ATEC files bid protest over US Army's improved turbine helicopter engine award

The Advanced Turbine Engine Company (ATEC) said on 19 February it filed a bid protest over the US Army selecting General Electric (GE) for the service’s Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP).

“In our review of the evaluation, we clearly offered the best value through a combination of a highly rated and technically superior engine that was judged to be much lower risk, and we did so, significantly, under the government’s budget,” ATEC President Craig Madden said in a statement. “We are requesting that the government review these facts and award the ITEP contract to ATEC.”

US Army spokesperson Giselle Lyons said on 19 February that the service issued a stop work order to GE because of the bid protest. GE Aviation was awarded a USD517.4 million engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract on 1 February after winning the ITEP competition.

GE offered its developmental T901-GE-900 engine that will power the US Army’s fleet of Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardians and its Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk aircraft. The engine is also slated to power Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) being developed under the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme. ATEC, a joint venture of Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney, meanwhile offered its T900 engine for the competition.