Report: GAO Denies Protest of Army Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Contract Award Decision

The Government Accountability Office has dismissed a protest filed by Oshkosh’s (NYSE: OSK) defense arm to challenge the U.S. Army’s contract award decision over the follow-on Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program, Defense News reported Monday.

In February, AM General, a portfolio company of private equity firm KPS Capital Partners, won a potential 10-year, $8.66 billion recompete contract from the Army to manufacture JLTVs and trailers for the joint force and foreign military sales customers.

A month after, Oshkosh, the incumbent JLTV contractor, challenged the contract award decision citing concerns with the service branch’s assessment of technical, cost and price proposals for the program.

“In denying the protest, GAO concluded that the Army reasonably evaluated proposals in accordance with the RFP’s evaluation criteria, and that any judgments made were consistent with and adequately supported by the content provided in written proposals or observed as part of site visits conducting during the course of the solicitation process,” Edward Goldstein, a GAO attorney, said in a statement on Monday.

Oshkosh said it would review the congressional watchdog’s findings and assess its next steps.

In May, the Army awarded AM General a potential $4.65 billion contract to provide kits, trailers and services to support the production of JLTVs.