Attachment 3 - Redacted Brand Name Justification.pdf

This is a Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity or Use of Brand-Name Restriction document dated 16 June 2022, subsequently signed by Contracting Officer Matthew J. MacEachern on 08 May 2026.

The document approves a brand-name restriction for the procurement of Collins Aerospace SCISR radios and Ku UP/DOWN Converters supporting CDL Programs under contracting activity AFLCMC/C3NK FA2291 for the TDN Lab Tech Refresh program. The specific items being procured include 4 each RT-2073 SCISR(C) "8E-CDL" radios, 4 each RT-2073(C) SCISR 2 Without Crypto "Nighthawk" radios, and 9 Ku Up/Down Converters, all manufactured by Collins Aerospace. The Contracting Officer determined that the anticipated cost is fair and reasonable based on market research and a government RFI submitted to industry. The justification cites mission-critical requirements for resilient communications in contested environments and the need to maintain strict architectural continuity with existing program baselines. The document establishes that introducing alternative brands would result in incompatibilities with currently fielded equipment, degraded mission readiness, unacceptable schedule delays, and substantial duplication of costs to reengineer or replace incompatible systems. To overcome future barriers to competition, the program office commits to monitoring the commercial marketplace for emerging technologies and will issue Requests for Information and Sources Sought before any subsequent acquisitions to identify alternative vendors.