CLASS JA (Northrop) T-38 Trunnion Redacted_Redacted.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 3 of 7August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 3 of 7 this requirement. The SPM escalation factor was applied to the forecasted annual price (FY24) to develop the forecast for the subsequent periods/years.

Funding for this effort will utilize CSAG-S Working Capital 4930 funds.

Approval is requested for more than one fiscal year as there are no feasible actions that could be taken to develop future competition during the course of this J&A.

IV. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited above.

This Class J&A is for the continued production of highly specialized equipment. The T-38 side brace trunnion is a critical subcomponent of the aircraft's main landing gear. It enables extension and retraction of the main landing gear by converting actuator input into gear rotation. The trunnion is also a structural component of the side brace assembly, which serves to lock the main landing gear strut in place in both extension and retraction, and absorb side loads from the strut during ground operations. These critical functions categorize the trunnion as a critical safety item (CSI), whereby failure of the trunnion will result in a catastrophic failure of the gear and further damage to the aircraft. Northrop Grumman is the only contractor determined to have the capability to provide this supply item. The Government does not own the data or the rights to the data needed to purchase this part from additional sources.

The trunnion has a history of fatigue failures which have resulted in catastrophic failure of the main landing gear. This resulted in a redesign using improved material, as well as a risk mitigation measure of life-limiting the part to flight hours (originally flight hours, later extended numerous times considering imminent aircraft retirement). the T-38 fleet was retrofitted with new landing gear from 2011-2019, including new trunnions. These new trunnions will begin to reach their flight-hour life limit in , in which automatic replacements will begin to occur. A procurement of new trunnions is required to meet this demand. An engineering review has determined that the -hour life limit should not be extended or removed. If aircraft do not have spare trunnions then they will either have to be grounded or fly with unacceptable risk of fatigue failure.

The 417 SCMS Program Office has determined that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Government's requirements. Reverse Engineering (RE) and/or other Duplicate Costs (DC) is estimated at and a minimum of years to complete. The break even analysis (estimated time required before the Government would "pay back" RE and DC costs) is years. Therefore, reverse-engineering this part has been deemed not economically reasonable and not in the Government's best interest. Accordingly, Northrop Grumman, is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above without the Government experiencing substantial duplication of cost that could not be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements.

V. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under

FAR 5.202 applies.

Notice of proposed Contract Action (NOCA)

The notice required by FAR 5.201 was not completed for the existing DLA BOA SPE4A1-22-G-0002. Therefore, a notice for the contract actions anticipated under the five (5) year period authorized under this J&A (i.e. orders under existing DLA BOA, orders under a follow-on DLA BOA or a future enterprise / strategic IDIQ contract, or stand-alone contract actions) that meet the FAR 5.201 threshold will be completed.

Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS)

The Government issued a SSS on the SAM.gov website in support of this requirement. Results of the sources sought are provided below:

Notice ID:

FD2020-24-T38-Trunnion Posted Date:

19 Oct 2023

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Response Date:

03 Nov 2023 Capability:

Demonstrate you possess or have the ability to obtain rights to the proprietary data required to manufacture this item

Responses: 2

Respondent 1 - Cummings Aerospace

The sources sought allowed vendors to add/remove themselves from the interested vendors list. Although this vendor added themselves to the “Interested Vendor List”, they were determined to be “not capable” based on the following:

1 - Vendor failed to submit a written response, per the SSS instructions, to the Contracting Officer with information that demonstrated they possess or have the ability to obtain rights to the proprietary data required to manufacture this item.

2 - Vendor failed to submit a written response, per the SSS instructions, to the Contracting Officer with information that demonstrated their business status to the identified NAICS code - 336413.

3 - Actual manufacture of this item, Northrop Grumman, provided a response to the SSS to the Contracting Officer that stated "NGSC CAGE 79U29 has not licensed or granted permission for any company to use the technical data to manufacture the T-38 Trunnion. Currently, NGSC does not intend to provide any such license or grant permission to any other company to manufacture the T-38 Trunnion.” Therefore, it is not feasible for Cummings Aerospace to possess or have the ability to obtain rights to the proprietary data required to manufacture this item.

Respondent 2 - Northrop Grumman

The actual manufacture of this item, Northrop Grumman, provided the following response to the sources sought.

“In response to the Reference 1) Sources Sought notice, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (NGSC) would like to inform the Government that for the T-38 Trunnion Strut part (NSN 1620013511053, PN 9155455-10) per the Reference 2) and

3) License Agreements, the technical data and drawings for NSN 1620013511053 is the property of NGSC and the Government does not own the rights to the data. Furthermore, NGSC CAGE 79U29 has not licensed or granted permission for any company to use the technical data to manufacture the T-38 Trunnion. Currently, NGSC does not intend to provide any such license or grant permission to any other company to manufacture the T-38 Trunnion.”

Maximize Competition Where Possible

To ensure that we are maximizing competition where possible, prior to the issuance of any delivery order or stand-alone contract action, the Government will verify whether any additional sources have been approved for the specific NSNs being acquired. If another source submits a Source Approval Request (SAR) and is approved as a qualified source for the specific NSN during the life of this Class J&A, the Government will immediately pursue full and open competition and discontinue use of this Class J&A for the identified NSN upon a competitive award. Until such a time as additional vendors elect to submit SAR packages, we will only have one approved source. Therefore, it is considered appropriate to seek approval for more than one (1) fiscal year but no more than five (5) fiscal years.

