Air Force To Re-compete Phase Two of Small Diameter Bomb.

By Geoff Fein

The Air Force said yesterday it will re-compete Phase 2 of the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) program after sustaining a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that raised questions about a former acquisition official's altering of the program's requirements.

The Air Force, however, anticipates no delay in the program. The contract award is still planned for fiscal year 2006, according to the Air Force.

"The current acquisition strategy allows sufficient time to compete and in light of the GAO findings, the Air Force plans to award a competitively based contract(s) in early FY '06," the service.

A statement from Boeing [BA], the prime contractor for the program, said the company's work on SDB is on track.

"Boeing's work on the SDB contract continues on schedule and on budget. Boeing has received very good performance ratings from the Air Force on the SDB work completed to date. We await our customer's decision on future contract phases. We stand ready to compete based on any Air Force decision," the statement said.

The issue surfaced last week when GAO released its recommendations regarding a Nov. 10, 2004, protest filed by Lockheed Martin [LMT] concerning the award of an Air Force contract for the SDB to Boeing. The protest called into question the involvement of then Air Force Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Darleen Druyun's involvement with Boeing contracts while Boeing was actively recruiting her for a job.