Protest That Award of Contract Was Improper

A company protested the award of a contract by the Air Force to a competitor. The protester complained that the award was improper and that the contract was void ab initio, because the awardee offered equipment for which an operational prototype did not exist at the time the proposal was submitted. The protester stated that it did not offer the system proposed by the competitior or other equipment in a similar state of development because it understood that an operational prototype was required at the time the proposals were submitted. The protester also argued that the awardee was not required to perform a preproposal live test demonstration as anticipated in the request for proposals. The protester contended further that it was required to agree that equipment proposed would achieve a 95 percent minimum effectiveness level, while the competitor was permitted to purpose equipment having an effectiveness level of only 93 percent. The Air Force did award the contract without regard to the mandatory requirement that the offeror have an operational prototype of the equipment and the protester was denied equal treatment in this regard. The Air Force should take corrective action to assure that the protester has an appropriate opportunity to revise its proposal with the knowledge it gained regarding the Air Force's actual requirements. The course of action taken should permit both the protester and the awardee to submit a new best and final offer.