Lockheed continues fight for lost $700M NORAD contract

Lockheed Martin has filed a second protest as it fights to keep a $700 million North American Aerospace Defense Command contract.

Raytheon has twice won the NORAD contract, known as the Integrated Tactical Warning/Attack Assessment and Space Support contract. The system is used to identify and assess air, missile and space threats. It is based at the Air Force’s Cheyenne Mountain complex in Colorado.

Raytheon won the contract March 30 and Lockheed, which has been the incumbent since 2009, filed a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office. The protest was dismissed in April when the Air Force decided to take a second look at the award decision.

But a second look didn’t mean a victory for Lockheed as the Air Force awarded the contract a second time to Raytheon.

Lockheed Martin filed its second protest this week. The due date for a decision is expected by Aug. 26

In a statement to Washington Technology, a Lockheed spokesman said, “We believe that we submitted an innovative, technically superior proposal representing the best value solution for the U.S: Air Force.”

Given that the Air Force has already taken two looks at the proposals and both times picked Raytheon, my expectation is that they won’t pull the award back. Instead, they’ll continue on with the GAO process.

Meanwhile, Lockheed continues to support the Air Force under the older contract.

As with many of these large single-award contracts, the importance goes beyond just one procurement. In this case, the Air Force is moving toward a new system for tracking objects in space, which range from incoming missiles to other threats such as satellites with decaying orbits.

With this contract, the Air Force wants a prime that can support the transition as well as sustain the legacy system.