TITLE: B-400135; B-400135.2, Lockheed Martin MS2 Tactical Systems, August 8, 2008
BNUMBER: B-400135; B-400135.2
DATE: August 8, 2008
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B-400135; B-400135.2, Lockheed Martin MS2 Tactical Systems, August 8, 2008
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: Lockheed Martin MS2 Tactical Systems
File: B-400135; B-400135.2
Date: August 8, 2008
Marcia G. Madsen, Esq., Cameron S. Hamrick, Esq., David A. Dowd, Esq.,
Roger D. Waldron, Esq., Luke Levasseur, Esq., Melissa L. Baker, Esq., and
Sarah A. Sulkowski, Esq., Mayer Brown; and Bucky P. Mansuy, Esq., Lockheed
Martin MS2 Tactical Systems, for the protester.
John W. Chierichella, Esq., Anne B. Perry, Esq., Jonathan S. Aronie, Esq.,
Keith R. Szeliga, Esq., Jesse J. Williams, Esq., and Daniel J. Marcinak,
Esq., Sheppard Mullin, for Northrop Grumman, the intervenor.
Bridget A. Jarvis, Esq., Christopher J. Biglin, Esq., Russell P. Spindler,
Esq., Gregory Ircink, Esq., Stephanie Kroke, Esq., and Kristopher Fischer,
Esq., Naval Air Systems Command, for the agency.
David A. Ashen, Esq., and John M. Melody, Esq., Office of the General
Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.
DIGEST
Agency reasonably determined, in procurement for unmanned maritime
surveillance aircraft, that awardee had significant advantage over
protester with respect to past performance where: protester's
subcontractor, responsible for approximately 50 percent of contract
effort, had recent past performance history of being unable to resolve
staffing and resource issues, resulting in adverse cost and schedule
performance on very relevant contracts for unmanned aircraft; record did
not demonstrate that protester's subcontractor had implemented systemic
improvement that resulted in improved performance; while operating
division of the awardee also had performance problems on very relevant
contracts for unmanned aircraft, many had been addressed through systemic
improvement; and overall performance of awardee's team on most evaluated
contract efforts was rated better than satisfactory, while the overall
performance of protester's team on 11 of 26 contract efforts was only
marginal.
DECISION
Lockheed Martin MS2 Tactical Systems (LM) protests the Naval Air Systems
Command's (NAVAIR) award of a contract to Northrop Grumman (NG) under
request for proposals (RFP) No. N00019-07-R-0001, for the Broad Area
Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) Unmanned Aircraft System(UAS). LM challenges
the evaluation of proposals and resulting source selection.
We deny the protest.
The Navy generally expects that the BAMS UAS will provide a persistent
maritime Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) data
collection and dissemination capability to the fleet, with BAMS on station
24 hours a day, 365 days a year for 20 years. Hearing Transcript (Tr.) at
47. The Statement of Objectives for BAMS (SOO) included in the RFP
established the objective that each BAMS orbit (unit) provide (with no
more than three aircraft aloft simultaneously) continuous surveillance
capability for a minimum of 24 hours per day for 7 consecutive days, with
an Effective Time on Station (ETOS) of no less than 80 percent, at a
minimum mission range of 2,000 nautical miles (nm). BAMS SOO
sections 1.0-3.1. Likewise, the Performance Based System Specification for
BAMS (PBSS) included in the RFP required that the BAMS UAS "be capable of
maintaining 80 percent (Threshold) and 95 percent (Objective) ETOS
executed within a period of 168 continuous hours at a mission radius of
2000 Nautical Mile (nm) from its operating base." PBSS sect. 3.1.1.
At Initial Operational Capability (IOC), defined as one base unit with
sufficient assets to operationally support one persistent ISR orbit, the
BAMS UAS missions will include maritime surveillance, collection of enemy
order of battle information, battle damage assessment, port surveillance,
communication relay, and support of maritime interdiction, surface
warfare, battlespace management, and targeting for maritime and littoral
strike missions. (At full operational capability, the BAMS UAS will
provide for up to five simultaneous orbits worldwide.) While the objective
is to achieve IOC in fiscal year (FY) 2113 or earlier, the minimum
threshold requirement is for an IOC in FY 2014. SOO sections 1.0-2.0.
The solicitation provided for award of a cost-plus-award-fee contract for
system development and demonstration (SDD), with cost-plus-award fee
options for low rate initial production (LRIP 1), and for furnishing the
BAMS UAS to Australia. Award was to be made to the offeror whose proposal
represented the best value to the government based on four evaluation
factors: (1) technical (including two subfactors of equal importance:
design approach and program/schedule); (2) past performance;
(3) experience; and (4) cost (including four subfactors: SDD/LRIP1 option
contract cost, which was significantly more important than operations and
support (O&S), which was more important than production, which was
significantly more important than Australian option cost). The technical
factor was more important than past performance or experience, which were
of equal importance, while cost was least important. All factors other
than cost, combined, were significantly more important than cost.
Three offerors responded to the solicitation by the closing time on May 3,
2007. LM proposed to design and fabricate the BAMS Mariner, a modified
version of its proposed subcontractor General Atomics Aeronautical
Systems' (GA-ASI) Predator B aircraft (flown by the U. S. Air Force), with
such modifications as a 22-foot extension of the wingspan, [REDACTED]. The
BAMS Mariner, with a gross takeoff weight of 12,528 pounds (approximately
2,000 pounds greater than the existing model), was to be powered by a
single engine with a turboprop propeller. Based upon an evaluated ingress
speed of [REDACTED] knots and an egress speed of [REDACTED] knots, NAVAIR
assessed that for a station approximately 2,000 miles from its operating
base, each BAMS Mariner would be on station [REDACTED] hours, while the
evaluated ETOS of a 4-aircraft orbit was 84.6 percent. NG proposed to
design and fabricate the BAMS Global Hawk (RQ-4N), a modified version of
its RQ-4B Global Hawk B (flown by the U.S. Air Force), with such
modifications as [REDACTED]. The BAMS Global Hawk, with a gross takeoff
weight of 32,250 pounds, was to be powered by a single turbofan (jet)
engine. Based upon an evaluated ingress speed of [REDACTED] knots and an
egress speed of [REDACTED] knots, each BAMS Global Hawk would be on
station [REDACTED] hours, while the evaluated ETOS of the proposed
3-aircraft orbit was 96.2 percent. Boeing proposed to design an unmanned
version of the [REDACTED]. The Boeing [REDACTED], with a gross takeoff
weight of [REDACTED] pounds, was to be powered by [REDACTED]. Based upon
an evaluated ingress speed of [REDACTED] knots and an egress speed of
[REDACTED] knots, each Boeing [REDACTED] would be on station [REDACTED]
hours, while the evaluated ETOS of the proposed [REDACTED]-aircraft orbit
was 92.8 percent.
