[Protest of DISC Contract Award for Helicopter Spare Parts]

A firm protested a Defense Industrial Supply Center (DISC) contract award for helicopter spare parts. DISC rejected the protester's bid because it had not yet approved the protester's product. The protester contended that DISC: (1) should not have rejected its offer because several military services had already approved it as a source for the required part; (2) used deficient procedures to evaluate its product; and (3) actions in this matter resulted in its de facto debarment from competition. GAO held that: (1) the solicitation specifically advised potential offerers of the information necessary for product approval; (2) DISC properly rejected the protester's proposal because it did not contain all of the required information; (3) DISC did not take an unwarranted amount of time to approve the protester's product; and (4) since the firm was afforded an opportunity to compete, it could not have been effectively debarred. Accordingly, the protest was denied.