"It's gonna be done when it's done," Assistant Air Force Secretary William LaPlante said Thursday. "It's more important that we do this right."
In May, LaPlante had said that he expected a decision by July, though Air Force Secretary Deborah James on Wednesday pushed the date further along, saying it could happen in August or September, DoD Buzz reported.
Competing to be the primary contractor for the bomber is Northrop Grumman and a team made up of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The Air Force expects to buy between 80 and 100 of the long-range bombers, Lieutenant General Ellen Pawlikowski, military deputy for Air Force acquisition, told DoD Buzz. Officials have estimated the bombers will cost $550 million each.
LaPlante said he is questioned about the contract every day, but the Air Force will not be rushed into a decision.
"If someone comes to me and says we want to do one more thing [before awarding the contract], I'm not going to say, 'No, no, you can't do that,'" he said. "This [weapons system] is something that’s going to be with us for 50 years."
LaPlante said in May that it is more important to him to ensure the decision was carefully justified rather than meet a specific deadline.
James, the Air Force Secretary, on Thursday said the service hoped to avoid a formal protest against the contract award, but recognized that the losing bidder had the right to challenge it.
"If we have all our information lined up correctly, hopefully that would decrease the possibility, but if there's a protest, there's a protest. That's the companies' right to do so," she told Reuters.