All three proposals were included in the competitive range. After
conducting several rounds of written and oral discussions with the
offerors, NAVAIR requested the submission of final proposal revisions
(FPR). FPRs were evaluated as follows:
NG LM Boeing
Technical Highly Highly Highly
(Overall) Satisfactory/ Satisfactory/ Satisfactory/
Medium Risk Medium Risk Medium Risk
Design Approach Outstanding/ Outstanding/ Outstanding/
Low Risk Low Risk Low Risk
Program and Satisfactory/ Satisfactory/ Satisfactory/
Schedule
Medium Risk Medium Risk Medium Risk
Past Performance Moderate Risk High Risk Low Risk
Experience Very Low Risk Very Low Risk Low Risk
Cost
SDD/LRIP 1 $1.946 Billion $1.213 Billion $[REDACTED]
O&S $12.382 Billion $12.495 Billion $[REDACTED]
Production $6.603 Billion $2.064 Billion $[REDACTED]
Australian Option $240 Million $112 Million $[REDACTED]
Source Selection Advisory Council (SSAC) Proposal Analysis Report (PAR) at
3.
Although each proposal received the same adjectival ratings under the
technical factor, NG's (as well as Boeing's) proposal was evaluated as
having a strong advantage over LM's. Specifically, NG's proposal was
evaluated by the SSAC as having a strong advantage over LM's under the
design approach subfactor of the technical factor. In this regard, the
solicitation provided that evaluation under the design approach subfactor
would encompass the extent to which the proposed BAMS UAS will be able to
meet the mandatory as well as the offeror-specific tailored requirements
of the BAMS PBSS, with emphasis on ETOS, open systems architecture,
mission performance, due regard, and growth potential in the areas of
unmanned aircraft (UA) Space, Weight, and Power (SWaP). NG's proposed BAMS
was evaluated as having a significant strength in the emphasis area of
ETOS, offering a greater persistent ISR capability with an evaluated ETOS
of 96.2 percent, significantly higher than LM's evaluated ETOS of
84.6 percent. In addition, NG's proposal was evaluated as having a
significant strength in the emphasis area of SWaP, including a
significantly higher weight margin (ability to add weight without
breaching the ETOS threshold requirements) of approximately
[REDACTED] pounds, nearly [REDACTED] times greater than LM's margin of
only approximately [REDACTED] pounds. Tr. at 122-49; Hearing Exhibit 102.
NAVAIR noted that NG's superior SWaP future growth capability could be
used to incorporate future capability increments without breaching the
ETOS threshold requirements, and that the resulting significantly greater
design margin would reduce the risk of unknown design challenges requiring
increased SWaP, particularly weight. In contrast, LM's proposal was
evaluated as having a significant weakness under the design approach
subfactor for failure to provide a validated computer model of the
performance of its proposed engine. The agency determined that NG's strong
advantage under the design approach subfactor offset a slight advantage
for LM under the program schedule subfactor, such that NG's proposal had a
significant overall advantage over LM's under the technical factor. SSAC
PAR at 3-7.
In addition, the past performance of LM and GA-ASI (its principal
subcontractor, which was proposed to perform approximately 50 percent of
the work), was determined to represent a high risk, giving rise to
substantial doubt that the LM/GA-ASI team could perform the proposed
contract effort. In this regard, the SSAC noted reports of poor past
performance on very relevant work, including prior GA-ASI contracts for
Predator-related work, with practically no systemic improvement
demonstrated. According to the evaluators, the customer feedback for
GA-ASI's contracts was remarkably consistent across contracts, identifying
difficulties in managing workload, problems with executing systems
engineering and systems integration tasks, and problems with properly
staffing a project. Further, the SSAC expressed concern that the
additional resources required for the BAMS UAS program would further
exacerbate the identified existing staffing and management shortcomings.
Finally, the SSAC noted that LM itself had experienced difficulties in
furnishing adequate staffing on its contract (the Po Sheng contract) to
upgrade the command control system for Taiwanese F-16 fighter aircraft.
Based on this record, the SSAC expressed concern that the LM team would
encounter significant schedule delays and be required to make technical
trade-offs in order to produce the Mariner. PAR at 7-10.
In contrast, the NG division serving as the prime contractor/system
integrator and performing approximately [REDACTED] percent of the NG
contract effort (NG Integrated Systems, Eastern Region in Bethpage, New
York) was evaluated as having satisfactory to very good past performance.
NG Executive Summary at 1i-1. Although the performance of NG Integrated
Systems, Western Region, Unmanned Systems Development Center in Rancho
Bernardo, California--which (with its predecessor, Teledyne Ryan, see NG
Past Performance Proposal at 3.4a-1) developed the Global Hawk and will
perform approximately [REDACTED] percent of the contract effort--on very
relevant Global Hawk-related work was viewed as a significant concern,
with the potential to translate into risk for the BAMS effort, the SSAC
noted that most past performance problems had been addressed through
demonstrated systemic improvement. Consequently, the agency determined
that only some doubt existed that NG would be able to successfully perform
the required effort, thus warranting a moderate overall risk rating. PAR
at 10; NG Executive Summary at 1i-1.
The SSAC concluded that NG had a significant advantage over LM/GA-ASI with
respect to past performance. According to the SSAC, while NG had
implemented systemic improvements that were successful in improving
performance for nearly all problems found on relevant contracts, nearly
all LM/GA-ASI problems appeared to persist without implemented systemic
improvement that resulted in improved performance. Moreover, the SSAC
expressed particular concern that the poor past performance of the LM team
was focused on GA-ASI, which was proposed to perform approximately 50
percent of the BAMS work, leaving a critical gap in LM's capability to
reliably perform the BAMS effort. The SSAC (with one dissenter) concluded
that NG's proposal's strong advantage over LM's proposal under the
technical factor (the most important evaluation factor), and NG's
significant advantage under the past performance factor (the second most
important factor), offset LM's significant advantage with respect to cost.
PAR at 7-11, 13-16.
The Source Selection Authority (SSA) concurred with the SSAC's
recommendation that NG's proposal was most advantageous. According to the
SSA,
[LM's] past performance record identifies systemic problems at GA-ASI,
which coupled with the lack of demonstrated systemic improvement,
indicate that these problems will likely be repeated on the BAMS UAS
program negatively impacting a significant portion of the work.
Furthermore, while [NG's] advantage in Past Performance in itself
justifies the [cost] premium, the technical advantage of providing a
large design margin further increases [NG's] probability for success,
mitigating some of the doubt associated with their Moderate Past
Performance risk. . . . [NG's] design approach has significant Space,
Weight and Power (SWaP) growth capability, which may be used to
incorporate future increments without breaching the Effective Time on
Station (ETOS) threshold requirement. This significant strength can also
be used as a design margin which acts to reduce the risk of unknown
design challenges requiring increased SWaP, particularly weight.
Finally, it is important to note that [LM's] lower proposal evaluated
costs do not include any costs associated with poor performance.
Performance difficulties can result in a significant cost to the
Government in terms of time (schedule slips), money (cost over-runs and
internal Government manpower and resources), and technical capability
for the warfighter.
