F03_JA_Drone_Amplified_BPA_v2_redacted_1.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

INTERIOR BUSINESS CENTER

Washington, DC 20240

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

AUTHORITY: RFO 12.102(b), 41 U.S.C. 1901

BPA # 140D0423A0050

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

This document is a sole source justification for the Department of the Interior (DOI), Interior Business Center (IBC), Acquisition Services Directorate (AQD) Division II, Branch V, in support of Office of Aviation Services (OAS), Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Fleet.

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

This action is for modification to extend the ordering period of an existing Firm-Fixed- Price (FFP) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) awarded under a sole source basis to Drone Amplified Inc. for the issuance of call orders to provide Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) (i.e. drones) and associated product accessories.

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

a. The supplies being purchased under the existing BPA include the fully integrated Freefly Alta X (Blue Kit) with the Drone Amplified IGNIS Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) payloads (known as Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS system). To more efficiently continue meeting DOI’s evolving needs with the latest and fast paced drone technology, the Government reserves the right to bilaterally modify the BPA to include any future versions of the Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS or other UAS integrations, equipment, and accessories (batteries, chargers, future ground control stations, tablets, controllers, etc).

needed for DOI operations.

b. This justification is valued at $0.00 and provides a two-year ordering period extension from 05/19/2026 – 05/18/2028. The BPA has a $10,000,000.00 ceiling and a 3-year ordering period which is set to expire on 05/18/2026. The total obligated amount is $6,018,822.89 with $3,981,177.11 in ceiling remaining. Based on the number and value of call orders that were placed in the past 3 years there is sufficient ceiling to cover the placement of future call orders for the next 2 years. Therefore, extending the ordering period by 2 years will be in the best interest of the Government instead of a new re-procurement as there are no new capabilities in the market that meet the Government’s requirements at this time. Extending the ordering period from 3 to 5 years does not exceed the total 5 period duration in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 17.204(e).

BPA # 140D0423A0050

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting sole source acquisition.

This is an acquisition conducted under the authority of the Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services. The statutory authority permitting sole source acquisition (including brand name) is 41 U.S.C 1901 as implemented by RFO 12.102(b).

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

a. The Freefly Alta X (Blue Kit) comes integrated with the IGNIS PSD whose sole source proprietor and supplier is Drone Amplified. This Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS System provides a complete fire control system for aerial ignition for backburns and prescribed fires. It carries a payload of ping-pong size chemical spheres that are deployed remotely with precise location. Aerial ignition is a vital tool in aggressively reducing fuels and fighting wildfire and allows for the access of remote areas with difficult terrain that is inaccessible from the ground. Additionally, aerial ignition requires low-level flight, making it a hazardous mission with the use of helicopters. The use of the IGNIS PSD reduces the potential loss to life and makes it easier to safely complete the low-level flight as it is attached to a drone.

b. The fully integrated Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS system will positively impact every resource program by utilizing state-of-the-art equipment. UAS derived data and imagery empowers scientists, incident personnel, and senior leaders to make informed decisions based on precise and real-time information. Data gathered along with tactical PSD fire mission from the integrated Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS is unique due to the ability of the aircraft to fly low, slow, night, inversions for long periods of time mitigating the high-risk crewed missions.

c. No other systems are currently established to meet the same or similar requirements of the Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS. Previously, DOI purchased 20 IGNIS Version 1 payloads in 2018 under contract 140D8118P0028, paired with the DJI Matrice 600 UAS. The DJI Matrice 600 UAS are coming up on end of life and are no longer supported by the vendor nor in compliance with DOI Secretary’s Order 3379. The Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS has replaced the DJI Matrice 600, which replaces previous IGNIS payloads. The Atla X (Blue Kit) IGNIS is vital for the ability to control all aspects under one application/platform for standardization of projects and fire missions. The standardization saves the government time and resources to be able to train individuals on a single platform.

d. The continued procurement of the Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS system will ensure compliance remains with the following Government Requirements:

FAR Clause 52.240-1, Prohibition on Unmanned Aircraft Systems Manufactured or Assembled by American Security Drone Act-Covered Foreign Entities.

DOI’s “Covered UAS” assessment guide as required by the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Executive Order 13981 (Protecting the United States From Certain Unmanned Aircraft Systems).

Secretary of Interior Order 3379 of acquiring UAS products designated and authorized by the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Blue small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS). The DoD DIU provides a Blue UAS list of secure and trusted UAS for federal government operations. OAS Information Bulletin (IB)-No.22-1 approves the continued procurement of “cleared” Blue UAS list by the DIU for sUAS.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as possible, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Part 5 and, if not, which exception under FAR Part 5 applies.

A notice for this acquisition was posted through System for Award Management (SAM) (i.e, SAM.gov) on 04/21/2023 requesting for interested firms to submit their product’s information however, no responses were received. Due to the drone industry being one of the fastest-paced technology sectors, OAS is consistently searching the market for NDAA compliant UAS products that can meet the needs of this requirement however, as of today there are no other UAS products that match the capabilities of the Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS system that can successfully perform the operations needed by DOI.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the

Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contractor confirmed that prices will remain the same as the current BPA’s price list for the 2-year extension ordering period. The current BPA’s price list was determined as fair and reasonable based on comparison of the proposed prices with prices found reasonable on previous purchases.

8. A description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Currently there is no other UAS system established to meet the same or similar requirements of the Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS system that meets DOI’s mission needs.

OAS is constantly in search of companies to get the best equipment and currently there are no other options that exist to replace the Alta X Blue Kit IGNIS system.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition, such as:

Since the BPA is set to expire on 5/18/2026, it is the most prudent business decision to modify existing BPA’s ordering period from 3 to 5 years instead of re-procuring the requirement as there are no new capabilities in the market that meet the Government’s requirement at this time. The Procurement Acquisition Lead Time (PALT) of the BPA is estimated to be between 90-150 days therefore pending and upcoming call orders will need to be procured as sole source purchase orders to the same contractor (Drone Amplified Inc.).

Since the BPA provides for a more streamlined and expeditious process than procuring stand-alone contracts, it will minimize the risk of product delivery delays that may negatively impact DOI’s mission in its responsibility of managing and protecting America’s natural resources (land, water, wildlife and energy). The missions to fulfil DOI’s responsibility can be hazardous to government personnel, must be performed on a continuous basis, and conducted with minimal impact on vegetation, wildlife, and visitors using national lands. Extending the existing BPA’s ordering period will also result in cost savings to the Government by reducing the program’s office and acquisition team’s level of effort in the preparation, review and approval of pre-award documents.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

No sources have expressed interest in this acquisition.

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

The Government will continue to review and evaluate DoD DIU Blue UAS list and other non-listed UASs that are NDAA compliant to see whether there are other UASs with similar/same integrations as the Alta X (Blue Kit) IGNIS system that may be able to meet DOI’s needs.

12. Contracting officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief.

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Elsa Aguon, Contracting Officer

13. Requirements personnel certification.

I certify that the technical data which forms a basis for this justification is complete and accurate and meets the Government’s minimum needs.

Steve Ramaekers, OAS UAS Fleet Manager

14. Reviews and Approvals

Approve

Elsa Aguon, Contracting Officer