The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has officially denied a protest filed by Milwaukee-based PTC Solutions JV LLC against a $368 million Air Force contract awarded to Pinnacle Solutions LLC for the T-7A aircraft maintenance training system.

In a decision released July 24, the GAO found that PTC Solutions failed to demonstrate that its lower-cost proposal had been unreasonably overlooked in favor of Pinnacle’s technically superior offer.

The contested contract, awarded in April following a competitive solicitation issued a year earlier, calls for the delivery of a training system to equip personnel with the skills and competencies necessary to maintain the T-7A aircraft and its subsystems. The award considered a best-value trade-off, balancing technical merit and cost.

Despite PTC’s challenges to the Air Force’s evaluation—particularly concerning multiple weaknesses in its $303 million proposal and risks related to its reliance on Boeing-Saab, the original equipment manufacturer of the T-7A—the GAO determined the Air Force’s assessment was reasonable and well-supported.

“While PTC believed its exclusive relationship with the OEM would reduce risk, the agency’s evaluation did not unreasonably discount this factor,” the GAO stated.

The GAO also dismissed claims that the Air Force improperly evaluated the level of government involvement in the project, noting that the proposal was “largely silent” on this critical aspect.

With all of PTC’s challenges denied, the GAO affirmed the Air Force’s best-value decision and found the agency’s documentation adequate.

Representatives for Pinnacle declined to comment, while PTC did not respond to requests for comment.

Legal representation in the matter includes Michelle Litteken and April Y. Shields for the GAO; Brian P. Waagner and Steven A. Neeley of Husch Blackwell LLP for PTC; Nina R. Padalino, Geoffrey R. Townsend, and Amy L. Johnson for the Air Force; and C. Peter Dungan, Alfred M. Wurglitz, Adam A. Bartolanzo, Lauren S. Fleming, and Kathryn J. Carlson of Miles & Stockbridge PC for Pinnacle.

The case, Matter of: PTC Solutions JV LLC, file numbers B-422576.3 and B-422576.4, remains closed following the GAO’s ruling.