[Protest of Air Force Decision Not To Approve Firm for Competition]

A firm protested the Air Force's refusal to certify it as an alternate source for certain aircraft components, contending that the Air Force: (1) was improperly procuring the components on a sole-source basis from the manufacturer; and (2) failed to establish reasonable standards for approving sources other than the manufacturer. GAO held that: (1) the Air Force reasonably determined that, because of the limitations of available data, it could not develop specifications for the components; and (2) while there was no evidence that the Air Force improperly precluded the protester from competition, the Air Force should have attempted to develop first-article testing or prequalification standards to allow competition. Accordingly, the protest was denied.