Pentagon to audit troubled helicopter program
WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The Pentagon's internal watchdog agency said on Friday it will audit a contested $15 billion helicopter program to see if the U.S. Air Force followed the rules when it changed military requirements for the aircraft.
The audit, due to begin next month, will examine whether changes to "key performance parameters" for the helicopter were properly disclosed and vetted through the Pentagon's Joint Requirements Oversight Council, according to a Feb. 19 letter from the Pentagon's inspector general announcing the audit.
Critics say that without the change, Boeing Co (BA.N), the initial winner in the competition, would not have been able to compete at all. The Air Force had to redo the competition last year after the Government Accountability Office twice upheld protests filed by the losing bidders, Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and United Technologies Corp (UTX.N). (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