Source Selection Decision (SSD) at 2-3. Upon learning of the resulting
award to NG, and after being debriefed, LM filed this protest with our
Office.
PAST PERFORMANCE
Background
LM principally challenges NAVAIR's evaluation of its own and NG's past
performance. In this regard, the RFP provided that the government would
evaluate the offeror's, and (if applicable), its principal
subcontractors' and critical team members' demonstrated past performance
in delivering quality products and in meeting technical, cost and
schedule requirements on similar programs for SDD, Production, and
Operations and Support. The currency and relevance of the information,
source of the information, context of the data, and general trends in
contractor's performance will be considered. Problems not addressed by
the offeror will be considered to still exist. However, consideration
for discounting problems may be given when those problems are addressed
through demonstrated systemic improvement.
RFP sect. M.II.B.
In furtherance of the past performance evaluation, offerors were required
to identify contracts "whose performance is within five years from the RFP
release and contain efforts similar to those efforts, e.g., tasks,
contract type, location, contract dollar value, etc., required by this
solicitation." RFP sect. L.3.1. The information provided "should be
related to similar programs in the same division, or cost centers in which
the Offeror proposes to perform this effort," and correspond to the
descriptions of the offeror's experience under the experience factor. Id.
The experience section of the RFP, in turn, required that the experience
"be relative to proposed roles and responsibilities of the
Offeror/Subcontractor in this solicitation," and identified several tasks
considered relevant, including "[p]erforming SDD tasks such as design,
integration, fabrication, and test of a system similar in scope to the
BAMS UAS," "[p]erforming logistics tasks for major military weapons
systems similar in scope to the BAMS UAS," and "[p]roduction and
manufacturing of a system similar in scope to the BAMS UAS." RFP sect.
L.4.0.
For each relevant contract, offerors were required to describe performance
in meeting technical and quality requirements, meeting schedule
requirements, controlling cost, and managing the contracted effort (e.g.,
program management, cooperation with customer, subcontract management).
RFP sect. L.3.4.2. In addition, and of particular importance here,
offerors were required, "[f]or each past performance problem identified,
[to] describe the status of the systemic improvement efforts and, where
applicable, demonstrate the impact that the systemic improvement effort
had on resolving the problem such that it would not reoccur." RFP
sect. L.3.1. Further, in addition to "[i]dentify[ing] those systemic
improvement actions taken to resolve past problems," offerors were
required to "[p]rovide the records of such results and indicate where they
are documented, preferably in Government record systems. Describe the
techniques, elements, and tools used to correct problems on the contract
and, if applicable, how these techniques, elements, and tools will be used
during this program." RFP sect. L.3.4.3. Finally, offerors were cautioned
that "[t]he Government does not assume the duty to search for data to cure
the problems it finds in the information provided by the Offeror. The
burden of providing thorough and complete past performance information
remains with the Offeror." RFP sect. L.3.1.
The record indicates that, in evaluating past performance, NAVAIR
undertook an in-depth, detailed examination of the recent relevant past
performance of each team. In this regard, the agency reviewed 30 contracts
for the LM team, 19 of which (including 6 LM and 7 GA-ASI contracts) were
determined to be either somewhat relevant or very relevant; received 23
past performance questionnaires for the team; conducted 7 interviews; and
reviewed 34 CPARS. The agency reviewed 27 contracts for the NG team, 24 of
which (including 17 NG contracts) were determined to be either somewhat
relevant or very relevant; received 40 past performance questionnaires for
the team; conducted 13 interviews; and reviewed 45 CPARS. SSEB at 40.
Based on the totality of the information available from the above
information sources, NAVAIR determined that the performance of the LM team
was exceptional on 1 contract effort, very good on 6, satisfactory on 8,
and marginal on 11. (Some contracts were divided into separate
delivery/task orders for purposes of these ratings When considered on a
contract-by-contract basis, without division into separate task order(s)
contract efforts, the LM team's performance was exceptional on
one contract, very good on six, satisfactory on seven, and marginal on
five. However, of particular significance to evaluation, of the five very
relevant GA-ASI contracts for Predator-based aircraft, GA-ASI's
performance was marginal on three contracts.) In contrast, NAVAIR
determined that the overall performance of the NG team was exceptional on
3 contract efforts, very good on 10, satisfactory on 9, and marginal on
only 3 contract efforts. Source Selection Evaluation Board Report (SSEB)
at 31-40.
LM asserts that NAVAIR's evaluation of LM's, GA-ASI's, and NG's past
performance was inconsistent with the solicitation and otherwise
unreasonable in numerous respects.
Where a solicitation requires the evaluation of offerors' past
performance, we will examine an agency's evaluation only to ensure that it
was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation's evaluation criteria
and procurement statutes and regulations; determining the relative merits
of offerors' past performance information is primarily a matter within the
contracting agency's discretion. The MIL Corp., B-297508, B-297508.2, Jan.
26, 2006, 2006 CPD para. 34 at 10; Hanley Indus., Inc., B-295318, Feb. 2,
2005, 2005 CPD para. 20 at 4. A protester's mere disagreement with the
agency's judgment is not sufficient to establish that the agency acted
unreasonably. Birdwell Bros. Painting & Refinishing, B-285035, July 5,
2000, 2000 CPD para. 129 at 5. Here, we find the overall past performance
evaluation to be reasonable. We discuss LM's most important challenges to
the past performance evaluation below.
Past Performance of LM Team
Although the SSEB noted that inadequate staffing and a shortfall in
technical skills had adversely impacted LM's ability to execute a somewhat
relevant (the Po Sheng) SDD contract to upgrade the command control system
for Taiwanese F-16 fighter aircraft, the panel generally acknowledged that
LM had demonstrated "high quality technical performance" on five of
six relevant contracts. SSEB at 52. In contrast, however, GA-ASI's
contract performance was a matter of great concern to the agency.
Specifically, while recognizing that GA-ASI had demonstrated a willingness
and ability to respond on short notice to evolving Global War on Terror
(GWOT) warfighter requirements, the SSEB found that GA-ASI's performance
demonstrated: inadequate staffing, resulting in performance problems on
SDD contracts for the MQ-9 Reaper (a second-generation, Predator B model)
and the MQ-1C Extended Range/Multipurpose (ER/MP) UAS (a second-generation
Predator model); unfavorable schedule performance on four of seven
relevant GA-ASI contracts, including very relevant contracts for the MQ-9
Reaper, UAS ground control stations, MQ-1C ER/MP, I-GNAT Extended Range
UAS (a version of the Predator with some differences for the Army), and
MQ-1 baseline Predator; poor performance in meeting technical quality
requirements on three of seven GA-ASI contracts, including contracts for
the MQ-9 Reaper, MQ-1C ER/MP, and I-GNAT Extended Range UAS; and workload
exceeded the firm's capacity on five of seven GA-ASI contracts, including
contracts for the MQ-9 Reaper, UAS ground control stations, MQ-1C ER/MP,
I-GNAT Extended Range UAS, and MQ-1/MQ-9 maintenance support. In summary,
the SSEB found the overall performance of GA-ASI on its very relevant
contracts for the MQ-9 Reaper (most delivery orders), UAS ground control
stations, MQ-1C ER/MP, and I-GNAT Extended Range UAS to be marginal. SSEB
at 36-38, 52-62.
