CUI_Eustis JA 2024_19 Redacted.pdf

CUI//SP-PROCURE//FEDCON

Control No: Eustis-2024-19

MICC Office of Counsel:

Date: See digital signature

Director, MICC-Fort Eustis:

Date: See digital signature

Assistant Director, Small Business Program:

Date: See digital signature

FAR Part 6 Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command - Fort Eustis, 705 Washington Boulevard, Fort Eustis, VA 23604.

2. Description of Action: The U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence (FCoE), Directorate of Training and Doctrine (DOTD), Fort Sill, OK, has a requirement for a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract with Lockheed Martin, 4800 Bradford Drive, Huntsville, Alabama. This is a new requirement and the Government projects award for April 2024 using fiscal year 2024 Operations and Maintenance Funds (O&M).

3. Description of Services: The Contractor shall develop and provide five distinct POIs for two new prototype weapons systems: the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) and Mid-Range Capability Weapon (MRC). The LRHW will leverage the common hypersonic glide body and introduce a new class of ultrafast and maneuverable long-range missiles with the ability to launch from ground mobile platforms. The MRC is comprised of launchers, missiles and a battery operations center developed to address surface threats. The Contractor shall possess the skills and ability to develop Army and TRADOC-compliant curriculum. POIs will be built to train Field Artillery Officers (13A), Targeting Officers (131A), Fire Control Specialists (13J), and Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) crewmembers (13M) in accordance with TRADOC Regulations and Pamphlets (TR REGs and PAMs), and entered into the Army database for Training Development Capability (TDC). Each POI shall be approved through the FCoE Directorate of Training and Doctrine (DOTD) and by the Field Artillery Commandant to address the Army’s needs for MRC and LRHW training. This is a non-personal service contract to provide training developers. The Government will not exercise any supervision or control over the contractor personnel performing the services herein.

Training Developers shall be accountable solely to the contractor employer, which in turn shall be responsible to the Government.

The Period of Performance includes a Phase-in, Base Period (which includes the phase-in), and four Option year Periods.

Base Period: 26 APR 2024 to 25 APR 2025 Value: $ 1,887,714.00 Option Period 1: 26 APR 2025 to 25 APR 2026 Value: $ 1,925,468.00 Option Period 2: 26 APR 2026 to 25 APR 2027 Value: $ 1,963,977.00 Option Period 3: 26 APR 2027 to 25 APR 2028 Value: $ 2,003,257.00 Option Period 4: 26 APR 2028 to 25 APR 2029 Value: $ 2,043,322.00

Total Value: $ 9,823,738.00

4. Authority Cited: 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: As described at FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), when the supplies or services required by the agency are available only from one responsible source, or for DoD, NASA and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other types of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for. The Defense Contractor, Lockheed Martin, is the only responsible source that has the unique capabilities, experience, expertise of both the LRHW and the MRC, making them the only contractor capable of performing the required work.

a. Lockheed Martin is the material developer for both the MRC and the LRHW.

The systems are currently prototypes with minimal equipment sets fielded to the operational Army. The LRHW is currently located at Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Tacoma Washington, and the MRC is in Huntsville, Alabama. The Naval Fire Control Systems School is located at the Naval Support Facility, Dahlgren, Virginia; the targeting course training is at Naval Air Station Oceana Dam Neck Annex, Virginia Beach, Virginia; and the Cruise Missile Support Activity located at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia. Lockheed Martin has assured access to both prototypes, whereas other contractors do not have assured access to each of these locations and systems.

Lockheed Martin has a long-standing history and experience in the missile industry, allowing them to develop specialized knowledge and skills. Additionally, they have a dedicated team of experts who possess deep domain knowledge and experience in working on similar projects. Furthermore, Lockheed Martin’s extensive network and collaboration with Government agencies, research institutions and industry partners provide them access to valuable resources, information and cutting-edge technologies.

As part of Lockheed Martin’s current contract (OTA # W912P-19-9-0001) with the Army, they have the responsibility to develop New Equipment Training (NET) products for both systems. The training developers at Lockheed can leverage the material created for the NET products to aid in the development of the POIs, as the content would be identical. This exclusive data and information can greatly support the Government in meeting the December 2024 timeline for the finalized POIs.

Contractors other than Lockheed would have challenges accessing secure and proprietary information associated with these systems. It would also take extended periods of time for them to gain the knowledge associated with operating the systems, as all current subject matter experts are under contract with Lockheed Martin.

Awarding the contract to another Contractor on a competitive basis under a compressed timeline enhances the chances that the Army would experience significant delays in the timely training of Field Artillery Officers and Soldiers.

b. Alternatives. The alternatives listed below are available to the Government, but would not be considered viable solutions.

1) Withdraw the Training Developer effort. This alternative solution is not recommended as there is a clear and present need for the Army to train LRHW and MRC weapon systems in fiscal year 2025 to Field Artillery Officers and Soldiers.

2) Hire term Department of the Army (DA) Civilians to develop the POIs.

Initiating and filling Government training developer positions would not be a practical option due to the substantial amount of time it would take. Moreover, there is a lack of available Government subject matter experts to hire.

