Defense Department Is Not Doing Enough To Maximize Competition When Awarding Contracts for Foreign Military Sales

When transacting foreign sales, the Department of Defense (DOD) generally follows the same policies and procedures required by the Armed Services Procurement Regulations (ASPR) whether the contract is awarded for U.S. forces or for foreign military sales (FMS). Foreign countries are, however, allowed to make sole-source designations in their requests for procurement. A statistical sample of DOD contracts was studied to determine the extent of competition in FMS.

Many U.S. firms lose the opportunity to compete for DOD contracts because the DOD is currently placing contracts valued at billions of dollars on a sole-source basis to buy goods and services for other countries. DOD activities often ignored or were unaware that ASPR applies to foreign military sales, requested other countries to make sole-source designations, awarded contracts that could have been handled through normal commercial channels, and fostered and encouraged designation of high-priority requisitions which influence the award of sole-source procurements. The Northrop Corporation was designated as the sole-source supplier for the Peace Hawk program for Saudi Arabia. Designation of Northrop as supplier for certain related efforts was logical, but the Saudi Arabians also designated Northrop as the sole source for phases of the program that would not normally be awarded to an aircraft manufacturer. As a result, many U.S. firms lost the opportunity to compete on hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts in their own areas of expertise.

Recommendations

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