Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoChicago
I thought testing was supposed to begin 1st quarter 2009.
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Though the contract was approved in June 2006, it wasn't signed actaully until October 2006, with Notice-to-Proceed either Q4 2006 or Q1 2007. That would put prototype delivery at around Q4 2009, contractually speaking. I think the unusally large time gap between contract approval and actual signature is just due to the immensity of the contract ($900+ million) and the resulting insurance/bonding requirements, ownership/ethics disclosures of the prime and multitude of sub-contractors, and so forth.
A large downside accompanies missing this winter for trial and evaluations. If the prototypes aren't delivered in time for this winter, then realistically the full order couldn't start delivery until mid-2011 at the earliest since winter testing is absolutely vital.