Consequently, a significant amount of time would be spent on training the new employees to fulfill this requirement. Additionally, the unavailability of LRHW and MRC systems at Fort Sill will result in the employees spending excessive amounts of time in the states of Washington, Virginia, and Alabama which in turn could pose retention problems.

c. Impact if Justification not approved: Awarding the contract to any other source, given the current situation, would lead to unacceptable delays and potentially substandard Programs of Instruction. Moreover, it would have a negative impact on FCOE’s ability to meet the needs of the Warfighter who require the most accurate and up-to-date MRC and LRHW training.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: The Contracting Officer shall publish the notices required by FAR 5.201 and any bids or proposals received shall be considered.

a. Effective Competition: The Government underwent extensive efforts to secure competition for this requirement without success. The contracting office issued two separate Requests for Information, one Request for Proposal, and two Request for Task Order Proposals. Results of those efforts to obtain competition can be found in the Market Research section.

b. Subcontracting Competition: This requirement has been competed multiple times on two government points of entry (GSA.gov and SAM.gov) and multiple times on a specialized MATOC without success. Subcontracting is unlikely, given the unique nature of the subject matter, the proprietary information involved, and lack of general knowledge of the prototypes.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: MICC-Fort Eustis will continue to develop its market research techniques to increase competition, and to effectively identify the capabilities of businesses and new entrants into Federal contracting that are available in the marketplace that meet the requirements of the agency. However, due to the specific nature of the requirement, only Lockheed Martin possesses the complete knowledge, which has resulted in other contractors being unable to compete. Competition is not feasible for this action until the systems have graduated from prototypes and become established systems in the Army.

8. Market Research: In accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 205.205-71, DFARS 206.302-1(d), and DFARS Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI) 206.302-1(d), a sources sought notice was posted to SAM.Gov on 5 December 2022 for seven days and the results of that included one Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) response. Technical System Integration, Inc. was determined capable but with concerns by the Requiring Activity. A request for information was posted to GSA on 14 December 2022 for seven days against the OASIS Small Business Pool 1, MAS 541889. Six small businesses responded to the RFI (listed below in potential offerors section). All submitted capability statements that were reviewed for technical capability. Systems Plus, Inc. was the only business determined capable with concerns and the other five were found incapable.

The Government determined it was in the best interest to solicit the requirement on SAM. On 7 June 2023, a request for proposal (RFP) was issued on SAM for a duration of thirty days, but no proposals were received.

The acquisition strategy was changed and on 10 August 2023, a Request for Task Order Proposal (RTOP) was submitted for thirty days against the FIRES MATOC, which included five contractors. There were no responses as a result of the RTOP.

The Contracting office requested substantial revisions to the performance work statement due to its overly restrictive nature and lack of clear definition of the requirement. A second RTOP was then issued on 22 November 2023 for a duration of thirty days to the FIRES MATOC. Additionally, an industry day was organized to address questions and provide an overview of the requirement, which saw active participation from four out of the five MATOC holders. However, on the closing date, the contracting office received two emails from two MATOC holders explaining their inability to submit a proposal. Unfortunately, the Government did not receive any proposals. The statements from the two MATOC holders below summarize the lack of response.

Janus: As a company with a small footprint at Fort Sill and no access to corporate SCIF workspaces, we would require the use of SCIF workspaces at Fort Sill, JBLM, and at an installation near the Virginia Beach area (e.g., Dahlgren, Oceana Dam Neck, Norfolk, or Ft. Eustis). Even with Government assistance to facilitate access we understand that it cannot be guaranteed, and certainly not guaranteed in time to meet schedule requirements. The compressed schedule requirements also present challenges given industry’s reliance on Government action (e.g., review durations, responses to technical system questions, security as outlined above). Our inability to assess the GFI, which includes the Navy curricula that can be reused and integrated into the Army course, further added to the schedule risks because we’re unable to accurately estimate workload/staffing requirements.

Yorktown: The SME positions are unique and most potential candidates that meet the demanding requirements are not readily available and would require elevated compensation to be willing to commit to this effort. As a result, we do not feel we could secure the needed talent to ensure successful execution.

11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. The determination will be made using cost analysis and comparison to the independent government cost estimate. As a part of this basis, certified cost or pricing data will be required.

Date: See digital signature Laura Wallace Contracting Officer

14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date: See digital signature Laura Wallace Contracting Officer

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of developing Programs of Instruction for the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and Mid-Range Capability Weapon systems for the Fires Center of Excellence, Fort Sill, OK on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of Title 10 United States Code Section 3204(a)(1) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. The estimated value of this contract is $9.8 million for a five-year period of performance consisting of a base year and four option years, from approximately February 2024 – February 2029. This approval is subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

SCOTT D. KUKES

Alternate Advocate for Competition US Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Ft. Sam Houston, TX

KUKES.SCOTT.DE

AN.1151934346

Digitally signed by

KUKES.SCOTT.DEAN.115193434

Date: 2024.04.05 14:35:07 -05'00'