Obama awards Air Force deal to Brazilian company

Ben Howe:
Late Thursday night, American company Hawker Beechcraft was informed by the U.S. Air Force that they were not going to be allowed to compete for an American military aircraft contract.
The Air Force has notified Hawker Beechcraft Corp. that its Beechcraft AT-6 has been excluded from competition to build a light attack aircraft, a contract worth nearly $1 billion, the company said.
The company had been working with the Air Force for two years and spent over $100 million to ensure compliance with the requirements for the plane and says the craft (Beechcraft AT-6) met all requirements as shown through a demonstration actually led by the Air National Guard.
“We have followed the Air Force’s guidance close, and based on what we have seen, we continue to believe that we submitted the most capable, affordable and sustainable light attack aircraft,” the company said.
Keep in mind, this doesn’t appear to be a question of being outbid or outclassed. In fact, this seems to be a classic example of a contract being awarded without any bidding process at all, something you may remember infuriated the left when the recipient of the contract was American company Haliburton.
There’s a big difference this time. The company the no-bid contract went to isn’t an American company. Worse yet, the company it did go to has questionable friends. Namely, Iran.
Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace giant which is currently under investigation for potentially making illegal payments to obtain government contracts, is essentially owned by the Brazilian government. Through their “Golden Share,” Brazil essentially has control over the company’s business operations.
...
 Of course, the employees of Hawker Beechraft may not be on President Obama’s nice list these days anyway.  It turns out that Hawker Beechcraft employees are represented by the International Association of Machinists (IAM).  IAM president, Tom Buffenbarger, is one of the few union presidents without direct access to the White House.  Here’s why:
...
This looks like some Chicago style politics where Obama is putting his political interest ahead of the interest of the country.  It also shows how his jobs speeches ring hollow when they might go to someone he deems a political enemy.
 

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