The U.S. Air Force failed to follow federal regulations in awarding a contract to Boeing Co. to develop a sensor for a next-generation U.S. government weather satellite, according to an audit released by the U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General July 10.

Boeing received a contract in June 2001 to develop the Conical Scanning Microwave Imager/Sounder for the National Polar Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), beating Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. for the $317 million award.

“The Air Force Source Selection Authority for the contract award: lacked impartiality with respect to the contract winner, Boeing Satellite Systems and manipulated complex proposal evaluation ratings to benefit Boeing Satellite System’s contract proposal and hinder Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation’s contract proposal,” the audit said. “In addition, source selection personnel did not adequately document the evaluation of the offerors’ proposals and used undefined and inconsistently applied evaluation ratings in the source selection reporting process.”

This audit was performed at the request of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, which requested audits of several contracts awarded by Darleen Druyun, the U.S. Air Force’s former top procurement official, who steered contracts to Boeing in exchange for a lucrative job managing their missile programs. An investigation found Druyun inflated costs in a deal to lease tanker aircraft to favor Boeing and she ended up serving several months in federal prison after admitting she did it in return for jobs for herself and her daughter.

“We recommend that the Air Force establish a source selection oversight process, require support for source selection findings, and update past performance evaluation guidance,” the audit said.

In June, the Air Force terminated the sensor program as part of a restructuring of the NPOESS program.