosecuting flight crews, but there was no fact twisting in this case. You ate the only person on the planet blaming the airliner crew.
Either you are deliberately smearing here and trusting no one will care to confirm your claims, or you are so massively misinformed as to almost qualify as an alternate reality traveler.
One way or the other, the hate is showing.
From what I’ve read (and keeping in mind the source of the info), the American crew’s transponder was not working but there seems no definitive proof they turned it off. A transponder is something that pilots rarely touch in flight. You turn it on, set the assigned transponder code, and occassionally press the IDENT button when requested by ATC. Once in a while, you’ll be assigned a new code in flight but entering that doesn’t involve the power switch. It seems very unlikely that the pilots turned the unit off. It’s possible the unit just failed which happens some times and is the reason why many jets carry two transponders. Another possibility is a tripped and unnoticed circuit breaker. The report mentions that the indication of an inoperative transponder was easily overlooked. It sounds like a poor user interface design for the American-built transponder.
Both planes were flying at their assigned altitude, which was a mistake by the Brazilian ATC. There were also issues with poor communications and radar coverage.
Why are we purchasing planes for Afghanistan anyway?
My main question is, why isn’t the military buying American airplanes designed and built by American companies? I don’t care if they’re “built by Americans in American factories.” We should be selling Britain, France, Italy, and Brazil airplanes, not vice versa.
It’s a good thing that we have the National Labor Relations Board going after Boeing for leaving WA in favor of SC, the only thing worse would be taking the business overseas…oh wait… Hypocrisy has many names, but chief among those are “union” and “democrat”.
whether this decision is good or bad is not the point…obama is a subversive, plain and simple. all of you dope and deranged idiot voters that foisted this pratt on our country should be hanged. if he keeps on his never ending path of destruction, at least some of his czars will at that.
Back in 2000, my wife tried to get a job at Raytheon. She was a US permanent resident at the time, and so her application was denied on the grounds of US security. Now, if a US resident, married to a US citizen, residing in the US cannot get a job in a manufacturing plant that has government contracts, how is it that this same government will trust a totally FOREIGN company in a foreign land, to build airplanes that the lives of US airmen will depend on? Isn’t there a huge amount of hypocracy here?
For once the AF acted correctly. Their RFP wasn’t even met by the US company. the plane that won was off the shelf with a great track record and needed no development. The AT-6 was a trainer that had to be tweaked so it didn’t meet the specs of the contract. Here’s the data from a US pro-defense site that wants the best planes.
Having followed the SuperTucano story from “Imminent Fury” forward we have all seen the tremendous political pressure applied by Kansas Pols and chest thumping pundits trashing Brazil and the SuperT-
Hopefully -now all is well that ends well-
“The AF evaluation team proves that “The Right Stuff” can be shown in all dimensions of creating a modern airpower combat team. From an office at Wright-Pat to eventually the combat skies over Afghanistan our war effort to help the that country and quickly leave just took a turn for the good.”
<http://www.sldinfo.com/the-usaf-makes-a-decision/
If American tax payers focus on money only, that is, the deficit and what we pay in taxes…then low cost provider rules say make it overseas where the US government will get two for one compared to US worker prices. If we focus only on jobs, then we support tax increases to pay for jobs as opposed to welfare and pay union and non union workers wages many times higher than the average US worker. So, can you have your cake and eat it too? He is one man, not a congress who can outvote the President easily IF they want. Want to complain? Blame your very own congress person who YOU elected, or failed to vote for because you do not vote. So, Democrat or Republican, Independent or Socialist it matters not, the system is designed to defeat such acts by majority rule, if the majority rules. Problem here is simple, the majority whine but DO nothing.
It’s kind of funny to read this type of low level news, when Boeing is disputing a huge contract with their F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to Brazilian Air Force, in a value many times superior to this one, and people are mad because they will lose their jobs, when the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano will be totally made in American soil, but they forget that with this kind of action, Boeing can lose a 6 billion start contract to supply 36 Super Hornets to Brazilian Air Force and later 48 Brazilian Navy and additional SH to the Air Force, in numbers that can reach almost 120+48 fighters.
