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Boeing rebuts Pentagon report on heli parts

The report said Boeing overestimated how many new parts it would
need to build the 181 CH-47F Chinook helicopters under the five-year
contract, and then installed largely used parts, resulting in
overcharges of $7.4 million to $16.6 million.

The inspector general's report faulted the Army for not overseeing
the contract properly, and noted it lacked a process to doublecheck
Boeing's estimates and track the number of used or new parts that were
actually installed.

"Boeing recognizes the important work that the Department of Defense
inspector general performs. However, with regard to the audit of the
CH-47F multiyear contract, we disagree with the IG's conclusions," said
Boeing spokesman Damien Mills.

Mills said Boeing believed it had complied with government
contracting policies under the first firm, fixed-price, five-year
contract for the CH-47F helicopters, which called for Boeing to build
109 new helicopters and 72 remanufactured ones, using parts from
helicopters returning from use in overseas wars, where possible.

Boeing adjusted its proposal for a second five-year purchase of up
to 215 additional CH-47F helicopters to reflect the greater than
expected use of salvaged parts on the first contract, he said. The Army
awarded Boeing a $4 billion contract for 177 more CH-47 helicopters on
June 10.

The report said its audit of the first acquisition agreement
prompted Army officials to revisit the assumptions of the second
multiyear agreement, and reduce the amount of new parts to be ordered
for the helicopters by $36.8 million. It said it had identified
potential overcharges of $10.6 million to $19.1 million, the report
said.

In its response to the report, the Army said it had negotiated a $15
million savings from Boeing's proposal for the second five-year
agreement to reflect lower use of new parts.

Bloomberg first reported the Pentagon's inspector general report on Monday and posted a copy on its website.

Army officials could not be reached due to the federal holiday, and a partial government shutdown.

Boeing's Mills said the company saw and responded to a draft of the
report in April. The company filed a request for the final version, but
had not yet received it.

"The request at this time remains unfulfilled," Mills said.

He said the government's policy encouraged greater use of parts from used helicopters to reduce waste.

Industry experts said fixed price contracts were carefully
negotiated between companies and the government with each side taking on
certain risks. For instance, if Boeing had underestimated the amount of
new parts required, it would have had to bear the extra cost on its
own.

The report recommended that Boeing should be required to clearly
identify the amount of new parts "contingencies" included in the second
multiyear purchase agreement. It also faulted Boeing for being unable to
track installation of parts on a specific remanufactured helicopter.

The report also called for the Army to better manage
government-owned parts at a private facility, instead of relying on
Boeing to oversee the work there.

In a response to the report, the Army said better tracking was now
being implemented. It also noted any unused parts left at the end of the
contract would revert to the Army.