The A-7 attack aircraft: contract history emphasizing the Navy business clearance process.

Abstract

Beginning with intense competition for the first A-7 , the Navy by necessity entered sole source negotiations for later procurements of the A-7. The operational need of these A-7's drove the Navy to letter contracts while increasing sophistication of the avionics and changing military requirements complicated the definitization of these contracts. To better understand these problems and the Navy business clearance process, a history of the Navy Procurement Control and Clearance Division is presented in Section II. Sections I and III present A-7 contracts in case study format for the A-7A, A-7B, A-7D, and A-7E. Section IV is a case study of the A-7F VAST contract. The procurement of a military aircraft is a complex process. The Project Manager and the contracting officer must constantly strive to make the technology advances and requirement change's compatible with sound business practices. The study of the A-7 contracts illustrates many of the inevitable conflicts that arise in this process.