Think twice before you want to pull Brazil away from you country… France, Sweden and Russia will be happy to take the rebound…
Please, stop being a nationalist idiots, and search before you trust in the first news you read, because Media is controlled by their sponsors: they don’t care if you know the truth… all they care is their cut on the deal.
Well, i’m brazilian and i say: DO NOT build/buy Super Tucanos, send the Hawkers to Vietnamisthan, the overpropped Hawkers are THE BEST and i have no questions about, for that’s the God’s Truth! Save your jobs! Save your money! Course, our plane was NEVER shoot down – and is extensively combat proven in COIN against guys with the same guns and hidden under the jungle – but it doesn’t matter, means nothing. Hope you VERY good luck (or very good condolences to offer to the widows)! Anyway, will be YOUR pilots facing fire there, not OURS…lol
Yeah, do just as Túlio said. It’ll be very fun to watch the prototype not combat proved Hawkers falling like burned flies from Afghan skies.
And the Ties with Iran is the cherry on the top of the cake…
US sold 44 F-14 Tomcat, an air superiority fighter, allowing them to have the top fighter USN had, also sold 65 F-4D/E Phantom II, 75 F-5A/B/E/F, 33 Military Helicopters, 15 Aerial Refueling Aircrafts, 25 Trainers (Brazil sold 15 Trainers only), 15 C-130 Hercules, 3 P-3 Orions.
Almost all of these aircraft are active, even with the sanctions.
Who has ties with Iran?
You can’t hide you trash under the carpet to raise your finger against other Country.
Who taught the Talibans to fight? Who gave weapons to them? US ans A
And who supplied almost all Countries in Mid-East with weapons, which are being use to overwhelm their own people?!?
So please, don’t publish this garbage accusing Brazil of not being a country with good foreign policy, while the United States in name only of their own freedom, has destroyed many nations worldwide, worsening the lives of everyone, including yours.
A-29 Super Tucano is better than any other aircraft in their role. If you want the best, you’re gonna have to buy from us. Suck it up and behavior like a man.
And I’ve said.
Why doesn’t Obama skip the the middle man, and just have Iran make our planes???
He is doing his best to sabotage our efforts to become energy independent, so
this will go a long way in his plan to turn the U.S. into a Banana Republic!!!
When are people going to understand that the USA has no money. Congress and the pentagon has a printing press and a china credit card and refuse to admit we are broke. It will not be long before what happened in Russia happens here in the USA. When they went broke after getting their butt kicked in Afghanistan their military beached their ships for scrap and became road bandits robbing the Russian people. We should be paid for our POLICING of other countries with oil or MONEY. Or bring our troops home and put some on the borders and discharge the rest to weekend warriors. Using the same logic as our government/lobbyist if I am unemployed, way behind in my house payment I would use my credit card to make my house payment, buy that new car I want and take the family on a cruise and never tell my family THE END IS VERY NEAR. Get down to earth people and vote out all our government lobbyist owned politicians and try to find someone that will turn the USA around….while we have time.
You have to ask what is not always obvious questions. We see only the end result of the loss of an American company to support a DoD requirement. Since we are not privy to the contents of the Statement of Work (SOW) and its supporting documentation, we really don’t know what the rules and regulations were in order to get this aircraft built for the DoD. The contractural SOW and documentation stipulate exactly what the DoD requires from all competing companies to meet the requirements to build the aircraft. In many cases the DoD not only looks for the lowest bid and technically capable bidder, a company can be disqualified for various reasons nd a higher bidder and still technically qualifed bid can be accepted. We really don’t know why this American company was excluded, however they should have the option to protest the decision at contract award and an explanation can be conducted. If the protest is upheld, then the solicitaiton may have to go back on the street to be re-bid. Could be a bumpy ride for all involved.
The aircraft is secondary to the action of our “president.” Am I the only one who thinks he should be impeached for this? He is the most anti-American person (muslim) to “grace” the White House. Add this to a long line of unconstitutional acts and we have a House of Representatives who are shirking their constitutional duty.