Letter To The Honorable Robert Gates, Secretary, U.S. Department Of Defense

Letter

Dodd, DeLauro Urge Defense Secretary Gates to End No-Bid Contracts for MI-17 Helicopters

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) recently sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates regarding the department's acquisition of foreign-made Mi-17 helicopters for use by Iraqi and Afghan security forces under no-bid contracts.

In the letter, Dodd and DeLauro urge Secretary Gates to halt procurement of any further Russian- made Mi-17 helicopters until an analysis of options--including an American-made alternative helicopter--has been completed. To date, Dodd and DeLauro note, more than $800 million of taxpayer funds have been spent on Russian-made helicopters for Iraqi and Afghan security forces.

"We would thus urge you to halt this procurement activity until your Department has properly defined the mission requirement, analyzed alternate airframes, and chosen the right helicopter for the job," wrote Dodd and DeLauro. "Indeed, we would suggest that it is wholly appropriate and prudent, to say the least, to open this contract for a fair competition, including proposals by American aircraft manufacturers employing American workers, who have unparalleled track-records with the Department of Defense."

The full text of the letter is below.

December 17, 2009

The Honorable Robert M. Gates
Secretary of Defense
The Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000

Dear Secretary Gates,

We are troubled by reports that your Department is using no-bid contracts to acquire foreign made Mi-17 helicopters for use by Iraqi and Afghan security forces. It appears that this program uses an ad hoc procurement process that rewards foreign companies with single source contracts which lack appropriate oversight. According to various media reports, these contracts are undefined, delayed, and may not be the best use of taxpayer funds.

As you know, the United States has spent $648.2 million of Afghanistan Security Forces Funds to procure ten Russian-made Mi-17s. We are concerned that these funds may have been used without consideration of other alternatives to the purchase of Mi-17s. We have been told that the Department of Defense chose these helicopters because they believed the Afghans were more familiar with the Russian airframe than those made by American companies. However, sources indicate that there were only six aircraft in country in 2002, which leads us to believe that perhaps the Afghans' familiarity with the aircraft may have been over-stated. Similarly, the Defense Department has purchased eight Mi-17s for the Iraqi Security forces, although there were not any of these airframes in country prior to the efforts of the United States to purchase these helicopters.

In sum, the United States has spent over $800 million of taxpayer funds on Russian airframes without ever conducting an analysis of alternatives or considering other airframes for the mission. In addition, because these aircraft's activities are financed through the Iraq and Afghanistan Security Funds, we are informed that it is difficult to project future training and maintenance costs. We would thus urge you to halt this procurement activity until your Department has properly defined the mission requirement, analyzed alternate airframes, and chosen the right helicopter for the job. Indeed, we would suggest that it is wholly appropriate and prudent, to say the least, to open this contract for a fair competition, including proposals by American aircraft manufacturers employing American workers, who have unparalleled track-records with the Department of Defense.

We appreciate your attention on this critical matter.

Sincerely,

CHRISTOPHER J.DODD
United States Senator

ROSA DELAURO
Member of Congress

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