Based upon the above past performance problems, the SSEB determined that
there was substantial doubt that LM would successfully perform the
required effort, and that an overall high risk rating therefore was
warranted. According to the SSEB:
The Lockheed Martin team delivers a high quality, technical product and
both Lockheed Martin and GA-ASI are motivated to meet the warfighter's
requirements. Lockheed Martin, as the prime contractor however, will be
substantially challenged to ensure that GA-ASI will remain on schedule.
The proposal includes a prominent role for GA-ASI including aircraft
design, UA manufacture, flight test, logistics, training support,
communications subsystem and MCS aircraft control segment which
represents approximately 50% of the proposed effort. There is,
therefore, significant risk to the BAMS UAS program if GA-ASI's future
performance trend reflects identified past performance difficulties in
managing increasing workload, a possibility which the [Past Performance
Evaluation Team] assesses as likely to occur.
Lockheed Martin and GA-ASI have recent past performance histories of
being unable to resolve staffing issues resulting in adverse cost and
schedule performance. Furthermore, there are documented concerns
regarding the amount of work that GA-ASI has taken on and the slow pace
of implementing processes and process improvements that increased
workloads and responsibilities require. Systemic improvement initiatives
have been identified or are in work in several areas of concern;
however, these efforts are not yet demonstrated to determine their
effectiveness at lowering risk.
SSEB at 62.
LM disputes both the agency's evaluation of its performance under several
of the individual contracts and the determination that there was little
demonstrated systemic improvement.
(1) MQ-9 Reaper/GCS
GA-ASI's ongoing Air Force contract No. F33657-02-G-4035 included very
relevant (according to both LM and NAVAIR) delivery orders for interim
contract capability, SDD and production of the MQ-9 Reaper (again, a
second-generation Predator B model), and for the pre-production and
production of UAS ground control stations (GCS). NAVAIR received three
Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPAR) for these contract
efforts, the most recent completed on April 23, 2007 for the period from
January 1 to December 31, 2006, with earlier CPARS for the periods October
1, 2004 to December 31, 2005 and September 18, 2002 to September 30, 2004.
(NAVAIR had unsuccessfully requested updated 2007 performance information
on contract No. 4035. NAVAIR E-mail to Air Force Point of Contact as
suggested by Air Force Program Manager (as listed in LM Past Performance
Proposal at 3-6), Nov. 28, 2007; Tr. at 2183-84.)
LM challenges the overall marginal rating for GA-ASI's performance under
this contract on the basis that this overall rating was inconsistent with
the category ratings in the latest 2006 Air Force CPAR of very good for
technical, satisfactory for management, and marginal for schedule and cost
control. However, while recognizing that GA-ASI "does an excellent job
responding to quick reaction and rapidly evolving warfighter requirements
in support of the Global War on Terror," the 2006 CPAR nevertheless
expressed significant reservations as to GA-ASI's performance in several
areas:
Systems engineering was rated satisfactory overall but remains an area
of concern for the program. The company has not been able to develop a
sufficient systems engineering staff to keep pace with the numerous
other contracted efforts.
While satisfactory overall, [software engineering] is an area of concern
for the program. Although the company continues to increase its software
engineering staff, there continues to be limited software engineering
resources to complete all contracted work. . . . The contractor needs to
continue to increase their engineering staff in order to meet contracted
commitments in parallel.
Several projects under this [Basic Ordering Agreement] have suffered
from schedule delays, to include the MQ-9 ICC and MQ-9 SDD efforts. The
schedule variances for these efforts are -20% and -44.9% respectively as
of Dec. 06. While [GA-ASI] has committed to expanding the workforce, the
contractor has insufficient resources to execute the contracted work on
schedule in several key areas. The resulting schedule delays directly
impact the fielding of combat capability.
CPAR, Contract No. 4035, 2006 Period. The 2004/2005 CPAR for contract No.
4035 included similar criticisms of GA-ASI's performance, as well as
marginal schedule and cost control ratings. Given the above continuing
staffing and resources shortfalls, which resulted in "schedule delays
directly impact[ing] the fielding of combat capability," CPAR, Contract
No. 4035, 2006 Period, and the repeated marginal schedule and cost control
ratings in the most recent CPARs, we find no basis to question NAVAIR's
evaluation of GA-ASI's overall performance under contract No. 4035.
LM further challenges NAVAIR's assessment that systemic improvement by
GA-ASI on contract No. 4035 (as well as under other contracts) had not
been demonstrated. In this regard, LM generally acknowledged in its
December 4, 2007 discussions response with respect to a number of GA-ASI
contracts (including the MQ-9 Reaper, MQ-1C ER/MP, and I-GNAT Extended
Range UAS), that "the fundamental cause for GA-ASI Past Performance issues
was availability of trained staff to meet the demand for our products and
services"; that GA-ASI's workload had exceeded its capacity; that there
had been "management task saturation"; and that there was a "valid CPAR
comment" regarding (overly) "[c]entralized management structure." LM
Evaluation Notice (EN) Response, Dec. 4, 2007, LM-PP-003, -008, -009,
-010, 011. However, LM maintained then, id., and asserts in its protest,
that GA-ASI has undertaken such systemic improvements as increasing
engineering and trained staff, hiring mid-level and senior program
managers, and restructuring the decision-making process. According to the
protester, the evaluation failed to acknowledge these systemic
improvements.
The agency's evaluation in this area was reasonable. Although LM has
suggested that the RFP did not require that there be documented results of
any systemic improvements, and that merely hiring additional staff should
be accepted as effective systemic improvement, as noted above, the RFP in
fact required the offeror to "identify those systemic improvement actions
taken to resolve past problems, . . . demonstrate the extent to which it
will benefit the instant contract," and "[p]rovide the records of such
results and indicate where they are documented, preferably in Government
record systems." RFP L.3.4.3. Accordingly, in ascertaining whether there
had been systemic improvement in correcting prior performance deficiencies
and problems, the agency properly looked to see whether the record
"demonstrate[d] the impact of the systemic improvement," including whether
there were any results of the claimed systemic improvement measures "in a
record or documentation to show that action resulted in a tangible
improvement to that program," such that there was "independent
verification [of] tangible improvement." Tr. at 778-80.
