A04 JA _ Bridge 26 Aug 2025 FE.pdf

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

3030 DEFENSE PENTAGON

WASHINGTON, DC 20301-3030

CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES 29 JULY 2025

August 25, 2025

Control No. 2025-WHS-1791

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR

CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

UNDER FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION FAR (FAR) 13.5

1. AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY: The Department of Defense (DoD), Washington Headquarters Services, Acquisition Directorate (WHS/AD), Enterprise Research

& Engineering Division (ERED), Technical Analysis & Services Branch (TASB) on behalf of the Office of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Office of the Assistant

Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies (OASD(CT)).

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: OASD(CT) has a continuing need for specialized technical and program management support that are critical to mission execution originally provided under GSA Contract Number GS00Q14OADU130, Task Order number 47QFCA20F0019, which was awarded as a competitive action to Science Applications International

Corporation (SAIC) and expires on September 17, 2025. The Government intends to award a sole source bridge contract to SAIC to maintain continuity of services while the Government works to award a competitive, long-term follow-on contract. This short-term bridge contract will be awarded as a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract for a four (4) month base period with two (2) one month option periods (for a total of 6 months) pursuant to FAR 52.217-9 “Option to Extend the Term of the Contract” for continuity of mission essential support to prevent any lapse in these mission-essential services. The total period of performance is from

September 18, 2025, to March 17, 2026, if all options are exercised.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES: To accomplish the OASD(CT) objectives, the

Government seeks to obtain the necessary non-personal support services to realize the requirement(s) for specialized technical and program management support with the day-to-day operations and execution of responsibilities and functions of the OASD(CT); core tasks include professional research, program, policy and budgetary analysis, Information

Technology (IT) support, records management and legislative support. The contract supports several Critical Technology Areas (CTAs) program offices within the OASD(CT), i.e.

Directed Energy, Hypersonics, Integrated Sensing & Cyber (IS&C), Integrated Network

System-of-Systems (INSS), Space Technology, Energy Resilience, Advanced Computing &

Software (AC&S), Trusted Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy (TAI&A), Human-Machine

Interfaces (HMI), and Microelectronics.

The Performance Work Statement (PWS) tasks require the professional expertise of Analysts at the senior and mid- levels to assist the governance councils, including the Deputy’s

Management Action Group (DMAG) with statutes, regulations, decisional analyses and advisory guidance. Assistance is needed in formulating strategies, data analytics, metric development, preparation of staff packages, reports, memoranda, and effective management of OSD’s multiple functional, complex organization activities.

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform services as defined in the contract PWS, except for those items specified as government-furnished property and services. The Contractor shall perform to the standards in the contract.

The Contractor’s performance and deliverables shall provide a wide range of specialized and sensitive administrative and program support at the direction of ASD(CT).

Performance Periods Performance Period Dates Amount (est.)

Base Period 18 Sept 2025 – 17 Mar 2026 $7,146,360.00

4. AUTHORITY CITED: This action is under the procedures of under the procedures of

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5 under the authority of:

☒41 U.S.C. 1901, Simplified Acquisition Procedures

☐ 41 U.S.C. 1903, Special Emergency Procurement Authority

This action is authorized under provisions of FAR 13.501(a), “Sole source (including brand name) acquisitions”. OASD(CT) requires continued, support from the SAIC in task order to fulfill its requirement for Specialized Technical and Program Management Support Services while working a competitive follow-on effort. If not, the Government would experience unacceptable delays in providing the necessary support for OASD(CT) as further listed below.

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED:

Failure to extend these services and losing the support and expertise of the OASD(CT) contract team would result in significant delays that would derail or halt progress on this effort. This mission critical support includes day operations and execution of responsibilities and functions of the OASD(CT); core tasks including professional research, program, policy and budgetary analysis, Information Technology (IT) support, records management and legislative support which supports the Under Secretary of Defense for

Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical

Technologies (ASD(CT)), to include their governance forums and the Principal Directors

(PDs) for Critical Technology Areas (CTAs). Due to numerous OSD agencies relying on this support for developing and updating DoD wide policies, including Critical Technologies’ policy guidance across the Department a gap in support would cause mission failure because the mission critical functions of the OASD(CT), the chief steward and advocate advancing the Department’s investments and capabilities aligned with the National Defense Strategy’s critical technologies.

As outlined above, SAIC’s contractor personnel assist the Government in providing critical support to the daily operations of OASD(CT), the CTAs, and its subordinate program offices.

The SAIC contract team are embedded within OASD(CT) staff and have specialized technical and program management knowledge, experience, and skill sets required to support the Critical Technology Areas’ initiatives across the Department. Awarding a short-term bridge contract to SAIC avoids unacceptable delays in fulfilling the technical, analytical, and program management support needed within OASD(CT).

In addition, OASD(CT) and its CTAs’ program offices rely heavily on a multisector workforce comprised of Government civilian and Contractor personnel. Disrupting current support services poses a significant risk to OASD(CT)'s mission effectiveness because a gap in support would hinder the support to the war fighters. Onboarding new contractor personnel takes an average of six weeks to reach full productivity, such a delay creates a substantial gap in essential support. The expert functional and historical knowledge of the current contractor personnel are key to OASD(CT) being able to continue to perform its mission while the

Government works to award the new contract.

