C14 - Redacted Sole Source Justification.pdf

MEMORANDUM

Subj: SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION MEMORANDUM FOR SUPPORT FROM

DELRESEARCH, INC. FOR ACOUSTIC COMMUNICATIONS (ACOMMS)

EXPERIMENTATION UNDER THE MHCE U.S.-SINGAPORE PA

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

This is a sole source justification. Contracting activity is NSWC-PCD, Code 024, 110 Vernon Ave., Panama City, FL, 32407.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This action will award a firm fixed price purchase order to Del Research, LLC, 128 Route 6A Rear, Sandwich, MA 02563 (CAGE Code 4NE49) for acoustic communications experimentation support under the MHCE PA as described below.

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

DelResearch shall generate the final report for the Acoustic Communications (ACOMMS) experimentation. Del research shall also participate in the Mine Hunting in Challenging Environments Participation Agreement (MCHE PA) ACOMMS experiment that is scheduled to take place sometime October or November. In addition, the Del Research shall prepare a conference paper, in conjunction with NSWC PCD and The National University of Singapore, for the September 2023 IEEE Oceans conference in Biloxi.

There are three options on this contract, they are:

Option 1 – Del Research shall conduct analysis of FY23 experiments results and prepare final data set and final report.

Option 2 – Del Research shall participate in a MHCE workshop that will likely take place February-March 2024. This will take place either in Singapore or at NSWC PCD.

Option 3 – Del Research shall provide up to three (3) Popoto Modems in the event that the NSWC PCD owned Popoto modems are not available.

This acquisition will be conducted using simplified acquisition procedures with a total estimated value greater than $25,000. The Government's minimum needs have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel. This memo does not authorize acquisition for other requirements. This acquisition will be conducted using simplified acquisition procedures with a total dollar value above micro-purchase levels, but not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold of $250,000.00..

4. 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) - Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, FAR 6.302-1.

The Mine Hunting in Challenging Environments Participation Agreement (MHCE PA) between the U.S and Singapore is conducted a joint experimentation to advance Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) – based mine hunting in complex undersea environments such as the straits of Singapore. DelResearch developed the Popoto acoustic modems that were used for experiments performed in July 2022 in the Singapore Straights under Navy contract N6133122P0127. As they are the OEM for the modem used, they were determined to be the most knowledgeable source for the testing support using those modems under that contract.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) currently has a need for the support services of DelResearch to generate the final report for the testing performed under Navy contract N6133122P0127. The first experiment held in the Singapore Straits was constrained to static testing. The next planned experiment in Panama City, FL will support both static and moving testing to determine the effect of Doppler on the performance of the waveforms. DelResearch is the only Vendor who has the knowledge and experience of those tests/experiments. If another vendor were chosen, they would be required to become experts with Popoto modems and their programming as well as gain an in-depth knowledge of the experiments performed under N6133122P0127, all of which would result in significant cost increases to the Government and project delays.

As such, the government does not expect significant savings through competition and it is more advantageous to the Government to award on a sole source basis to the DelResearch for the services listed in Paragraph 3.

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

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.

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

For the reasons specified in paragraph 4 above, DelResearch is the only source that can meet the Government’s needs. This requirement will be synopsized in the government point of entry sam.gov because it is estimated (greater or less) than $25,000.00.

7. Any other facts supporting the justification.

None.

8. 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, DelResearch is the only source that can meet this requirement.