The U.S. Air Force reversed course and plans to re-examine its contract award for 140 search-and-rescue helicopters to Boeing Co., providing a lift for Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. which has proposed a variant of its S-92 helicopter.
Sikorsky, a unit of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., is the largest employer in Fairfield County, with 7,100 employees at its Stratford facility and 2,500 more in other locations.
After the Air Force awarded the contract last November to Boeing, Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin Corp. appealed the decision to the Government Accountability Office, which recommended the Air Force reopen the bidding.
In late March, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told a congressional committee that the branch was committed to Boeing. A week later, however, the branch agreed to re-examine whether Sikorsky or Lockheed”™s proposals would save the Air Force money in support costs.
