F03_JA_Skydio_Sole_Source_Justification_Redacted_1.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

INTERIOR BUSINESS CENTER

Washington, DC 20240

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS/SERVICES OVER THE SIMPLIFIED

ACQUISITION THRESHOLD (SAT) USING SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES

AUTHORITY: Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) 12.102(b) and 41 U.S.C. 1901

BPA Number: 140D0424A0008

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition.”

This document is a sole source justification for the Department of the Interior, Interior Business Center, Acquisition Services Directorate, Division II, Branch V, in support of the Department of Interior (DOI) 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 Skydio 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 sole source BPA provides Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) (i.e. drones) specifically the Skydio X2E UAS, Skydio Next Generation, any future versions of this UAS, other integrated equipment (payloads), and associated product accessories (batteries, chargers, ground control stations, tablets, controllers, etc.).

b. The BPA has a ceiling and a 3-year ordering period from 10/30/2023 to 10/29/2026. This justification is valued at $0.00 and provides a two-year ordering period extension from 10/30/2026 to 10/29/2028. Currently the total obligation amount is with 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. 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).

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

This is an acquisition conducted under the authority of the Simplified Procedures for Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services. The statutory authority permitting restricting competition 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. Secretary of Interior Order 3379 invites the DOI to use the Blue Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) 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 sUAS list of secure and trusted UAS for federal government operations.

OAS Information Bulletin (IB)-No.22-1 approves the continued procurement of “cleared” Blue sUAS list by the DIU for sUAS. The Skydio X2E and Skydio Next Generation UAS continues to be the only identified UAS under Blue sUAS list that can meet the specific mission and operational needs of the DOI and its Bureaus.

b. The continued procurement of the Skydio X2E and Skydio Next Generation UAS will also ensure compliance 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).

6. A description of the 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 RFO part 5 and, if not, which exception under Part 5 applies.

A notice of intent to sole source was published on the System for Award Management (SAM) (i.e, SAM.gov) from 09/11/2023 – 09/22/2023 requesting for interested firms to submit their product’s information if they believed they could meet the Government’s requirement. As a result of the pre-solicitation notice, a response was received from AMR global, but it was determined to be ineligible for award consideration.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price(s) for the 2-year extension ordering period will be fair and reasonable based on comparison of the proposed prices with prices found reasonable on previous purchases and/or comparison with market prices.

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.

Initially before the award of the BPA discussions held with Skydio Inc., the product manufacturer, revealed that the software configuration of the Skydio X2E required by the DOI was not sold by any authorized resellers and that the Skydio Next Generation will only be available for sale by Skydio Inc. after its release. Currently the Government is working with Skydio Inc to ensure all the required UAS, payloads and accessories needed by the DOI will be available by authorized re-sellers to compete this requirement after the order period extension expires.

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

a. Since the BPA is set to expire on 10/29/2026, 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 (Sydio Inc.).

b. Since the BPA provides for a more streamlined and expeditious process than procuring stand-alone contracts, extending the ordering period 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 UAS(s) purchased under the BPA perform critical missions since 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 that would be required for each standalone acquisition.

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 other than Skydio, Inc and AMR global.

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 evaluate to see if Skydio, Inc. authorizes resellers of the Skydio X2E and Skydio Next Generation. The Government will also 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 Skydio’s UAS 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.

, 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.

, OAS UAS Fleet Manager

14. Reviews and Approvals

Approve

, Contracting Officer