The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Tuesday denied Boeing’s protest of the Air Force’s Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) award to Northrop Grumman.
Ralph White, managing associate general counsel for procurement law at GAO, said in a statement that GAO found no basis to sustain or uphold the protest after reviewing Boeing’s challenges to the selection decision. White said in denying Boeing’s protest, GAO concluded that the technical evaluation, and the evaluation of costs, was reasonable, consistent with the terms of the solicitation and in accordance with procurement laws and regulations.
GAO’s decision is the only information it will reveal as the details of Boeing’s challenges, and GAO’s decision resolving them, are classified and covered by the terms of a protective order issued by GAO for the protest. GAO’s decision must also undergo a security classification review by the Air Force and is not available for public release, the office said.
Air Force spokesman Maj. Robert Leese said the service’s stop work order would be lifted Tuesday and that Northrop Grumman would immediately resume performance of the LRSB contract. If dissatisfied with GAO’s decision, Boeing’s next step would be to pursue the case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Asked if Boeing was considering performing legal action following Tuesday’s decision, Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher said in a statement that the company will carefully review the GAO’s decision and decide upon its next steps with regard to the protest in the coming days. Boeing, he said, continues to believe that its offering represents the best solution for the Air Force, and the nation, and believes the government’s selection process was fundamentally and irreparably flawed.
The Air Force last year awarded Northrop Grumman, instead of the Boeing-Lockheed Martin team, a cost-reimbursement contract for engineering and manufacturing development and early production of LRSB. GAO said Boeing argued the Air Force’s evaluation was fundamentally flawed with respect to the assessment of the offeror’s proposed costs and the technical evaluation of Northrop Grumman’s proposal.
