BOSS_IDIQ_Extension_JA_redacted.pdf

This is a Department of the Air Force Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (CUI) document for a contract acquisition valued at less than $10 million.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) seeks to extend the current Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) Operations, Sustainment, and Support (BOSS) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract ordering period for two years and award a new Task Order to Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS). The BACN system is a communications payload integrated into airframe platforms such as the E-11A that enables real-time information flow across the battle space for voice communications and tactical data networks. The current contract (FA8726-21-D-0001) was awarded to NGMS on 21 January 2021 with a 60-month ordering period expiring 20 January 2026. The proposed extension would extend the ordering period to 20 January 2028, with the new Task Order providing a three-year period of performance (one 12-month base period and two 12-month option periods). The equipment and services required include 24/7 payload operations and maintenance, field service representatives, operational analysis, site activation and moves, system integration laboratory support, training, logistics, software upgrades and patching, ground stations, and sustainment operations for BACN platforms and ground stations both within and outside the Continental United States.

The justification for sole-source award to NGMS cites 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), asserting that only one responsible source can satisfy agency requirements. The rationale emphasizes NGMS's unique qualifications as the Original Equipment Manufacturer with nearly 20 years of continuous involvement in BACN's design, development, and operations, along with proprietary software ownership (Gateway Manager and Tactical Data Link Integration Exerciser) critical to system maintenance. Market research from June 2024 to May 2025 determined that no other contractor possesses the comprehensive skills required for BACN maintenance, upgrades, and hardening while sustaining 24/7 operations. The document notes that competition would result in substantial cost duplication and unacceptable delays in fulfilling agency requirements, particularly regarding software licensing, training, and system engineering efforts. The Procurement Contracting Officer is Jack T. McCullers, and the estimated total value of the next Task Order is redacted in the document.