Currently, SAIC is within the environment providing the required support services and to compete this requirement at this time would cause unacceptable delays in fulfilling

OASD(CT) requirements and substantial duplication of cost to the Government estimated at over $5.3 Million (see the cost breakdown below) that is not expected to be recovered through competition. A new vendor would have a significant learning curve of at least 2-months to fundamentally understand the work progress made by the incumbent and the delays in hiring the appropriate staff with the appropriate security clearance.

The Government would incur significant onboarding, training, and knowledge transfer costs to reach the current incumbent's level of expertise. We estimate the following cost breakdown:

• Onboarding and training: $595,530.00 - This cost is based on recruiting and clearing staff, obtaining the necessary security clearances, and providing orientation on agency-specific systems, policies, and procedures. Additional familiarization with specialized tools, platforms, and technology currently in use would be required. These activities would demand direct Government involvement, consume internal resources, and divert attention from mission-critical work.

• Knowledge Transfer: $1,191,060.00 - This cost is based on the incumbent’s personnel who possess institutional knowledge of the requirement, established processes and the operational environment. Transitioning to a new contractor would necessitate extensive knowledge transfer, requiring the incumbent personnel (or Government staff) to expend time and effort conveying historical context, technical nuances, and lessons learned. Even with structured transition plans, much of the tacit knowledge gained through years of performance cannot be effectively documented or transferred without incurring inefficiencies that would increase cost and degrade performance.

• Opportunity Cost of Delays: $3,573,180.00 – This cost is based on changing contractors would cause performance delays during the transition period as the new contractor becomes proficient and establishes operations during a learning curve. Any delay in awarding the necessary bridge action would increase financial risk to the government. This risk includes the potential for funding or performance lapses, missed obligation deadlines, and penalties tied to mission-critical project delays. These risks represent costs including lost productivity, deferred benefits, and operations disruptions that would not occur if the incumbent continued performance without interruption.

Based on the cost breakdown above it is essential for mission accomplishment of providing a full range of support for Specialized Technical and Program Management services. Any gap in support will threaten the DoD mission and potentially national security. This extension of services will allow work to continue while proposals are evaluated, and a new task order is awarded. This extension will also allow for a phase-in of a new vendor, if necessary, when the new task order is awarded.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: To assess potential sources and promote transparency, the Contracting Officer posted a Notice of Intent to award a sole source bridge contract on SAM.gov in accordance with FAR 5.203(a) on August 1, 2025, and closed on

August 8, 2025. The NOI clearly described the requirement, anticipated period of performance and the rationale for a sole source award. Interested parties were invited to submit capability statements demonstrating their ability to perform the requirement without disruption to mission-essential services. The Government did not receive any responses to the NOI. Given the highly specialized nature of the requirement, the incumbent is uniquely positioned to ensure uninterrupted support during the bridge period. The Government will continue to pursue full and open competition for the follow-on requirement and is actively engaged in acquisition planning to avoid future bridge actions.

7. FAIR AND RESONABLE DETERMINATION: The Contracting Officer (CO) determines that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable by using the techniques identified at

FAR 15.404-1 “Proposal Analysis Techniques,” specifically FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(v) to ensure award will be at fair and reasonable prices. The Government will compare proposed prices set forth by SAIC to historical prices paid by the Government under the current task order contract, GS00Q14OADU130, Task Order number 47QFCA20F0019, as well as compare estimated prices within the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) prepared for the bridge contract.

8. MARKET RESEARCH: Market Research has been limited to the Notice of Intent (NOI) to sole source this action and was posted on SAM.gov, as described in paragraph 6, above.

WHS/AD will solicit this effort as a 6-month base period, sole source bridge contract to

SAIC to maintain continuity of support being provided to OASD(IT). The bridge contract is the most efficient and logical strategy and solution to the Government to avoid unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirement and a potential gap in performance of critical services to DoD OASI(IT).

The Government will continue to conduct market research in support of the competitive follow-on requirement, leveraging prior industry engagement and lessons learned from this bridge action to maximize competition in the future.

9. ANY OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF SOLE SOURCE: OASD(CT) and its subordinate program offices would face mission failure if the services were interrupted. A sole source contract will be negotiated with SAIC. SAIC has been critically instrumental to the success and continuation of the OASD(CT) mission.

10. INTERESTED SOURCES:

The Synopsis / NOI posted on SAM.gov did not receive any interest, feedback or challenges from other sources.

11. ACTION TO INCREASE COMPETITION: WHS/AD is actively working with

OASD(CT) in the new effort undergoing a competitive source selection process. This procurement is for a long-term follow-on contract and intends to award the follow-on contract by the first or second quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 26.

Is this acquisition for a non-competitive follow-on acquisition previously awarded on a non-competitive basis?

☐ Yes. A copy of the previous justification is attached. The actions to remove any barriers to competition cited on the previous justification ☐ were ☐ were not completed [Must include explanation of why the answer is “no”].

☒No. The original acquisition was conducted on a competitive basis.

☐ Not Applicable. This is a new requirement

CERTIFICATION

I, hereby, certify that the supporting data under my cognizance included in this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Mr. Tony T. Pham Date

Contracting Officer Representative

Mr. Aubrey J. McKinney Date

Contracting Officer

APPROVAL

Mr. David H. Kao Date

Competition Advocate

MCKINNEY.AUBR

EY.J.1381309173

Digitally signed by

MCKINNEY.AUBREY.J.1381309

Date: 2025.08.26 07:06:58 -04'00'