Attachment 3 - Brand Name Justification - 14 August 2026.pdf

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

DETERMINATION & FINDINGS

Authority to Solicit from a Single Source (at or below the SAT)

1. Agency and Contracting Activity: Department of the Air Force, 28th Contracting Squadron

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action:

This acquisition is for the procurement of a Standardized Portable Aircraft Bearing Roll-Swaging, Cutting, & Proof-Loading Tool Kit. This system is required by Department of the Air Force maintenance technicians to perform in-place, on-aircraft servicing, removal, installation, and load-test verification of standardized spherical bearings on critical structural airframe components. The tool kit must be a fully portable, field-deployable unit containing all necessary mechanical tri-roller swagers, cutting heads, installation/removal pilots, and digital load cells to service standard military spherical bearings across a full range of standard aircraft sizes. All tooling must be standard and low-profile to facilitate repairs inside tight structural cavities, eliminating the need to disassemble major adjacent structural components. The kit must be supplied in a heavy-duty portable transit case with custom-cut, closed-cell foam inserts to allow for rapid visual inventory and secure transport.

3. Citation to the Appropriate Regulation:

(Contracting Officer Instruction: Select the applicable authority for this acquisition)

RFO 8.401 and GSAR 538.7104-3(a) (FSS Orders): The circumstances of the acquisition deem only one source reasonably capable of providing the products, services, or solutions.

RFO 11.204(a)(2)(ii) (Brand Name): The particular brand name, product, or feature is essential to the Government's requirements, and market research indicates other companies' similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet the agency's needs or cannot be modified to meet the agency's minimum needs,.

RFO 12.102(a) (Commercial Products and Services): Only one source is available,.

RFO 13.101(b) (Noncommercial Products and Services): Only one source is reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name, or industrial mobilization),.

4. Findings:

Under the authority of RFO 11.204(a)(2)(ii), this acquisition requires the proprietary Smithing Machine & Tool "Slim Line" swaging tool kit because it is the only commercial design capable of physically integrating with the extremely restricted diameter physical clearance of the Rudder attach point A- Frames on the B-1B Lancer aircraft. These A-frame structural cavities present an extremely restricted physical workspace with a maximum physical clearance dimension of a 1.5-inch diameter. Standard-sized alternative options from other manufacturers range from greater than 1.5 to 3-inches of clearance required, which physically cannot fit within these tight structural cavities. This would force maintenance technicians to remove major flight-critical adjacent structural assemblies, including disassembling and removing the entire rudder to perform routine spherical bearing servicing.

Choosing a non-compatible alternative brand would result in highly unacceptable penalties for the Air Force, including significant and unwarranted increases in aircraft downtime, excessive waste of manual maintenance labor hours, and an elevated, unacceptable risk of secondary structural fatigue or damage to flight-critical assemblies during unnecessary disassembly and re-installation procedures.

5. Determination: Based on the findings above, the proposed sole source or brand name action is justified under the applicable regulation.

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

6. Signatory Authority: (Contracting Officer Instruction: In accordance with DAF Approval Authorities Matrix PM 26-C-11 Matrix Item 51 for RFO 13.101(b) actions and GSAR 538.7104-3(a) for FSS orders, the Contracting Officer is the approval authority for these determinations).

Jayna E. Clements, SSgt, USAF Contracting Officer

Aug 13, 2026

CLEMENTS.JAYNA.EMILY.154

5933868

Digitally signed by

CLEMENTS.JAYNA.EMILY.1545933868

Date: 2026.08.13 10:46:31 -06'00'