HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Government Accountability Office has denied General Dynamics Land Systems' protest of the Marine Corps' decision to award contracts to both BAE Systems and SAIC to build prototype Amphibious Combat Vehicles.
GDLS decided to file a protest in December after contracts were awarded in November. GDLS took issue with the Marines' evaluation of SAIC's higher-rated, higher-priced proposal over its lower-rated, lower-priced proposal, according to GAO.
"GAO concluded that the Marine Corps' evaluation of the General Dynamics proposal was reasonable and consistent with the evaluation scheme identified in the solicitation. GAO also concluded that the decision to select SAIC's higher-rated, but higher-priced proposal was within the agency's discretion when conducting a best value procurement," a statement from the office reads.
Lockheed Martin and Michigan-based Advanced Defense Vehicle Systems were also in the running to build the ACV.
The total value of the contract with all options exercised is about $1.2 billion. BAE's contract is for $103.8 million, while SAIC's is for $121.5 million. Each company will build 16 eight-wheeled vehicles to be tested over the next two years to replace the Marine Corps' Vietnam-era amphibious assault vehicle. The service will then pick a winner in 2018 to deliver 204 vehicles by 2020.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
