GAO denies Austal's bid protest for $931M LCS planning yard contract

The Government Accountability Office this week denied a bid protest by Austal USA of a shipyard planning contract worth up to $931 million that was awarded to Huntington Ingalls Industries earlier this summer.

An explanation of the agency’s decision was not immediately available to the public.

The contract was a re-competition for Littoral Combat Ship planning yard services. General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, the incumbent, filed a separate protest this summer that was dismissed in late July. GAO determined Bath’s protest was “filed prematurely.”

“In this regard, [the Navy] indicated that it was investigating the protester's allegations. As a result, until the agency has finished its investigation and reached a conclusion about the results, we determined that the protest was premature and dismissed it,” Kenneth Patton, managing associate general counsel for procurement law at GAO, told Inside Defense at the time about why Bath’s protest was dismissed.

An Austal spokesman declined to comment.