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

Based upon (1) other than certified cost or pricing data provided in the offeror's proposal, (2) the program office's technical analysis of the offeror's Basis of Estimate (BOE), and (3) inputs from the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), including from the Administrative Contracting Officer, the Contracting Officer expects they will be able to determine that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. Although this Class J&A's estimated value is more than the FAR 15.403-4(a)(1) threshold for prime contracts awarded on or after 1 July 2018, Certified Cost or Pricing Data is not anticipated because no single delivery order or stand-alone contract action is anticipated to exceed the threshold.

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

Market Research IAW FAR Part 10, was conducted starting on 05 October 2023 and ending on 03 November 2023. Therefore, August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 5 of 7August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 5 of 7 this market research is current (not older than 18 months old). Market research has been approved by both the Program Manager and PCO. Market research techniques conducted consisted of the following:

PRODUCT DATA

The initial market research conducted for this proposed buy was completing a AFMC Form 761 - AMC/AMCS Screening Analysis Worksheet (SAW) to determine the data (bid set & engineering data list) and data rights required to manufacture this product. The evaluation determined Northrop Grumman (cage code 79U29 ) is the only known source for this item.

Northrop has claimed proprietary rights to their data and are not willing to remove the rights to this data and/or sell the rights to the Government. Based on previous buy history and Northrop owning the proprietary data, an AMC/AMCS code of "3P" was determined to be appropriate for this proposed contract action.

BUY HISTORY

The recent (within 5 yrs of 761 screening) and relevant (same/similiar item) buy history for this item was considered to identify potential sources and overcome barriers of competition. The most recent buy was an order awarded to Northrop under the DLA BOA.

Previous Contract #: FA8203-20-F-0052 (DO DLA BOA SPE4A1-17-G-0005) Performance Period: 31 October 2020 Value:

Award Date: 30 July 2020 Completion Date: 31 October 2020

ENTERPRISE & STRATEGIC CONTRACTS

Known awarded and yet to be awarded enterprise and strategic landing gear contracts to the USAF were considered to identify potential sources, overcome barriers to competition and avoid a potential duplication of contracting efforts. It was determined DLA BOA SPE4A1-22-G-0002 is the only known viable enterprise or strategic contract at this time to meet the proposed requirement (i.e. active and within scope). The purpose of this DLA BOA is to serve as the primary vehicle for sole source Northrop DoD items.

Contract Program Vendor Active Scope SPE4A1-17-G-0005 DLA BOA Northrop Grumman X SPE4A1-22-G-0002 DLA BOA Northrop Grumman X X

SPRHA1-18-D-0002 LG-CSCI ES3 X

FA8203-17-D-1226 LGPBL1 AAR X

INTERNET SEARCHES

A search and review of the below Internet sites was accomplished in which no additional viable or authorized sources were identified.

i. Google (www.google.com)

ii. ThomasNet (www.thomasnet.com)

iii. ILSmart (www.ilsmart.com)

KNOWLEDGEABLE PERSONS

Contacted knowledgeable individuals in Government regarding market capabilities to meet requirements. The USAF IPT consisting of the T-38 Logistics Management Specialist, Supply Planner, and System Engineer, through market research and years of combined professional knowledge of the T-38 weapon system, have concluded with a high level of confidence there are no additional sources capable of meeting the Government's needs.

COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES

A majority of aircraft landing gear use the conventional side brace design to support side loads. Potentially equivalent side brace trunnions would therefore be likely to exist in the commercial market. However, the T-38 trunnion is designed to specific parameters such that interchanging it with any other trunnion would not be feasible. These parameters include such items as interface dimensions with the side brace and main strut, overall aircraft interface, part material and strength, aircraft weight, and aircraft landing speed, among others. With unique to the T-38 aircraft with no commercial equivalent - with or

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Air Force regulations and policy dictate that any design changes must go through airworthiness qualification certification.

This includes engineering evaluation and laboratory testing in accordance with applicable System Program Office (SPO) requirements. All landing gear components are designed utilizing the "safe-life" approach. This entails design and qualification testing to 2-lifetimes with no evidence of failure. Utilizing previous airworthiness certification programs, this evaluation / testing will require expenditures in excess of and a minimum of to complete. Therefore, attempts to reverse-engineer this part has been deemed not plausible or economically reasonable.

SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS (SSS) / REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

A sources sought synopsis was completed in support of this proposed contract action because the recommended acquisition strategy is sole source from the actual manufacture - Northrop. The purpose of this notice was to identify potential sources and attempt to overcome barriers to competition. The results of the sources sought is provided in section V of this document for reference.

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

None.

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

See Section V above.

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

In an effort to overcome barriers to competition, the agency will continue to monitor movements in industry, such as mergers, request Northrop's interest in selling their proprietary data or rights to the data, periodically screen the item(s) for changes in data and source availability, and to be aware of new commercial opportunities to meet the requiring activities needs. Finally, to ensure that we are maximizing competition where possible, prior to the issuance of any delivery order or award of a stand-alone contract action, the Government will verify whether additional sources have been approved for the specific NSN being ordered. If another source is approved as a qualified source for any NSN during the life of this CLASS J&A, the Government will immediately pursue full and open competition and discontinue use of this J&A.

This J&A is not for a follow-on to a sole source contract, so there is no previous J&A and the analysis IAW DFARS PGI 206.304(a)(S-70), which requires previous identified actions to overcome barriers to competition have been or have not been accomplished, does not apply.

XI. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my signature above, I certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my responsibility, is both accurate and complete.

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