ITT Electronic Systems, Radar Systems--Gilfillan
Highlights
ITT Electronic Systems, Radar Systems--Gilfillan (ITT) protests the decision of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), Department of the Army, to award a sole-source contract to Raytheon Company under request for proposals (RFP) No. W31P4Q-05-R-0338, for Air Traffic Navigation, Integration and Coordination System (ATNAVICS) and Fixed-Base Precision Approach Radar (FBPAR) hardware, spares, and first article testing, as well as FBPAR installation, site survey, site design, system refurbishment and engineering services for fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
B-299150; B-299150.2; B-299150.3; B-299150.4; B-299150.5, ITT Electronic Systems, Radar Systems--Gilfillan, February 2, 2007
DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release.
Decision
Matter of: ITT Electronic Systems, Radar Systems--Gilfillan
File: B-299150; B-299150.2; B-299150.3; B-299150.4; B-299150.5
Philip J. Davis, Esq., Rand L. Allen, Esq., Nicole P. Wishart, Esq., Jon W. Burd, Esq., and John R. Prairie, Esq., Wiley Rein LLP, for the protester.
Mark D. Colley, Esq., Cameron W. Fogle, Esq., and Stuart W. Turner, Esq., Holland & Knight LLP, for Raytheon Co., an intervenor.
Jeffrey I. Kessler, Esq., and Wade L. Brown, Esq., U.S. Army Materiel Command, for the agency.
Edward Goldstein, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.
DIGEST
Protest challenging award of a sole-source contract based on alleged changes to the agency's requirements, which served as the basis for the sole-source determination, is premature where the agency has not finalized any changes to its requirements and there have been no modifications to the sole-source contract reflecting any of the changed requirements alleged by the protester.
DECISION
ITT Electronic Systems, Radar Systems--Gilfillan (ITT) protests the decision of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), Department of the Army, to award a sole-source contract to Raytheon Company under request for proposals (RFP) No. W31P4Q-05-R-0338, for Air Traffic Navigation, Integration and Coordination System (ATNAVICS) and Fixed-Base Precision Approach Radar (FBPAR) hardware, spares, and first article testing, as well as FBPAR installation, site survey, site design, system refurbishment and engineering services for fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
On
The ATNAVICS system, as described in the sole-source RFP, is essentially a mobile air traffic navigation system, which is configured on two High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) (referred to by the parties as HUMVEEs) and can be transported on a single C-130 or larger aircraft. Specifically, the ATNAVICS sensor subsystem,[1] which includes all essential radar components, is mounted on an expanded capacity variant (ECV) HUMVEE and the ATNAVICS operations shelter, a structure from which personnel operate the ATNAVICS system, is carried and deployed by the heavy variant (HV) HUMVEE. Each HUMVEE also pulls a trailer that carries a power generator.
In its protest, ITT does not challenge the Army's conclusion that Raytheon was the only firm capable of meeting the ATNAVICS requirements, as those requirements were identified in the sole-source RFP. Moreover, ITT concedes that its own mobile air traffic control sensor subsystem cannot be mounted on a single HUMVEE, and that its system cannot be transported on a single C-130 aircraft. Protest 1 at 6. Rather, ITT's protest allegations flow from its assertion that the deployment requirements for the ATNAVICS system have materially changed from those stated in the RFP, thereby undermining the basis for the Army's sole-source award determination. In this regard, ITT contends that the Army's initiative to up-armor its HUMVEEs imposes severe weight restrictions on the HUMVEEs utilized to move the ATNAVICS, which have effectively eliminated the above-noted single HUMVEE and single C-130 requirements. With these requirements eliminated, ITT asserts that it is capable of meeting the Army's mobile air traffic control system requirements, thereby fundamentally altering the competitive landscape for the Army's required system and rendering the Army's sole-source decision unreasonable.
The Army maintains that ITT's challenge is premature. We agree. In arguing that the mobile air traffic control system requirements have changed, ITT points to numerous documents reflecting the Army's existing policy, as mandated by the Department of Defense, to swiftly outfit its tactical wheeled vehicles, such as the HUMVEE, with sufficient armor to protect the crews participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as for the future. These records clearly reflect the challenges presented by the up-armoring initiative for many systems utilized in conjunction with tactical wheeled vehicles, including the ATNAVICS system. These problems in many instances stem from the increased weight associated with adding armor to the vehicles, which move these systems. Regarding the ATNAVICS system, the Army has conceded that in its existing configuration it is overweight on a fully armored HUMVEE. Contracting Officer's (CO) Statement,
The protest is dismissed.
Gary L. Kepplinger
General Counsel
[1] The sensor subsystem components include: the Precision Approach Radar, the Airport Surveillance Radar, and the Secondary Surveillance Radar.