Given the solicitation requirement that any improvements in contract
performance be documented, the agency reasonably determined that overall
systemic improvement by GA-ASI on contract No. 4035 had not been shown. In
this regard, as noted above, notwithstanding the agency's November 2007
request to the Air Force for updated contract performance information, an
updated CPAR or other updated past information had not been furnished by
the Air Force. Further, while LM furnished its own updated Earned Value
Management System (EVMS) data on contract No. 4035 in a December 6, 2007
discussions response, that data did not clearly establish that overall
demonstrated systemic improvement on the contract had occurred. LM
reported that the cumulative Schedule Performance Index (SPI) (ratio of
work performed to the initial planned schedule, with an SPI of less than
1.0 indicating that work is not being completed as planned and the program
may be behind schedule if the incomplete work is on the critical path) on
the three ground control system delivery orders as of October 2007 was
only 76.6 percent, 88.8 percent, and 91.9 percent, all below the
95-percent level at which performance began to be a matter of some concern
to the agency. LM also reported that the cumulative Cost Performance Index
(CPI) (ratio of work performed to actual costs for work performed, with a
CPI of less than 1.0 being unfavorable because the work is being performed
less efficiently than planned) on one of the orders likewise was below the
95-percent level (93.1 percent). LM Response to EN LM-PP-015, Dec. 6,
2007; Tr. at 1084-92; GAO Cost Assessment Guide, GAO-07-1134SP, at 226.[1]
As for the four MQ-9 Reaper delivery orders, LM reported that one had been
completed in December 2006 at a cumulative CPI of 92.4 percent, one of the
remaining three orders was below the 95-percent CPI level in October 2007
(at 91.3 percent), and the third order had been rebaselined in October
2007 (and the index thus was reset to 1.0). LM also reported that one of
the orders was below the 95-percent level for SPI in October 2007 (at 83.7
percent), while a second had been rebaselined in October 2007 after having
an SPI of 55.2 percent in June 2007. We conclude that the agency
reasonably determined that there was no documentation of systemic
improvement on contract No. 4035.
(2) MQ-1C ER/MP
Both NAVAIR and LM considered ongoing Army contract No. W58RGZ-05-C-0069,
for the MQ-1C Extended Range/Multipurpose (ER/MP) UAS (a second-generation
Predator model using the basic structure of the Predator aircraft with the
Predator B avionics suite), to be very relevant to LM's proposed BAMS
Predator-based Mariner UAS. LM Past Performance Proposal at 3-9, 3-51.
NAVAIR received for this contract: four past performance questionnaire
(PPQ) responses, including December 10, 2007 and April 2007 responses from
the Army Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO), an April 2007 response from
the Army Product Manager, and a February 26, 2007 response from the
Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Administrative Contracting
Officer (ACO); and a number of LM discussion responses that referred to
the contract (as well as a number of other contracts).
LM challenges the overall marginal rating for GA-ASI's performance under
this contract, primarily on the basis that this rating was inconsistent
with the input from the DCMA ACO and LM's discussion responses.
We find that the agency reasonably rated GA-ASI's performance under
contract No. 0069 only marginal. In this regard, the most recent detailed
information received by NAVAIR for this contract was the Army PCO's
December 10, 2007 PPQ response in which he rated GA-ASI's performance as
marginal for technical/quality performance, schedule, cost performance,
and program management. According to the Army PCO, while the agency was
"confident the company can and will deliver a quality aircraft system,"
nevertheless, "as the program continues, and [GA-ASI] takes on additional
contracts, we are concerned about [GA-ASI's] ability to successfully
manage and deliver products to all customers on time and within cost."
Army PCO PPQ Response, Contract No. 0069, Dec. 10, 2007. The Army PCO
specifically reported the following performance problems on the MQ-1C
ER/MP contract:
[GA-ASI has not met contracted . . . delivery schedules.
[GA-ASI] continues to struggle as the Systems Integrator.
[GA-ASI] has resisted hiring adequate engineering and technical staff to
address all of the tasks they are currently contracted to perform.
The common theme within the delivery/schedule problems appears to relate
back to the acceptance of contractual commitments which are physically
beyond production capacity.
A major contributor is [that GA-ASI's] senior management continues to
obligate the company without fully reviewing and understanding the
current workload and commitments.
Management task saturation coupled with [GA-ASI's] highly centralized
management structure both contribute towards the delays with the
integration testing and coordination efforts . . . .
The engineering staff appears to be technically [competent], but in most
cases are not empowered at the appropriate levels to make the necessary
decisions to push the task forward in a timely manner to maintain
schedule.
[GA-ASI] has made limited corrective actions and usually not without
Government PMO insistence.
Army PCO PPQ Response, Contract No. 0069, Dec. 10, 2007. Furthermore, the
April 2007 PPQs completed for Contract No. 0069 by the Army PCO and the
Army Product Manager appeared to indicate that GA-ASI's performance
problems had been continuing for some time, with references to GA-ASI
"continu[ing] to struggle in identifying and executing system engineering
and system integration tasks required to facilitate final integration of
the subsystems," and having "struggled in the area of staffing at adequate
levels to properly resource the program schedule." Army PCO PPQ Response,
Contract No. 0069, Apr. 2007; Army Product Manager PPQ Response Contract
No. 0069, Apr. 2007.
LM asserts that the overall marginal rating for GA-ASI's performance on
contract No. 0069, for the MQ-1C ER/MP, did not reasonably account for the
February 26, 2007 PPQ response completed by the DCMA which reported that
GA-ASI's technical/quality and schedule performance was exceptional, its
cost performance was very good, and its management performance was very
good to exceptional.
We find LM's position unpersuasive. As an initial matter, we agree with
the agency that the DCMA ACO furnished little detail in support of his
very favorable performance ratings, and that the detail that was furnished
appears in some measure inconsistent with the high ratings. In this
regard, for example, while the DCMA ACO rated GA-ASI's cost performance as
very good and its schedule performance as exceptional, the DCMA ACO
reported cumulative, unfavorable EVMS ratings of 0.84 for CPI and 0.91 for
SPI as of January 2007. Although the DCMA ACO stated that
government-directed changes were the cause of schedule and cost issues, he
also acknowledged that $18 million of a predicted $37 million cost overrun
was believed to be the result of "cost growth within the contract scope,"
as distinct from "scope growth," and he referred to the fact that
"[c]orrective actions are on-going," including continued hiring by GA-ASI,
thus seemingly implying that there was some contractor responsibility for
performance problems. Tr. at 1784-93. In any case, the DCMA ACO's response
was furnished in February 2007, while the more detailed responses by the
Army PCO and Army Product Manager represented more recent assessments
based on the contract performance as of April and December 2007. We note
in this regard that the PPQs completed in April 2007 by the Army PCO and
Army Product Manager both rated GA-ASI's performance as marginal to
satisfactory for technical/quality and schedule performance, and
satisfactory for cost and management performance, thus suggesting both
that GA-ASI's performance had deteriorated since the DCMA ACO's assessment
in February and continued to deteriorate up to the time of the marginal
performance reported by the Army PCO in December 2007. Army PCO PPQ
Response, Contract No. 0069, Apr. 2007; Army Product Manager PPQ Response,
Contract No. 0069, Apr. 2007. Moreover, to the extent that the differences
in assessment of GA-ASI's performance represented a difference of opinion,
as distinct from a mere change over time in the quality of performance, we
consider it significant that it was the views of the Army PCO and Army
Product Manager, rather than those of the DCMA ACO, that were broadly
consistent with the reports in the Air Force CPARs on GA-ASI's performance
on the MQ-9 Reaper/GCS delivery orders, that is, the reports of continuing
GA-ASI staffing and resources shortfalls resulting in schedule delays. In
summary, based on the recent, detailed information concerning GA-ASI's
performance problems on contract No. 0069, which information was
consistent with reports of staffing and resource shortfalls resulting in
schedule delays on other contracts, NAVAIR reasonably rated GA-ASI's
performance on this contract as no better than marginal.
