Hydraulics International Loses Protest of Army Prototype Awards

Hydraulics International Inc. failed to show that the US Army improperly waived an “other transaction authority” solicitation requirement before selecting Sun Test System Inc. and John Bean Technologies to provide helicopter ground power prototypes, according to a US Court of Federal Claims opinion released on Monday.

OTAs are legally binding but non-contractual instruments that allow contractors to provide agencies with prototypes and research services without having to comply with certain regulations.

Hydraulics argued that the awards for aviation ground power units were flawed because Sun Test and John Bean didn’t satisfy the requirement that the units be modular, so that ...