E6B Sealant and Removal Justification Approval Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND

RADM WILLIAM A. MOFFET BUILDING

47123 BUSE ROAD, BLDG 2272

PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND 20670-1547

IN REPLY REFER TO:

J&A: 25- 0231

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Headquarters

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

This Justification and Approval (J&A) authorizes and approves the issuance of an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract on a sole source basis to Performance Aircraft Systems, Inc. (PASI), 600 E Dallas Road #500, Grapevine, Texas 76051, for the sealant removal and reapplication services required to support nine (9) E-6B aircraft, as described below.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

This procurement is for services to include sealant removal, application of primer, application of EF-5992 sealant, and pressure checking of the fuel cells and surfaces, to include over and above repair work, for the E-6B aircraft. The removal and reapplication of sealant on E-6B aircraft must be accomplished in accordance with the Technical Directive (TD) E-6 Airframe Change No.192 (AFC-192) to reduce risk of water intrusion, aircraft damage, fuel leaks, contamination, and corrosion. This work will be performed during aircraft depot maintenance events at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The anticipated contract will have one five-year ordering period for FY25 through FY29 and two additional one-year ordering periods (FY30 and FY31) as options, which will account for adjusting induction dates and funding based on aircraft availability in support of operational commitments. Due to the nature of aircraft availability for induction into aircraft depot maintenance, it may be necessary to slide requirements, and associated costs, across FYs. Contract award is anticipated 4th quarter Fiscal Year 2025.

The estimated total value of this CJ&A is and will be funded with Aircraft Procurement, Navy (APN)-5 and Operation and Maintenance, Navy (O&MN) funds.

APPN FY25 – FY31 Total ($M)

APN-5

OM&N (1A5A)

$ Total

J&A 25-0231

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition.

10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(A), in the case of a follow-on contract for the continued provision of highly specialized services, such services may be deemed to be available only from the original source and may be procured through procedures other than competitive procedures when it is likely that award to a source other than the original source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. This requirement is a follow-on to IDIQ N0001918D0118, which was awarded sole source to PASI in 2018; PASI was initially awarded a contract for this work in 2013 in response to an unsolicited proposal submitted by PASI. PASI is the only entity to successfully perform this work on the E-6B aircraft.1

PASI employs the medium pressure water “Aquamiser” process for sealant removal. This is the only medium pressure water sealant removal process that has been utilized on the E-6B aircraft and is the only process known not to cause damage to the aircraft structure. PASI utilizes a sealant removal process that optimizes the amount of pressure used to remove sealant and the distance from the nozzle to the aircraft. PASI also uses specialized equipment in performing these efforts. In addition, PASI implements a highly technical drying process, which if not completed correctly will result in damage to the aircraft structure. For example, entrapment of water in fay surfaces or other internal hardware could lead to increased corrosion and associated maintenance, resulting in additional costs incurred for repair of the airframe and significant delays in the Depot Maintenance schedule.

Due to the E-6B aircraft design, this work also requires personnel to crawl inside the wings in order to access hard to reach places in order to correctly remove and re-apply sealant. This work must be done with utmost precision or it will result in damage to the aircraft and an increase in the depot maintenance turn-around time (TAT). Any delay in the depot maintenance TAT as a result of damage to the airframe from sealant removal or rework for priming and sealant application would critically affect the number of mission capable aircraft available, negatively impacting the Navy’s ability to carry out its Nuclear Command Control and Communications (NC3) mission.

If a vendor other than PASI were to be contracted for this effort, there would be a substantial duplication of cost to the Government of approximately , which is not expected to be recovered through competition. This estimate includes costs required for another source to effectuate a process to remove sealant, priming, and applying EF-5992 sealant without damaging the airframe. PASI’s historical and current performance is consistent with TD AFC-192. Not only would any other source have a significant learning curve before the risk of unsuccessful performance would be at an acceptable level, a new source would require validation and verification of a new TD in order to successfully perform this work. The above estimate is based on the cost of the validation and verification that was done on the current TD.

