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B-424316,B-424316.2 Jun 12, 2026 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Altus Technology Solutions, a small business of Hanover, Maryland, protests the award of a contract to VetPride-EMI Maintenance Solutions, LLC, a small business of Raleigh, North Carolina, under request for proposals (RFP) No. FA4890-25-R-0006, issued by the Department of the Air Force for operations, maintenance, and support services for primary training ranges. The protester alleges that the agency's evaluation and award decision were unreasonable. We deny the protest. 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: Altus Technology Solutions File: B-424316; B-424316.2 Date: June 12, 2026 Craig A. Holman, Esq., Amanda J. Sherwood, Esq., Thomas A. Pettit, Esq., and Adrienne Jackson, Esq., Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, for the protester. J. Alex Ward, Esq., James A. Tucker, Esq., and Jillian I. Stern, Esq., Morrison & Foerster LLP, for VetPride-EMI Maintenance Solutions, LLC, the intervenor. Colonel Justin A. Silverman, Michael J. Farr, Esq., W. Jacob Worthan, Esq., Beatrice K. Foster, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Samantha S. Lee, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest challenging the agency's evaluation of proposals under the program management and price factors is denied where the protester has not demonstrated that the agency's evaluation was unreasonable or inconsistent with the solicitation's terms. 2. Protest arguing that awardee was ineligible for award for failure to comply with the solicitation's System for Award Management registration requirements is denied where argument is based on errors in the awardee's registration that were, at most, minor informalities that did not undermine the validity of the award. DECISION Altus Technology Solutions, a small business of Hanover, Maryland, protests the award of a contract to VetPride-EMI Maintenance Solutions, LLC, a small business of Raleigh, North Carolina, under request for proposals (RFP) No. FA4890-25-R-0006, issued by the Department of the Air Force for operations, maintenance, and support services for primary training ranges. The protester alleges that the agency's evaluation and award decision were unreasonable. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The Air Force issued the solicitation as a set-aside for small businesses on July 30, 2025, pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 15. Agency Report (AR), Tab 3a, RFP at 1.[1] The solicitation sought proposals for the provision of operations, maintenance, and support services for the Air Force Air Combat Command's primary training ranges. Contracting Officer's Statement (COS) at 2; AR, Tab 5, Statement of Work (SOW) at 5. The RFP contemplated award of a fixed-price contract with a 9‑month base period and four 1-year option periods. SOW at 1, 5. The solicitation advised that award would be made on a best-value tradeoff basis considering technical evaluation factors and price.[2] RFP at 75. Three of the technical subfactors (facility clearance, transition strategy, and technical experience) would be evaluated on an acceptable/unacceptable basis. Id. at 76‑78. The fourth technical subfactor (program management) would be evaluated and assigned a combined technical/risk rating based on proposed approaches to staffing, quality control, and contractor equipment.[3] Id. at 76-79. Under the RFP, the price factor would be evaluated based on total overall evaluated price. Id. at 79. The solicitation further advised that the agency would consider only the program management subfactor and price in the best-value tradeoff, with the program management subfactor weighted as significantly more important than price. Id. at 75. The Air Force received five proposals by the September 5, 2025, submission deadline. COS at 10. Following discussions and submission of final proposal revisions, the Air Force found Altus and VetPride-EMI to be acceptable under the first three technical subfactors. See AR, Tab 10, Source Selection Decision Document (SSDD) at 2. The agency summarized the relevant evaluation of proposals as follows:   Altus VetPride-EMI Program management Good Acceptable Price $106,761,948 $91,075,323 Id. at 5. The Source Selection Authority (SSA) concluded that VetPride-EMI's proposal represented the best value to the agency. Id. at 8-9. On February 27, 2026, the Air Force notified Altus of the award. COS at 11. This protest followed. DISCUSSION The protester raises a number of challenges to the agency's evaluation. According to Altus, the agency improperly evaluated proposals under the program management subfactor and price factor. Protest at 13-20; Comments & Supp.