[Protest of Navy Contract Award for Antisubmarine Warfare Operations Center Power Control Systems]

A firm protested a Navy contract award for antisubmarine warfare operations center power control systems, contending that: (1) the awardee's offer did not technically conform to the solicitation requirements; and (2) the Navy selection decision was inconsistent with the solicitation's evaluation criteria. GAO held that: (1) the Navy properly accepted the awardee's alternative control system, since it conformed to the reliability specifications in the statement of work; (2) precise design specifications were inappropriate, since one or more particular designs could meet the Navy's minimum performance needs; (3) the Navy properly included the awardee's bid in the competitive range, since it could be made acceptable through discussions; (4) the Navy advised offerers of deficiencies in their proposals and requested best and final offers on that basis; and (5) the protester failed to show that the Navy's evaluation methods were unreasonable or inconsistent with the solicitation's evaluation scheme. Accordingly, the protest was denied.