[Protest of Air Force Cancellation of RFP]

A firm protested the cancellation of a request for proposals (RFP) that had been issued by the Air Force in response to inquiries concerning a sole-source contract award. The procurement was for the follow-on production of a gun gas diverter for use on the A-10 aircraft. The RFP requested offerers to explain in their technical proposals all technical tasks required to accomplish the fabrication, assembly, tests, and delivery of the device, including engineering design capability and get-well plans in the event that redesign was necessary. There were only two offerers. The Air Force determined that one proposal was technically unacceptable and that the other offerer was nonresponsible. GAO stated that cancellation of a solicitation was proper where there was no offerer eligible for award and held that the proposal which contemplated a build-to-print effort, in response to a solicitation which contemplated research, development, and redesign, was properly found to be technically unacceptable. Accordingly, the protest was denied.