26-SIMACQ-PHD-D40-0009 -ATCH 8. Brand Name_ redacted.pdf

Brand Name/Sole Source Justification under $350K

PID Number: N63394-26-SIMACQ-PHD-D40-0009

Department: Cyber Security & Software Engineering

Company Name/Brand: IXI Technology

Description of Product, Supplies or Services required to meet the agency’s needs:

IXI components are adaptor boards that allow the Computer Maintenance Tool (CMT) laptops USB port to communicate with the low-level Joint Test Action Grout (JTAG) interface on various Circuit Card Assemblies (CCAs). The different components connect to different CCAs of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS) during remove and replace procedures to ensure mission readiness and are crucial for tactical capability. The specific IXI components required are:

Test Board JTAG 6in long [P/N: TE-STBRD-03] Test Board JTAG Straight [P/N: TE-STBRD-00] Receiver Test Adapter Board [P/N: TE-STRCV-00] STM Front Panel Breakout [P/N: TE-STFPB-00]

Identification of Justification Rationale:

☒ The Material or service must be compatible with aspects (Form, Fit, and Function) with existing systems presently installed.

☒ A patent, copyright, proprietary data, or licensing agreement limits competition.

☐ These are “direct replacement(s)” parts/components for existing equipment.

☐ Urgency.

Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition

10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) -Use of procedures other than competitive procedures, as implemented by FAR 6.103-1- Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

NSWC PHD Cyber Security and Software Engineering Department is seeking IXI components to support the installation effort on the new TI16 baseline for the Aegis Weapon System on Destroyers. The IXI components are units that allow the CMT laptop to communicate with various CCAs to perform maintenance and troubleshooting procedures. The IXI components also allow the CMT laptops USB port to communicate with the low level JTAG interface on the CCAs.

In accordance with the Engineering Change proposal (ECP) P-21-1946, anything used aboard Aegis Weapon System Fleet Destroyers for the CMT program maintenance and sustainment efforts cannot deviate from what has been listed as a required component. In other words, all procured materials must be approved items listed on the configuration. This is required to maintain continuity of hardware equipment capabilities during shipboard ORDALT Installations.

The IXI components are approved items listed on the ECP since they meet the unique requirements to interface with ship equipment consoles and servers in order to maintain proper communicative capability and data management. No other brand of components or similar items have been approved and listed in the ECP. Additionally, no other brand can meet our requirements since the required drawings for the different components are proprietary and specific to IXI Technology. Furthermore, the use of non-IXI components or items are not acceptable since the shipboard configuration is frozen and all support equipment must match exactly to provide and maintain approved operation ship system.

Specific Characteristics of the Item or Service required that Limit the Availability to a Sole Source or Brand Name:

The IXI components, were chosen and tested during the shipboard configuration development to be used by ECP P-21-1946 since the IXI components met the unique requirements to interface with ship equipment consoles and servers to maintain proper communicative capability and data management. Based on this testing, documentation and maintenance procedures were created to use these specific IXI components to configure lowest replaceable unit (LRU’s) during remove and replace maintenance procedures. The maintenance procedures are located in technical manuals that ships rely on when performing remove and replace maintenance. The maintenance procedures instructs the ship’s crew to retrieve the IXI components from the maintenance kit and perform the procedure. A change in brand would require a change to the entire line of support documentation. Specifically, utilizing a new brand of components would require ordering of first article units, testing the new units with the LRU at East Coast Land Based Test sites, rewriting/reworking the Engineering Change Proposal (ECP)/ ORDARLT, and then ordering the new parts. This entire process would result in a substantial duplication of cost of approximately $50,000 that is not expected to be recovered through competition and it would cause a delay of approximately 2 years. This 2 year delay is unreasonable as it would impact fleet installation and modernization schedules since without these components, the fleet cannot perform necessary LRU configurations in support of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS), more specifically the Multi Mission Signal Processor (MMSP) equipment.

Market Research Conducted:

All mandatory sources were checked including GSA, One touch, FedMall, Ability One, SEWP, and the items were not available. Requirements generator (RG) reached out to the manufacturer to inquire about their authorized resellers, which they stated they only have one authorized reseller.

Statement of Actions, if any to Remove Barriers to Competition in the Future:

NSWC PHD Contracts Office will continue to conduct market research as warranted to provide a broader vendor base as applicable for the types of supplies/services covered by this document. If another potential source emerges, NSWC PHD will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.