Northrop's Mystery Bomber Bid May Trigger Review, CRS Says
- Research service suggests bid price, contract for review topic
- Air Force is reviewing GAO bomber bid decision to declassify
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Northrop Grumman Corp.’s winning bid to develop and build the U.S. military’s next-generation bomber was “substantially below” independent Pentagon and Air Force agency estimates, so Congress may seek to review their methodologies, according to a Congressional Research Service
Despite a request from Senator John McCain, the Air Force has refused to release the winning contract amount. It did, however, reduce its latest five-year bomber budget by $3.5 billion, citing the lower bid. The Air Force and Pentagon’s in-house independent cost assessment agencies estimated a $23.5 billion development phase, that includes the Northrop contract, plus $56 billion on procurement -- or about $564 million for each bomber in 2016 dollars.