Brand Name Justification_Redacted.pdf

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

April 2021 Page 2 of 4

I. Contracting Activity.

Department of Air Force, 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron, Hurlburt Field, FL. This document serves as a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition.

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

The 1st Special Operations Wing has a requirement for a Low Cost Threat Emitter.

The contractor will be determined after issuance and receipt of quotes in response to the Solicitation.

The contract action will be a new action awarded as a firm fixed price contract. Estimated award date is no later than 12 September 2021.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

The contractor shall provide 10 systems. Each system includes the BlackHorse TRex Signal Simulator software with Ettus X310/UBX160 Software Defined Radio (SDR) with amplification and directional beam width control to emulate Radio Frequency (RF) threats controlled via computer manipulation of XMIDAS.

The total estimated value to purchase the 10 systems is

Fiscal Year 2021 Operations and Maintenance funds (97 0100) are applicable to this contract.

Delivery is anticipated within 30 days after receipt of contract award.

IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

Procurement under the contract will be conducted on a brand name basis in accordance with the statutory authority 41 U.S.C. 1901 and implemented by AFFARS 5313.501, Sole source acquisitions, to include Brand Name, conducted under simplified acquisition procedures. Only one brand is suitable for this requirement because the supplies are unique or highly specialized.

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

The TRex software/Ettus X310 transmitter combination was developed by BlackHorse in conjunction with USSOCOM and other government agencies for training and simulation. This system's capabilities have been identified for AFSOC to acquire to provide realistic Electronic Warfare (EW)/SIGINT training. TRex software was specifically designed to operate based on the Ettus X310/UBX160's robust hardware design/capabilities.

1 SOW currently possesses two emitters purchased by USSOCOM. 1 SOW/CC has directed the purchase of additional systems to support training.

The requested TRex system was built this specific requirement from the ground up, has been tested and implemented. There are currently no other competitor systems on the market and none are expected to be available for immediate use for several years.

Due to the nature of the requirements and desired simulated signal sets, market research has shown no other commercial off the shelf (COTS) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip set embedded devices capable of producing a wide array of signal sets at the necessary instantaneous bandwidth (IBW) required to accurately replicate the RF energy necessary for successful deployment capabilities at the price point that allows for realistic acquisition with desired results.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable.

A combined synopsis solicitation will be issued via Federal Business Opportunities, limited to the specific brand name

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The anticipated cost to the Government will be determined fair and reasonable based on competitive quotes received.

In the event competitive quotes are not received, the anticipated cost will be determined fair and reasonable based on market research, comparison of the proposed price with prices found reasonable on previous purchases, and a comparison of similar items in a related industry.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

1 SOW/XP performed market research via online interest searches and discussions across the Government with subject matter experts. This research revealed that there are no other products on the market that provide the capabilities the requested equipment does.

1 SOCONS/PKC issues a Request for Information through NASA SEWP and identified one vendor interested and capable of quoting the requested equipment. Based on this, the requirement is being competed on a brand name only basis instead of executing a sole source acquisition.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

There is an urgent requirement for this capability due to potential loss of AFSOC's EW training system budget, and Eglin range congestion due to arrival of an additional F-35 training squadron at Eglin in the upcoming fiscal year.

The TRex system will be deployed off-Eglin range proper on state and federal land, thus reducing range congestion. Additionally, the system can be mounted on vehicles and maritime vessels, significantly increasing training realism during local training missions and large-scale joint training exercises such as

EMERALD WARRIOR.

X. List of any sources that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

N/A

XI. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required.

Market research will be performed prior to future purchases to determine if any other products have been fielded on the market that meet the requirements described in paragraph V of this justification.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our)

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