[Protest of NAVAIR Contract Awards for Tomahawk Missiles and System Improvements]

A firm protested two Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) contract awards for Tomahawk missiles and missile system improvements, contending that NAVAIR: (1) unreasonably evaluated the bids; (2) should have rejected the awardee's bid as nonresponsive, since it took exception to the mandatory federal acquisition regulations (FAR) clause; (3) failed to hold meaningful discussions with it regarding its high bid price; and (4) was prejudiced in favor of the awardee. GAO held that: (1) the awardee's bid covered the product baseline as required; (2) the protester untimely filed its protest of the awardee's alleged exceptions to the FAR clause more than 10 days after it knew the basis of protest; (3) the protester was not prejudiced by the awardee's alleged exceptions, since there was no evidence that it would have changed its bid prices; (4) NAVAIR held meaningful discussions with the protester; and (5) NAVAIR reasonably evaluated the bidders' technical and cost proposals in accordance with the solicitation's evaluation criteria and made reasonable cost adjustments where necessary. GAO also denied access to the protective order due to the risk of inadvertent disclosure of the awardee's proprietary information. Accordingly, the protest was denied.