TARS C Speed Extension JA Final-REDACTED.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Only One Responsible Source U.S.C. 253(c)(1), FAR 6.302-1

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Procurement Directorate, proposes to enter into a contract on a basis of other than full and open competition.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

CBP intends to award a sole source contract to the current Tethered Radar Aerostat System (TARS) radar operations and maintenance support contractor to provide continuity of operations while CBP competes a 5-year TARS follow-on O&M contract.

Name and address of the proposed Contractor:

C Speed LLC 316 Commerce Boulevard Liverpool, NY 13088-4511

Contract Type: Hybrid firm-fixed-price and cost reimbursement

Performance Periods Estimated Total

November 30, 2022 – February 28, 2023 $ 558,000.00

The contract will be funded with the applicable FY 23 and FY 24 Operations and Support funds.

The Current Task Order Number is 70B02C21F00000343

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The Contractor shall perform sustainment/maintenance operations of the TARS radar equipment, System engineering and integration, Lifecycle Sustainment Projects and Program Personnel and Property Management. Specifically, the contractor shall provide the following services:

1. Sustainment – Maintenance Operations.

2. Systems Engineering and Integration.

3. Lifecycle Sustainment Projects.

4. Program Personnel and Property Management.

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

41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302

- 1 entitled "Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements."

5. Identification of Exception to the Buy American Statute.

None.

6. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

(a) C Speed LLC is the subject matter experts in the maintenance of the radar systems used by TARS. They are the current provider of radar maintenance support to the TARS contract. C Speed LLC is the only firm that has the people with the expertise and clearances to perform the work in the immediate future. Currently, TARS is being competed to establish a new Operations and Maintenance supplier for the TARS program. Anticipated award of the TARS follow on contract is December 2022, with a 60-day transition period. Although there are other companies that may be capable of fulfilling the requirements given sufficient transition time for training and staffing, a sole source interim contract is currently the only option that will provide continuous coverage until the TARS follow-on competitive contract is awarded.

(b) The delay of the TARS contract is the event that led up to this situation. Initially the contract was to be awarded in June 2022. However, since the award was delayed to December 2022, a bridge to the radar maintenance support is required.

(c) Summarize alternatives considered and why they will not work.

Given C Speed LLC possesses the required expertise to perform the support services and is most familiar with the issues, operational considerations, and technical challenges of the TARS program, no other vendor is in position to take over the required support in the near term. C Speed LLC has highly qualified personnel with the required broad base knowledge and specialized system experience on the program. Additionally, C Speed LLC maintains with active DHS/CBP security clearances that can be available immediately to respond to AMO’s current needs. As a result, C Speed LLC is the only known source with the requisite expertise and necessary cleared personnel to provide ongoing support until the competitive follow-on TARS contract is awarded.

(d) The impact to the mission that would result if the J&A is not approved and, consequently, the product or service not provided.

If the J&A is not approved, there may be an interruption in surveillance operations along the U.S. southern border due to radar failures. Any disruption in the flow of vital air and marine target data to the CBP AMOC, Caribbean AMOC, OBP, USCG, and U.S. military users will jeopardize homeland security and vital United States – Mexico border surveillance initiatives.

The lapse in any of these services would pose an unacceptable risk to national security. C Speed’s continued support will avoid the unacceptable risk of a lapse in mission-critical services and disruption to AMO’s daily operations during the time required to conduct the TARS competition. C Speed LLC is uniquely qualified to continue services as it has acquired extensive knowledge and understanding of operations. C Speed LLC has the staffing resources and experience in place necessary to provide CBP the required services without risking an interruption in critical mission capabilities. It is in the Government’s best interest to forgo competition to ensure continuity of these services for the limited duration of the bridge contract.

For these reasons it has been determined that AMO’s requisite needs can only be satisfied by procuring these services from Peraton, Inc.

7. Description of Efforts Made to Ensure that Offers Are Solicited From As Many Potential Sources As Is Practicable.

CBP will publish this J&A on beta.SAM.gov, upon approval, indicating its intent to issue a bridge contract to C Speed LLC. For the reasons explained above in Paragraph 6, competing this bridge contract requirement would be impracticable due to the lead time required to develop a request for proposals, receive and evaluate offers for a new competitive award of the bridge contract.

8. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable.

The Contracting Officer anticipates that the cost will be fair and reasonable based on the documented historical cost and data from the previously competitively awarded contract.

9. Description of Market Research.

In the analysis for the initial requirement, the Government performed extensive market research for responsible vendors to perform these tasks. The market research included interviews of knowledgeable individuals in the Government; review of Government databases; review of commercial databases; and the review of the current existing support contract. The review looked at business at various sizes from large to small businesses. The TARS PMO Team is familiar with the Engineering Services marketplace and has expert knowledge that there are companies that can perform maintenance and support of the TARS radar system. With the familiarity of the services required and the research conducted with the previous contract, the Government determined that changes to the available providers were minimal and decided to use previous research conducted.

10. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

The time required for a full and open competition far exceeds the time available before the current contract expires. Awarding the bridge contract to Peraton, Inc. will avoid the unacceptable risk of lapse in mission-critical services that ensure vital air and marine target data to users. This action will also avoid jeopardizing CBP’s vital U.S.-Mexico border surveillance initiatives as well as impact the activities of the U.S. military and USCG. Peraton Inc. is the only source available to provide continued support during the time required to develop TARS follow-on competitive award.

11. A Listing of the Sources, if Any That Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition.

None

12. A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any

Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for Supplies or Services Required.

The PMO’s on-going market research efforts identified several potential sources that may be able to develop the capabilities to meet the requirement of the TARS follow-on contract. The Program Office will work with the Contracting Office to issue a Request for Information to solicit industry input to identify any potential barriers to competition. The results of the RFI and Industry Day for the TARS competition should provide a good market analysis to the PMO that will improve the RFP and encourage ample competition for the follow-on contract.

Michael Parodi, TARS Program Manager

Kimberly Ware, Contracting Officer