GDIT seeks second chance to keep $865M Air Force contract
Gettyimages.com/ Johner Images
By
Nick Wakeman
General Dynamics IT claims it lost this incumbent program because the winner hired a former Air Force official and therefore gained an inside track.
General Dynamics IT is claiming that GovernmentCIO had an unfair advantage in the competition for an $865 million Air Force technical support services contract.
GDIT is the incumbent for the work and has gone to the Government Accountability Office with a protest, alleging that GovCIO gained an inside track when it hired a former Air Force official.
The Air Force chose GovCIO for the potential seven-year contract in February.
GDIT is also arguing that the evaluations were unreasonable, the Air Force didn’t properly look at GovCIO’s prices and that the best-valued determination was flawed.
GDIT is the incumbent on the contract, having supported the Air Force’s Central Command since 2015 under the Communications Technical Support Service vehicle.
CENTCOM is responsible for operations in Southwest Asia. The contract supports some 90,000 military and civilian personnel across 20 countries.
The new contract has had a rocky road up to this point.
The Defense Information Systems Agency was the original manager, but protests led DISA to cancel what was CTSS IV in the spring of 2022. The Air Force then took over the contract, releasing a solicitation for what is now called CTSS V in March 2023.
GDIT filed its protest on March 11 and a GAO decision is due by June 20.