B- SSJ rev 1 - Redacted.doc

16 February 2021

MEMORANDUM

Subj: SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION TO ACQUIRE IAAG SPARE PARTS FROM THALES AUSTRALIA (PR 1300893445)

Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Limited Source Justification.”

This is a sole source justification. Contracting activity is the Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division (NSWC PCD), 110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, FL 32407-7001 (Contracts Division Code 02).

Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This action will award a firm fixed price purchase order to Thales Australia Limited, Building 314, Level 1, Garden Island, NSW 2011, Australia to acquire spare parts for the Infrasonic Australian Acoustic Generator (IAAG). The Navy has fielded the Advanced Acoustic Generators (AAG) and Infrasonic AAG (IAAG) on MCM class ships. The IAAG is a proprietary item manufactured exclusively by Thales Australia Limited. The spare parts being acquired are proprietary items designed to work exclusively in the IAAG.

A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

The following items are being acquired:

IAAG Blade

IAG-Z010D

piston seal

IAG-Z050B

bladder

IAG-Z060F

radio monitor connector

IAG-Z060H

proximity sensor

IAG-Z060P

The estimated value of this effort is approximately $75,000. The Government’s minimum needs have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel. This memo does not authorize acquisition for other requirements. The contract action will be funded with 2021 Operations and Maintenance, Navy (OMN) Funds.

Identification of the justification rationale and, if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service. 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1) - Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, FAR 6.302-1.

This procurement is sole source for the following reasons.

Thales Australia is the only manufacturer for the AAG and IAAG and their spare parts.

No other contractors are authorized to manufacture the AAG and IAAG spare parts. There are no drawings for these proprietary parts, nor do any other manufacturers have access to the information necessary to reverse engineer the item.

NSWC PCD has successfully evaluated this equipment for use in the U.S. Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Fleet having acquired the equipment under sole source contracts N61331-06-C-0030, N61331-07-D-0006, and N61331- 10-C-0007. Use of any other vendor would result in substantial duplication of manufacturing, testing, documentation, and installation effort. For the Government to identify and evaluate another system, perform the field testing of the equipment, produce the required SHIPALT records and drawings, produce all of the required support documentation, and schedule ships for equipment installation and other tasks is estimated at a cost of $21,000,000 in development and installation costs, and exceed seven years. The development costs are derived from the development, prototyping, Engineering Development Models (EDMs), testing, shock testing, retesting, and the 1000- hour endurance test was $14,000,000. The prototyping, EDM, and testing of the IAAG was $7,000,000. Most of these costs were borne by the Royal Australian Navy. The seven year time estimate was derived from the amount of time which was required by Thales Australia to perform these identical tasks.

In summary, Thales Australia’s is uniquely qualified to provide the one-of-a-kind part required for the IAAG. It is imperative that this task is awarded to Thales Australia Limited.

A determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 13.106-1(a)

The Contracting Officer has determined that the order represents the best value and results in the lowest overall cost alternative (considering price, special features, administrative costs, etc.) to meet the Government’s needs.

A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

No additional market research was conducted because it is not practicable. For the reasons discussed in paragraph 4 above, no other company than Thales Australia Limited can provide the required equipment. This procurement shall be announced on betasam.gov.

Any other facts supporting the justification.

None

A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

As stated in paragraph 4 above, Thales Australia Limited is the only company that can provide the required equipment.

Signatures Follow.