80AFRC21D0005_JOFOC_20Apr2020.pdf

JOFOC No.FY20-11 Purchase Request No. 4200723690

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Armstrong Flight Research Center P. O. Box 273 Edwards, California 93523-0273

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) FAR 6.302-1

1. This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC).

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition for X-59 structural components and aircraft subsystems to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company (LMAC),1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, CA 93599-0001.

3. Description of the supplies or services required, including an estimated value:

LMAC was awarded contract 80AFRC18C0018 to design and build a low boom flight demonstrator aircraft to support the goals of NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s (ARMD) strategy of establishment of a standard for acceptable supersonic overland flight, in cooperation with international standards organizations. The Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft, designated as X-59, is scheduled for first flight in 2021.

Due to significant risk of associated with having only a single aircraft to accomplish the research flights, NASA has identified a risk reduction strategy to procure critical additional spare aircraft structural components and subsystems to reduce aircraft down time, should damage occur during the research phase. Structural components include: chines, nose, canards, ailerons, spine, nacelle, mid-bay, inlet duct, flaps, vertical tail, stabilator, rudder and T-tail. Subsystems include: avionics suites, vehicle management system, environmental control system, auxiliary power system, fire detection and suppression system, hydraulics system, electrical systems, fuel system, lighting system, crew station systems, and cockpit systems.

The estimated value of this suite of Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) components is approximately .

4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition: 10 U.S.C. 2304 (C) (1) and FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirement.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

In performance of NASA contract 80AFRC18C0018, the contractor is required to develop or purchase all standard and specialized tooling associated with the manufacturer of the X-59 aircraft. Additionally, the contractor has the specialized knowledge, experience, and capability with the unique requirements associated with the structural components and subsystems associated with the design and manufacturing of the aircraft. The contractor has also established the required raw material and subcontracting supply chain relationships to ensure the structural components and subsystem’s can be delivered in an effective and efficient manner.

Use of any other contractor for this requirement would cause substantial schedule delays, significant cost, and potential discrepancies associated with deliverables that need to be identical to the original aircraft.

6. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.202:

This notice will be publicized on the Governmentwide point of entry (GPE). If responses are received from other potential sources as a result of that notice, this JOFOC will be updated with that supplemental information.

7. Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted:

NASA performed significant market research to identify other potential sources. This included reviewing alternative vendor competency and capabilities, conducting interviews with potential vendors, and reviewing the technical complexity of this requirement. It was determined that use of any other vendor would not overcome the risks associated with schedule, cost increase, safety, or precision necessary for the deliverables for this requirement.

8. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

Significant duplication of Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) costs would be incurred by NASA to procure subsystems and structural components that have already been designed, and potentially built, specifically for the X-59 aircraft by Lockheed Martin and their supply chain.

A review of Lockheed Martin’s subsystems subcontract plan shows that the majority of cost associated with many of the items considered herein are attributed to NRE as shown in the table below. NRE costs associated with each subcontract are captured as separate line items in the subcontract plan, aiding the analysis greatly. For the subset of 7 discrete subsystems identified, (i.e. not “electrical systems”) more than 70% of the cost is for NRE.

This substantial cost duplication effort would not likely be overcome by competition.

A similar assessment for the structural components is prohibitively difficult to perform because NRE costs are not identified separately for the subcontracted items nor are they identified in the plans or financial reporting associated with in-house work. However, it is safe to assume that the total cost will again be attributable mostly to NRE associated with engineering drawings, analysis and tooling required for manufacture of one-off items.

Furthermore, NASA would be exposed to significant schedule risk if one of these items was procured from an alternate source and a technical issue were discovered later. The time required to determine root cause, corrective action, and deliver an acceptable item can be avoided if the suppliers-of-record, with existing tooling and approved designs in place, are used.

9. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The contracting officer will use certified cost and pricing data, other than certified cost and pricing data, cost analysis, and price analysis techniques to ensure fair and reasonable pricing is obtained.

10. Sources, if any, that expressed an interest, in writing, in the acquisition:

None at this time. If responses are received in response to the published notice of contract action, this JOFOC will be updated to reflect those vendors.

11. The actions that the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

Since this is a one-off demonstrator aircraft, there are minimal actions the Government can take to overcome barriers to competition. The Government will continue to perform market research to identify any potential vendors for this, or similar, requirements. Additionally, NASA will encourage the contractor to use small business subcontractors to the maximum extent practical in executing this requirement.

TECHNICAL OFFICER: I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

Chad Stimson, Contracting Officer Representative Date

CHAD

STIMSON

Digitally signed by CHAD

STIMSON

Date: 2020 04.20 15:53 59 -04'00' 4/20/2020

CONTRACTING OFFICER: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Robbin Kessler, Contracting Officer Date

CONCURRENCE: _____________________________________ ____________

James Eastman, Procurement Officer Date

CONCURRENCE: _____________________________________ ____________

Patrick Stoliker, AFRC Competition Advocate Date

APPROVED: _____________________________________ ____________

David McBride, Head of Contracting Activity Date

ROBBIN

KESSLER

Digitally signed by ROBBIN KESSLER DN c US, o U.S. Government, ou NASA, ou People, cn ROBBIN

KESSLER,

0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1 rmkessle Date 2020.04.20 12 55 53 -07'00'

4/20/2020

JAMES

EASTMAN

Dig tally signed by JAMES EASTMAN Date 2020.04.20 13 03 43 -07'00' 4/20/20

PATRICK

STOLIKER

Digitally signed by

PATRICK STOLIKER

Date: 2020.04 20 13:31:06 -07'00'

4/20/2020

David McBride

Digitally signed by David McBride Date: 2020.04 20 21:04:55 -07'00' 4/20/2020