Societe Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aeronautiques (FA8232-20-R-0002)

B-419673.4 Aug 31, 2022 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques (SABCA), of Brussels, Belgium, requests that our Office recommend that it be reimbursed the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest challenging the award of a contract to AAR Government Services, Inc., of Wood Dale, Illinois, under request for proposals (RFP) No. FA8232-20-R-0002. The solicitation was issued by the Department of the Air Force for depot-level maintenance and modification requirements for primary support of the U.S. Air Force Europe (USAFE) F-16C/D mode aircraft. The requester contends that the agency failed to take prompt corrective action in response to clearly meritorious protest grounds. We grant the request. View Decision 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: Societe Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aeronautiques--Costs File: B-419673.4 Date: August 31, 2022 Samuel B. Knowles, Esq., Thomas E. Daley, Esq., Ryan P. Carpenter, Esq., and Leslie Edelstein, Esq. DLA Piper LLP (US), for the protester. Colonel Frank Yoon, Michael J. Farr, Esq., and Curtis D. Elton, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Katherine I. Riback, Esq., and Alexander O. Levine, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST GAO recommends reimbursement of protest costs where protester raised a clearly meritorious supplemental protest ground that could have been identified had the agency conducted a reasonable inquiry into the merits of a related initial protest ground. DECISION Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques (SABCA), of Brussels, Belgium, requests that our Office recommend that it be reimbursed the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest challenging the award of a contract to AAR Government Services, Inc., of Wood Dale, Illinois, under request for proposals (RFP) No. FA8232-20-R-0002. The solicitation was issued by the Department of the Air Force for depot-level maintenance and modification requirements for primary support of the U.S. Air Force Europe (USAFE) F-16C/D mode aircraft. The requester contends that the agency failed to take prompt corrective action in response to clearly meritorious protest grounds. We grant the request. BACKGROUND The RFP, issued on February 4, 2020, contemplated the award of an indefinite‑delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with a 5-year base period, and an option for an additional 5‑year ordering period with a ceiling value of $365,000,000. Agency Report (AR), Tab 5, RFP at 2.[1] The award was to be made to the offeror determined to provide the best value to the agency, considering four factors: technical capability, technical risk, past performance, and price.[2] AR, Tab 11, RFP amend 6 at 6.[3] Regarding the weight of the evaluation factors, the solicitation provided that the technical capability factor was more important than the past performance factor, and the past performance factor was more important than the technical risk factor. Id. The technical capability, technical risk, and past performance factors combined were significantly more important than the price factor. Id. However, the solicitation also provided that price would contribute substantially to the selection decision. Id. Of relevance to this request, the total evaluated price (TEP) was to be calculated in accordance with RFP section M 4.4.1, which stated: The TEP is the sum of CLIN [contract line item number] totals as specified below. The TEP will be calculated for evaluation of offers and will be the price used in making the award decision. Id. at 18. The agency received and evaluated proposals from offerors, including SABCA and AAR, and selected SABCA for award. COS at 7. AAR then protested the award to our Office on March 16. Id. On April 7, the agency notified our Office that it would take corrective action by reevaluating proposals, reopening discussions with offerors, and making a new award decision. COS at 7; AR, Tab 66, Agency Notice of Corrective Action (Apr. 7, 2021). GAO then dismissed the protest as academic on April 12. AR, Tab 67, AAR Govt. Servs., Inc., B‑419673, Apr. 12, 2021 (unpublished decision). The agency reevaluated the offerors’ original proposals, pre-corrective action evaluation notice (EN) responses, and final proposal revisions. COS at 7. The agency stated that during the course of this reevaluation, it discovered a mistake in the methodology used to calculate the offerors’ TEPs caused by an incongruity between section M 4.4.1.1 (AR Tab 10, RFP amend 5 at 161) and the pricing sheet provided to the offerors (Id. at 94‑95).