LM asserts that, in any case, NAVAIR failed to account for systemic
improvement by GA-ASI, such as increased staffing. As noted above,
however, the RFP required a showing of documented improvements in contract
performance as a result of any claimed systemic improvement measures. RFP
sect. L.3.4.3. While GA-ASI has apparently continued to increase its
workforce, again, an increase in workforce by itself, without a documented
improvement in contract performance, did not meet the solicitation
standard for showing systemic improvement. Here, not only did the PPQ
responses seem to suggest deteriorating performance on contract No. 0069
through December 2007, but, in addition, recent EVMS data furnished by LM
during discussions was not favorable. In this regard, in its December 6,
2007 discussion response to EN LM-PP-015, LM indicated that the MQ-1C
contract had been rebaselined after performance resulted in increasingly
unfavorable EVMS numbers at the beginning of 2007--with a decline in the
CPI from 83.8 percent in January to 80.3 percent in April and a similar
SPI decline from 90.9 percent to 87.1 percent--but then, after the
rebaselining was reflected in the EVMS data in September 2007 with fresh
100-percent CPI and SPI ratings, the numbers again began to decline,
falling to 98.4 percent and 98.2 percent, respectively, in October 2007.
LM Response to EN LM-PP-015, Dec. 6, 2007. In these circumstances, we find
that NAVAIR reasonably concluded that the information known to the agency
did not support a finding of systemic improvement on contract No. 0069.
(3) I-GNAT Extended Range UAS
Both NAVAIR and LM considered Army contract No. DAAH01-03-C-0124, ending
in December 2007, for the I-GNAT Extended Range (ER) UAS (an Army version
of the Predator), to be very relevant to LM's proposed BAMS Predator-based
Mariner UAS. LM Past Performance Proposal at 3-9, 3-70. NAVAIR received
three PPQ responses for this contract: a May 31, 2007 response from the
Army Deputy Product Director, Unmanned Aerial Systems Program Management
Office; an April 18, 2007 response from the Army PCO (who was also the
Program Manager (PM) for this program (according to LM, LM Past
Performance Proposal at 3-7), and the PCO for the MQ-1C ER/MP contract);
and an April 2007 "coordinated" response from the DCMA ACO (who also was
the ACO for the MQ-1C ER/MP contract) and the DCMA Program Integrator,
which was subsequently updated by the DCMA ACO on May 24, 2007. In
addition, NAVAIR received several LM discussion responses that referred to
the contract (among a number of other contracts).
LM challenges the overall marginal rating for GA-ASI's performance under
this contract, primarily on the basis that it fails to account for the
DCMA input. In this regard, the record reflects what appears to be an
irreconcilable difference between the Army and DCMA evaluations of
GA-ASI's performance. On the one hand, the Army Deputy Product Manager and
the Army PCO/PM agreed on marginal ratings for technical/quality,
schedule, cost and management performance based on concerns that GA-ASI
had "consistently failed to meet contractual delivery dates for the spares
and Ground Data Terminals and [was] beginning to show moderate slippage on
delivery dates for Air Vehicles and Ground Control Stations"; had
demonstrated resistance to hiring adequate personnel; had overly
centralized management structure that contributed to program delays; had
difficulty in managing its subcontractors; and ultimately was "agreeing to
contractual commitments which are beyond its production capacity." PPQ
Response, Contract No. 0124, May 31, 2007, Army Deputy Product Director;
PPQ Response, Contract No. 0124, Apr. 18, 2007, Army PCO/PM. On the other
hand, the coordinated response from the DCMA ACO and DCMA Program
Integrator offered the summary conclusion that there had been exceptional
technical/quality, schedule, cost and management performance, with
"generally" on-time performance or, as of May 2007, "on schedule" aircraft
deliveries and "[n]o major slippage on the production schedule." PPQ
Response, Contract No. 0124, Apr. 2007, DCMA ACO; E-mail from NAVAIR to
DCMA ACO, May 24, 2008.
We find that NAVAIR's evaluation of GA-ASI's performance on contract No.
0124 was reasonable. Confronted with materially differing ratings from the
Army and DCMA representatives as of May 2007, the agency unsuccessfully
sought updates from both entities on November 28, 2007, E-mail to Army
Deputy Product Manager, Army PCO/PM, and DCMA ACO, Nov. 28, 2007, and also
raised the negative past performance information from the Army with LM in
a series of ENs in October 2007. Of particular significance in this latter
regard were LM's October 12 responses to EN LM-PP-009 and EN LM-PP-11, in
which LM did not specifically refute the reports that GA-ASI had failed to
meet a number of contractual delivery dates, but essentially maintained
that it was simply "being responsive to the customer's aggressive
requests" and that any performance difficulties were beyond its control.
LM Response to EN LM-PP-009, Oct. 12, 2007. Given that the record before
NAVAIR included negative performance appraisals from responsible officials
of the Army, that is, the customer agency; the Army evaluations were
consistent with those on several other Army and Air Force Predator-related
contracts; the Army evaluations were more detailed than the general praise
from the DCMA ACO; the DCMA ACO's use of such language as "generally"
on-time or "[n]o major slippage" suggests that there were some schedule
slippages, which would appear to be inconsistent with the DCMA ACO's
exceptional ratings; and the fact that, when questioned by NAVAIR in this
regard, LM did not refute the reports that GA-ASI had failed to meet a
number of the contractual delivery dates, we find that NAVAIR reasonably
rated GA-ASI's performance on this contract as marginal.[2]
In summary, we find that LM's challenges to the evaluation of its team's
past performance provide no basis for questioning the agency's
determination that the LM team--in particular, GA-ASI--had a recent past
performance history of being unable to resolve staffing and resource
issues, which resulted in adverse cost and schedule performance. We
further find no basis for questioning the agency's determination that,
notwithstanding such systemic improvement measures as hiring additional
staff, LM did not establish documented improvements in contract
performance as a result of the systemic improvement measures; these
efforts therefore did not furnish a basis for reducing the risk associated
with the LM team's unfavorable past performance.
Past Performance of NG
As noted above, NG's performance was rated as marginal on only 3 of 20
contract efforts, very good on 10 and exceptional on 3. The SSEB
specifically found that the NG division serving as the prime
contractor/system integrator (NG Integrated Systems, Eastern Region) had
satisfactory to very good past performance, demonstrating "high quality
technical performance" on each of seven relevant contracts and favorable
or excellent cost control on six of those contracts. SSEB at 63.
