Boeing finds foreign partner for chopper bid

Boeing Co. on Monday announced plans to partner with Italian aircraft maker AgustaWestland for the high-stakes competition to build the next fleet of presidential helicopters.

In a statement, the U.S. aerospace giant said it will secure the rights from AgustaWestland for U.S. production of the AW101 medium-lift helicopter, giving Boeing full intellectual property, data and production rights for the aircraft in support of the bid.

"Because of this arrangement, the aircraft will be a Boeing aircraft, built by Boeing personnel at one of its U.S. facilities," according to the statement. "The company will submit information regarding this aircraft in response to the Navy's current request for information by the June 18 deadline."

The Navy manages the helicopter program, which was canceled last year after costs grew from $6.1 billion to more than $13 billion. Twenty-eight aircraft were designed to ferry the president and dignitaries on short trips, such as from the White House to Camp David or Andrews Air Force Base.

Lockheed Martin Corp. and AgustaWestland had been under contract for the aircraft after winning a heated competition for the program in 2005.

Now, Lockheed has teamed up with the losing bidder from the 2005 competition Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., and they are offering the H-92 medium-lift helicopter.

The team, with Sikorsky serving as the prime contractor, submitted a response to the Navy's request for information in April.

Boeing's announcement of its selection of an Italian aircraft design for the presidential helicopter contest triggered an immediate response from the European consortium EADS, the aerospace firm's competitor for the Air Force's $40 billion contract for aerial refueling tankers.

Boeing and EADS have been vying for the program for years, with supporters of the Boeing offering often raising concerns about awarding such a lucrative contract to a foreign flag company.

"For several years, Boeing and its allies have been harshly critical of the participation of EADS North America in the KC-X tanker competition," according to the statement. "With this announcement, we now expect Boeing to cease its shrill rhetoric and finally allow the KC-X competition to focus on the merits of the tanker offerings."

A Boeing spokesman Monday said the two competitions are not related and the situations are very different.

Boeing will have full design authority over its offering for the presidential helicopter and the contract would be conducted directly with Boeing, he said.

"We view this arrangement as supporting the U.S. defense industrial base in that it enhances our ability to meet U.S. domestic military rotorcraft needs," he added.