EtFO_Redacted.pdf

This document is a Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity from the Department of the Navy's Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport. The document details a follow-on task order to be awarded to Huntington Ingalls Inc. Newport News Shipbuilding (HII-NNS) for continuation of engineering services to design the Horizontal Launcher Test Facility (HLTF). The task order will involve conducting a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and Critical Design Review (CDR) for a new prototyping and concept demonstration test bed for a horizontal launcher system, with the goal of evaluating launch characteristics of payloads/shapes and horizontal launch tube(s).

The solicitation was issued on 25 April 2024 to SUBSAFE multiple-award contract (MAC) holders, with the subsequent task order awarded on 29 May 2024 to HII-NNS. After an Industry Day where other MAC holders stated the scope was not within their capabilities, the Navy determined that awarding to another contractor would result in duplication of work and additional cost/schedule delays. The task order is funded under Research Development Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) and is expected to support competition for the next project phase, which will involve fabrication and installation of the HLTF.