Ross Wilkers
The Air Force increased its use of sole source contracts for services by 15 percent in 2011 over the previous year, the Government Accountability Office said Thursday in a report.
GAO said the Air Force awarded 45 percent of its service contracts with only one company submitting a bid.
The Air Force awards sole source contracts if it believes only one contractor can provide the work or products.
Agencies also award sole source contracts to small businesses as a set-aside.
The Air Force is currently assessing reasons for lower competition rates, the Washington Business Journal reports.
In that same report, GAO said the Defense Department competed nearly 80 percent of the $158 billion contract awards related to research and development in 2011.
The Pentagon competed less than 40 percent of product contracts in 2011, according to GAO.
