Contract Award for Product Requiring Qualified Product List Listing

The protester objected to the award of a contract under a request for proposal which required that the air refueling nozzles be furnished in accordance with the Qualified Products List (QPL) listing. The award to the only firm meeting the QPL listing requirement in the face of a lower priced offer from a would-be competitor was not improper where unacceptable delays would be incurred by postponing the award until the competitor could qualify for QPL listing. An antitrust consent judgment requiring the awardee to divest itself of the product line which includes the article being procured does not preclude the award where deliveries are scheduled to be completed prior to the date for compliance with the decree. The protest was denied.