Furthermore, the SSEB found that the overall NG team demonstrated
excellent program management on most relevant contracts.
However, the performance of NG Integrated Systems, Western Region,
Unmanned Systems Development Center, on very relevant Global Hawk-related
work was viewed as a significant concern. In this regard, the SSEB
determined that the NG team had demonstrated: (1) unfavorable cost
performance on 5 of 19 contract efforts, including Western Region Air
Force contract No. F33657-01-C-4600, for Engineering and Manufacturing
Development of the Global Hawk (Global Hawk EMD), and Western Region Air
Force contract No. F33657-03-C-4310, for Low Rate Initial Production of
the Global Hawk (Global Hawk LRIP); (2) underestimation of software
development and integration resulting in schedule delays and cost overruns
on three SDD contracts, including the Global Hawk EMD contract; (3)
unfavorable schedule performance on 5 of 15 contract efforts, including
both the Global Hawk EMD and Global Hawk LRIP contracts; and (4) marginal
ability to manage subcontractors on three contracts, including the Global
Hawk EMD contract. As a result of the above performance problems, the
overall performance of NG's Western Region on the Global Hawk EMD contract
was rated as marginal. (NG's performance was rated as satisfactory on
Global Hawk LRIP contract No. 4310, as well as on three other Global Hawk
LRIP contracts.) SSEB at 63-77.
Although NAVAIR recognized the potential for the NG Western Region
performance problems on the Global Hawk EMD contract to translate into
risk for NG's Global Hawk-based BAMS effort, the agency identified other
considerations that mitigated this risk: NG's overall generally very
good-to-exceptional technical/quality ratings; its flexible and responsive
management as indicated in most performance reports; the favorable
performance of NG Eastern Region, the proposed prime contractor/system
integrator, in controlling cost; and demonstrated systemic improvement
with respect to most prior performance problems. Regarding the evaluated
demonstrated systemic improvement, the SSEB determined that: of the
five contracts on which there had been unfavorable cost performance,
systemic improvement had been demonstrated on one, and some systemic
improvement had been demonstrated on three (including the Global Hawk
EMD); of the three contracts on which there had been underestimation of
software development and integration resulting in schedule delays and cost
overruns, systemic improvement had been demonstrated on two; of the five
contracts on which there had been unfavorable schedule performance,
systemic improvement had been demonstrated on two (including the Global
Hawk EMD), and some systemic improvement had been demonstrated on two
(including the Global Hawk LRIP); and of the three contracts on which
there had been marginal management of subcontractors, systemic improvement
had been demonstrated on one and some systemic improvement had been
demonstrated on another. Based on this evidence, the SSEB determined that
only some doubt existed that NG would be able to successfully perform the
BAMS effort, thus warranting a moderate overall risk rating (in contrast
to the substantial doubt regarding successful performance and resulting
high risk rating for LM's proposed contract effort). Id.
LM asserts that NG's moderate risk rating did not adequately account for
NG's performance problems, particularly on the Global Hawk EMD contract,
and that the agency unreasonably credited NG with systemic improvements on
a number of contracts, particularly the Global Hawk EMD and Global Hawk
LRIP contracts. Based upon our review of the record, we find no basis for
questioning the evaluation of NG's past performance.
As indicated above, and as is otherwise amply demonstrated in the record,
NAVAIR fully recognized the problems encountered by NG Western Region
under the Global Hawk EMD contract, including those with respect to
unfavorable cost performance, underestimation of software development and
integration resulting in schedule delays and cost overruns, unfavorable
schedule performance, and marginal ability to manage subcontractors, all
resulting in an overall performance rating of marginal. SSEB at 67-76;
Contract Performance Analysis Worksheet, Dec. 19, 2007. Furthermore,
notwithstanding LM's claims to the contrary, this recognition included an
understanding throughout the evaluation, and by the SSA, that there had
been significant cost increases under the contract (15 percent or more
above the baseline cost) such that notification to Congress was required
in 2005. See 10 U.S.C. sect. 2433 (2008); Letter from Secretary of the Air
Force to Congress, Apr. 13, 2005; Letter from Secretary of the Air Force
to Congress, Dec. 29, 2005 (reporting cost breach "directly related" to
breach previously reported in April 2005); Contract Performance Analysis
Worksheet, Dec. 19, 2007, Cost; SSEB at 66-68; SSAC PAR at 10; Tr. at
1322-39, 1889-90.
LM asserts that NAVAIR unreasonably credited NG with systemic improvement
with respect to most reported past performance problems. Again, however,
the record supports the agency's conclusion. For example, the SSEB noted
with respect to the prior unfavorable cost performance under the Global
Hawk EMD contract, that NG had implemented a number of cost control
measures, including a [REDACTED], designed to improve program oversight
and management and maintain cost and schedule within two percent of the
baseline. In this regard, the Air Force program director advised NAVAIR on
November 16, 2007 that
the program has put in place a new Acquisition Program Baseline and is
executing to it. . . . The contractor and government have made
management changes and have put in place strong mechanisms to control
cost and schedule and to predict growth in either. Overall, the program
has made significant changes and I believe that it is now healthy and on
a path to success.
E-mail From Program Director to NAVAIR, Nov. 16, 2007. In addition, NG
responded to NAVAIR ENs by furnishing cumulative EVMS data for 2007 (after
the prior cost breach and rebaseline), showing a CPI of 1.01 in January
2007, decreasing to .99 in July and increasing to 1.00 in October 2007. NG
Response to EN NG-PP-008, Nov. 30, 2007. However, since the Air Force
program director had reported in a May 23, 2007 CPAR that NG continued to
have cost and schedule control challenges in several areas, and given the
interim decline in the CPI to .99 in July 2007, the SSEB determined that
NG had demonstrated only some systemic improvement. Regarding the prior
unfavorable schedule performance, the SSEB noted NG's implementation of
such measures as the [REDACTED] designed to improve program oversight and
management. In addition, the SSEB noted that, while the Air Force program
director had reported in May 2007 that NG still faced schedule control
problems in several areas, the program director had also confirmed that
improvements had been made in overall scheduling approach and process.
Since the EVMS data furnished by NG in November 2007 had indicated a
cumulative SPI ranging between .99 in January 2007 and .98 in November
2007, the SSEB determined that systemic improvement had been demonstrated
in the schedule area.
In contrast, with respect to the prior underestimation of software
development and integration resulting in schedule delays and cost
overruns, the SSEB noted that as recently as September 7, 2007, the Air
Force had expressed concern to NG as to a 20-month delay in the Block 10
software, which originally was scheduled for completion in January 2006,
but instead was rescheduled for operational release in late September
2007. The SSEB further noted that, while NG had implemented a number of
systemic improvement measures in this area, the contractor had conceded
that many of the initiatives were still in the early stages of
development. Based on this information, the SSEB determined that systemic
improvement had not been demonstrated in this area. The SSEB reached a
similar conclusion with respect to the previous determination regarding
NG's marginal ability to manage subcontractors. SSEB at 66-76; Declaration
of Past Performance/Experience Team Lead, July 8, 2008.
