General Dynamics [GD] claims the Marine Corps asked for an amphibious combat vehicle (ACV) with particular capabilities then measured competitors by a different set of standards, prompting a protest of November contract awards to two other companies.
GD filed its protest on Monday “after thorough evaluation of the data surrounding the U.S. Marine Corps’ selection for ACV 1.1,” a company spokeswoman Lucy Ryan said in an email to Defense Daily.
“We believe the selection process was not consistent with the criteria outlined in the RFP (request for proposals). General Dynamics used the RFP’s description of the evaluation criteria to develop and propose a high value, high quality solution to meet the very specific requirements,” Ryan said.
In late November, the Marine Corps awarded a total $225 million in contracts to BAE Systems and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) to build ACV prototypes. The decision left GD, Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Advanced Defense Vehicle Systems (ADVS) out of the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the program.
“From our perspective, had the process used in the award decision been communicated as part of the RFP, we would have provided a different material solution,” Ryan added. “Therefore, the competition should be reopened now that the Marine Corps’ priorities are known.”
Lockheed Martin is still assessing information the Marine Corps provided in its post-competition briefing and has not decided whether to protest the awards, spokesman John Kent said. A message requesting comment from ADVS was not returned Tuesday. Companies generally have 10 days from when they are debriefed on the contract award. Lockheed Martin received its debrief last week. GAO then has 100 says to sustain or dismiss the protest.
The Marine Corps stands by its “rigorous and thorough evaluation of competitive proposals,” as Marine Corps Program Executive Officer Land Systems William Taylor put it in a Nov. 24 press conference before the contract award that evening. PEO Land Systems spokesman Manny Pacheco doubled down on that stance Tuesday.
“We respect General Dynamics’ right to protest our decision,” Pacheco said. “But we are confident that the Marine Corps and the source selection team adhered to best practices and chose the best value and capability for future of our Corps.”
The Marine Corps had not taken action to halt work on the existing contracts as of Tuesday, Pacheco said. The service had not yet received official documentation of protest from the GAO, which will include GD’s specific objections to the downselect. Federal law requires the service to issue a stop work order on a contract while a protest is pending.
BAE spokesperson Megan Mitchell confirmed Nov. 8 the company had not been ordered to halt production of EMD vehicles.
“Right now, we are waiting for further guidance from the Marine Corps and will adjust the path forward as directed by our customer at the appropriate time,” she said in an email. Lauren Presti, a representative for SAIC, also said no stop-work order was given Tuesday.
Until the Marine Corps says otherwise, BAE and SAIC will continue work toward delivering 13 ACVs to the service starting in 2016. BAE’s contract is for $103.8 million, while SAIC’s is for $121.5 million.
Both manufacturers are expected to start delivering their prototypes in the fall of 2016, when the government will begin an “aggressive and thorough” test schedule. The Marine Corps will move into the production phase in 2018 with a single vendor. Initial operational capability (IOC) is expected by the end of 2020 with all 204 ACV 1.1 vehicles fielded by the summer of 2023.