GAO tosses QinetiQ's protest of TCOM's $625M Polish aerostat deal
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By
Nick Wakeman
The decision clears the way for TCOM to deliver four surveillance aerostat systems to Poland under the foreign military sales program.
QinetiQ has lost is challenge of a $625 million contract to provide tethered aerostats to the Polish Armed Force.
TCOM LP won the task order under the Aerostats MATOC vehicle. The sale to the Polish Army is part of the foreign military sales program. The U.S. Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground manages the contract.
QinetiQ filed its protest on June 15 and challenged how the U.S. Army evaluators assigned weaknesses and risks to its proposal. They also argued that the Army failed to identify alleged flaws in TCOM’s proposal.
Other challenges involved compliance with security assistance management manual requirements and implementation of the Arms Export Control Act.
The Government Accountability Office denied QinetiQ’s claims about the evaluation and dismissed the allegations of a failure to comply with security manual because it is just a guidance, not procurement law or regulation. GAO made its decision on Aug. 24.
The decision allows TCOM to move forward and provide four airspace and surface radar reconnaissance aerostat systems to the Polish Army.
The systems are tethered, high-altitude platforms that can provide early warning, surveillance and target tracking across land, air and sea domains. TCOM says its aerostats can stay afloat for 30 days at a height of 16,000 feet.