> ULA is courting Aerojet Rocketdyne with little intention of actually going with them This is likely because of a requirement that ULA put out a bid to multip

> ULA is courting Aerojet Rocketdyne with little intention of actually going with them This is likely because of a requirement that ULA put out a bid to multiple candidates. This sort of thing often happens because of well-meaning rules that aim to prevent croneyism in subcontracts or procurement. It's unsurprising, and -assuming that there's no other US supplier that is willing to build the engines for ULA- is not at all controversial. However, such rules can be a pain in the ass when you honestly know that there's only one entity in the world who can do the entirety of the thing that you need to get done. If you're really unlucky, your procurement rules will be written so that some bozo can come along, promise everything on your requirements list at a lower price than the only guy who can actually do the job, win the contract, and string you along for aeons while they attempt to build the capabilities that they promised they could supply, and that the other guy already had ready to go.