WASHINGTON — The Pentagon agency responsible for awarding a major contract to Leidos to produce the next iteration of the Army's Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) is walking back on the decision following protests from two companies that lost the recent competition.
The Defense Information Systems Agency, which provides information technology combat support to the services, filed a Notice of Corrective Action and Request for Dismissal with the Government Accountability Office on Wednesday, Defense News has learned.
The notice contains proprietary and source selection information and is subject to the GAO's protective order, according to a DISA spokesman. Therefore, whether the "corrective action" entails a re-evaluation of the decision or an outright cancellation of the award is under wraps, along with the agency's reasons for filing such a notice.
Once GAO lawyers approve the notice and request for dismissal, a public version of the notice will be made available, the spokesman said.
AFATDS is a joint and coalition command and control fires support system.
Leidos, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman were all in the running to be selected as the next maker of the system.
Leidos won the contract on Dec. 29, unseating Raytheon as the long-time incumbent. The deal sets up a three-year contract with a two-year option worth $98 million.
Raytheon first entered into an agreement with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 1981 to develop AFATDS and received its first contract in 1984. AFATDS was approved for fielding in 1996.
Raytheon filed a protest with the GAO on Jan. 11 and General Dynamics Mission Systems filed a supplemental protest on Jan. 17, according to the GAO’s website.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
