Austal files bid protest against HII's LCS planning yard contract award

Austal USA this week filed a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office over a shipyard services contract worth up to $931 million awarded to Huntington Ingalls Industries late last month.

The contract was a recompetition for Littoral Combat Ship planning yard services.

According to GAO's docket, the bid protest was filed May 20 and will be decided by August 28.

In a May 1 statement, HII said the contract "will provide the LCS program with post-delivery life-cycle support, which includes fleet modernization program planning, design engineering and modeling, logistics support, long-lead-time material support, and preventative and planned maintenance system item development and scheduling."

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works was the incumbent, but has not filed a protest, according to GAO's docket.

An HII spokesman acknowledged the protest, but declined to comment further. Austal and BIW representatives declined to comment.