1 In 2016, the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex (ALC) was tasked with providing these strip and seal services for the E-6B; however, the ALC was unable to replicate the processes used by PASI without damaging the aircraft.

TD AFC-192 is part of a critical E-6B weight savings effort to support upgrades of other critical mission equipment on the aircraft in support of the NC3 mission. Sealant removal, priming, and reapplication are required to facilitate the Non-Destructive Inspections (NDI) necessary to complete required service bulletins and maintain the E-6B’s ability to perform operational functions and maintain mission capability. PASI is the only source with the requisite knowledge, experience, and familiarity with the E-6B aircraft who can provide the sealant removal, priming, and sealant application services required to satisfy TD AFC-192 without damage to the airframe or a delay to the TAT, and without resulting in a substantial duplication of cost to the Government.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable.

As required by DFARS PGI 206.302-1(d), a Sources Sought Notice for the requirements described herein was posted to SAM.gov website on 23 January 2025 and closed on 07 February 2025.

Responses were received from PASI and Begini Howard Private Equity, LLC (BHPE). The Government evaluated PASI’s capability statement and deemed PASI to be Capable of performing the work. BHPE’s response failed to adequately address the information requested in the Sources Sought Notice and BHPE failed to provide a capability statement in their initial response dated 24 January 2025. The Government sent a request to BHPE, LLC asking them to provide a capability statement by 5 pm EST 07 February 2025. BHPE failed to provide a capability statement by the requested deadline. The Government also reviewed BHPE’s website and did not find evidence indicating BHPE was capable of performing the required work. BPHE specializes in providing aftermarket solutions for military equipment and systems.

In accordance with FAR 5.201, the Government posted a synopsis on the SAM.gov website on 03 April 2025, stating the Government’s intent to award a sole source IDIQ contract to PASI. As required by FAR 5.207(c)(16)(ii), the synopsis stated that the Government would consider all capability statements, proposals, or quotations received within thirty (30) days after the publication date of the synopsis. On 03 April 2025, North American Aircraft Service and Accessories, LLC (NAAS) submitted to the PCO a response to the synopsis expressing its interest in the requirement and providing a copy of its Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Agency Certificate and Operations Specification. On 07 April 2025, the contract specialist replied to NAAS’s email, re-stating that the Government would consider capability statements received within 30 days of the synopsis posting date and directing NAAS to the sources sought notice posting for information on what to include in its capability statement. On 24 April 2025, having not yet received a response from NAAS, the specialist emailed NAAS once again reminding it to provide a capability statement before the 30-day deadline. On 25 April 2025, NAAS responded to the Government, but merely provided its CAGE Code, and asked the Government a clarifying question about the AS9110C certification as applicable to this effort. NAAS also informed the Government of its intent to obtain its AS9110C certification rather than providing a capability statement as requested.

On 29 April 2025, the Government replied to NAAS with an answer to the question stating that the sources sought had no requirement of an AS9110C Certification. NAAS replied to the Government on 30 April 2025 with further questions about the requirement, specifically whether MIL-8802 could be used instead of EF-5992. The Government responded on 2 May 2025 informing NAAS that the synopsis posting is for a proposed sole source award and is not requesting competitive proposals and also informed them that EF-5992 was the requirement and MIL-8802 would not be acceptable.

Based on the information provided by NAAS (including its FAA Air Agency Certificate and Operations Specification, CAGE code, and letter of intent to pursue an AS9110C certification), the Government determined that NAAS is not capable of performing the requirements herein.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the services covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

For reasons set forth in paragraph 5, NAVAIR does not have any plans at this time to compete future contracts for the specific services covered by this document. This is the last contract for the strip and seal of the remaining E-6B aircraft scheduled for depot maintenance. If the scope of services changes or another potential source emerges, NAVAIR will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.

As this is a follow-on for services previously awarded on a non-competitive basis, in accordance with DFARS PGI 206.304(a)(S-70)(i), the prior J&A was provided to the approval authority for review. Approval of this J&A signifies the approval authority has made the determination required by DFARS PGI 206.304(a)(S-70)(ii).