GAO wants Block 4 of F-35 to be a separate acquisition

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GAO wants Block 4 of F-35 to be a separate acquisition

Michael Sullivan, GAO's director for defense weapons system acquisitions, and Trey Hodgkins, senior vice president of the IT Industry Council, are guests on thi...

Federal News Network Staff

May 17, 2016 12:55 pm

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Pentagon Solutions - May 16, 2016

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The F-35 is the biggest weapons system in history. Taken by itself, the airplane’s next block upgrade — valued at $6 billion — would normally qualify as a major defense acquisition system of its own. The Government Accountability Office wants DoD to declare Block 4 of the Joint Strike Fighter as a separate acquisition program for transparency and accountability reasons. Michael Sullivan, GAO’s director for defense weapons system acquisitions, detailed that rationale with Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu, starting with a progress report on the overall F-35 program, on Pentagon Solutions.

Lowest price, technically acceptable is the approach the Pentagon says it’s taking with a $17 billion dollar multiple award contract known as Encore 3. Contractors say that’s the wrong approach. Trey Hodgkins senior vice president of the IT Industry Council, explains the objections.