As is apparent from the above discussion, the SSEB undertook a detailed,
reasoned approach to determining whether NG had demonstrated systemic
improvement. LM has not shown the agency's methodology or conclusions to
be unreasonable. While LM suggests that there was no cost data to
demonstrate systemic improvement, and further asserts that the agency
failed to consider the impact of the software problems on the overall
schedule, we think that, given the favorable EVMS data for 2007--including
a CPI of not less than .99 and an overall SPI of not less than .98 between
January and October 2007--and the various systemic improvement measures
undertaken by NG (including its [REDACTED], the agency reasonably
determined that some systemic improvement had been demonstrated in the
cost area and that systemic improvement had been demonstrated in the
overall schedule.
We conclude that the agency reasonably determined that only some doubt
existed that NG would be able to successfully perform the required effort,
thus warranting a moderate overall risk rating.
TECHNICAL
As noted above, NG's proposal was evaluated as having a strong advantage
over LM's under the design approach subfactor of the technical factor
based in part on the evaluation of NG's proposed BAMS UAS as having
significant strengths in the emphasis areas of: ETOS, with NG offering a
greater persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
capability with its proposed UAS orbit evaluated as having an ETOS of 96.2
percent, significantly higher than LM's evaluated ETOS of 84.6 percent;
and SWaP, including NG's weight margin of [REDACTED] pounds, nearly
[REDACTED] times greater than LM's margin of approximately [REDACTED]
pounds. NAVAIR noted that NG's superior SWaP future growth capability
could be used to incorporate future capability increments without
breaching the ETOS threshold requirements, and that the resulting
significantly greater design margin would reduce the risk of unknown
design challenges that could require increased SWaP, particularly weight.
NAVAIR concluded that NG's strong advantage under the design approach
subfactor offset a slight advantage in favor of LM's proposal under the
program schedule subfactor such that NG's proposal had a significant
overall advantage over LM's under the technical factor. SSAC PAR at 3-7.
LM raises several challenges to the evaluation under the technical factor.
We find that none furnishes a basis for questioning the reasonableness of
the agency's overall determination of NG's advantage under the factor. For
example, LM asserts that the ETOS calculation for its proposed
Predator-based solution understated the time on station because it was
improperly based on an orbit of four aircraft, ignoring the fact that LM
had updated its original approach to add a fifth aircraft in its December
4 proposal revisions. However, the record supports the agency's
interpretation of LM's revised proposal as continuing to propose a
4-aircraft orbit for purposes of the ETOS calculation. Neither the origin
of the revisions nor the resulting revised proposal supports LM's
interpretation of a 5-aircraft orbit for purposes of the ETOS calculation.
In this regard, LM advised NAVAIR in its December 4 proposal revision that
"[a]s a result of Government comments and after rerunning the Government's
model received as part of EN LMGA-C-0040, we have added an additional
aircraft to our LRIP 1 cost and schedule. We will now produce 5 aircraft
as part of LRIP 1." LM/GA Proposal Update, Response to the 28 November
BAMS Face-to-Face Discussions, at 2-3. However, EN LMGA-C-0040 was a cost
EN, not a technical EN, and the relevant section of the EN advised LM that
the agency had concluded that its proposal of 33 aircraft would not be
sufficient to sustain full operating capability for the required 20 years.
Further, LM's submissions from before and after the December 4 revisions
all referred to an orbit or input of four aircraft, including: LM's
Technical Proposal Figure 2.1.4-6 "ETOS Calculator Inputs," responsive to
the RFP requirement that offerors "[i]dentify all assumptions used in
developing ETOS predictions" and complete an "ETOS Input Table," RFP
L.2.1.4; the narrative in its Technical Proposal Section 2.1.4, "Effective
Time on Station"; and the proposal's executive summary. LM Executive
Summary at 3-4, 10, 22; LM Executive Summary Errata, Dec. 4, 2007; LM
Technical Proposal sect. 2.1.4. Moreover, as noted by the agency, LM was
informed during face-to-face discussions on November 28, 2007, that the
agency was assuming that only 80 percent of the unmanned aircraft at a
particular site would be able to fly for purposes of the ETOS
calculation--"Number of UAs per site = ETOS results/80% availability."
BAMS UAS Competition, LM Preliminary Discussions Evaluation Findings, Nov.
28, 2007, at 54. Since application of the 80-percent availability factor
would require five aircraft in order that four would be available to fly
for purposes of the ETOS calculation, the agency reasonably found that
LM's proposal of a fifth aircraft for LRIP was not intended to change the
proposal of four aircraft for the ETOS calculation. Tr. at 46-49,
62-65.[3] Thus, nothing in the circumstances of the December 4 revisions
reasonably alerted the agency to an intention on LM's part to add a fifth
aircraft for ETOS calculation purposes.
The protest is denied.
Gary L. Kepplinger
General Counsel
------------------------
[1] While LM maintained that the EVMS data were invalid and not reliable,
this only confirms the absence of any documentation of systemic
improvement.
[2] LM further asserts that, in evaluating the past performance of GA-ASI,
NAVAIR failed to account for information in DCMA's Informal Preaward
Survey on GA-ASI, the results of which were reported to NAVAIR on or about
February 1, 2008. Although our Office has previously held that an agency
may not ignore information obtained during a preaward survey that is
relevant to a past performance evaluation, GTS Duratek, Inc., B-280511.2,
B-280511.3, Oct. 19, 1998, 98-2 CPD para.130 at 15, or to the
consideration of the awardee's capability to perform the work undertaken
as part of the technical evaluation, Continental Maritime of San Diego,
B-249858 et al., Feb. 11, 1993, 93-1 CPD para. 230 at 7, the record here
reflects that the views expressed in GA-ASI's survey were essentially
taken into account in the evaluation. Specifically, with respect to past
performance, the survey (which was completed in only 3 days) included (1)
a general statement by the same DCMA Program Integrator whose views had
been "coordinated" with those of the DCMA ACO on contract No. 0124 (for
the I-GNAT ER) that GA-ASI had performed well on the various Predator
contracts, and (2) a statement in the property management area of the
survey, apparently by a different DCMA employee, that GA-ASI has grown
rapidly and "has not been able to keep up [with] increasing need for
adequate staffing." As noted by NAVAIR, however, both views had previously
been accounted for in the past performance evaluation, and neither was
supported by any new detailed information. NAVAIR Comments, July 28, 2008,
at 12-13.
[3] Consistent with the agency's assumed 80 percent availability factor,
and NG's proposal of three aircraft for the ETOS calculation, NG's
proposal was evaluated on the basis of four aircraft per site. (LM's
proposal was evaluated on the basis of five aircraft per site, consistent
with its evaluated proposal of four aircraft for the ETOS calculation.)
Final Evaluation SSAC Briefing, Feb. 4, 2008, at 116.