Navistar drops protest of truck contest

Navistar International Corp., the largest maker of blast-resistant trucks for the U.S. military, withdrew its protest of a Pentagon program to buy all-terrain trucks for troops in Afghanistan.

The protest was dropped today after the government agreed to issue an amended request for proposals, Elissa Koc, a Navistar spokeswoman, said in an interview. She declined to comment on what changes would be made.

"We worked through it, and we resolved the issues," said Koc, who declined to elaborate on the basis for the protest filed with the Government Accountability Office on March 30.

The U.S. Army has said it plans to announce production contracts for MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles, or M-ATVs, by June. The military branch wants to buy as many as 10,000 all-terrain vehicles that can navigate Afghanistan's undeveloped roads in a program that may be valued at about $6.5 billion.

Navistar, based in Warrenville, gained $5, or 16 percent, to $36.73 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has dropped 44 percent in the past year.

The program's size has drawn interest from confirmed bidders including BAE Systems Plc, based in London; Oshkosh Corp. in the Wisconsin city of the same name, and Force Dynamics, a joint venture between Force Protection Inc. and General Dynamics Corp.

The GAO wasn't required to rule on the protest until July 8, which would have delayed the program. Cheryl Irwin, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said she couldn't immediately confirm the protest has been withdrawn.

"If and when" the terms of the contest are amended, they would be posted to the contracting Web site of the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, she said.

Navistar's decision was reported earlier today by InsideDefense.com.