Cypres_JA_pages_2_through_4.pdf

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

I. Contracting Activity.

Department of Air Force 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron

Hurlburt Field, FL 32544

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

This document serves as a justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition. The purchase request number is

F2FT357045AW02.

This action will be awarded as a Sole Source, firm fixed price purchase order. The notice will be posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) Government point of entry website at http://www.fedbizopps.gov in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 5.301(d)(1).

A purchase order will be executed between SSK Industries and the Government.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

The resulting contract will provide 40 CYPRES AAD's (Automatic Activation Device), Part Number AAD2C2M1535C.

The CYPRES is an AAD that initiates reserve parachute activation at a preset altitude in the event of a parachutist incident or equipment malfunction. It is utilized in the pre-mediated parachutes used throughout the Air Force.

0100 appropriations will be used to fund this requirement.

IV. Statutory authority permitting Other than Full and Open Competition.

Procurement under the contract will be conducted on a sole-source basis in accordance with the statutory authority 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) and implemented by FAR 13.501, Sole source acquisitions conducted under simplified acquisition procedures. Only one source is capable of providing the supplies required at the level of quality required because the supplies are unique or highly specialized.

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

The RA-1 (Ram Air 1) parachute system is the established parachute system for the DoD and is currently being implemented throughout AFSOC.

The CYPRESS is the AAD utilized on the RA-1 system and is a mandatory component. There are currently no other AAD compatible with the RA-1 system. This AAD is a fielded and tested component that has been utilized for a number of years. This AAD will allow all Special Tactics units to utilize RA-1 systems in training and operations.

Airtec GmbH & Co. KG Safety Systems, a German corporation, is the manufacturer of all CYPRES Automatic Activation Devices and holds a patent on this product. In accordance with DFARS 225.872-1(a), Federal Republic of Germany is considered a qualifying country and the DoD has determined it inconsistent with public interest to apply restrictions of the Buy American statute or the Balance of Payments Program to the acquisition of qualifying end countries.

SSK Military Industries Inc. is Airtec's exclusive authorized distributor of the Military CYPRES for United States sales.

SSK is the provider for all U.S. Military CYPRES Sales, Service, Training and Support.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable.

SSK industries is the sole owner/manufacturer of the CYPRES unit. A Sources Sought was posted on FBO for a period of ten days, from 1 March 2017 to 10 March 2017. As a result, two responses were received. One From SSK Military Industries and the other from The SOF Group. Further contact with a representative from The SOF Group concluded that they were unable to obtain an authorization letter from the manufacturer, Airtec GmbH & Co. KG Safety Systems, to sell/distribute the CYPRES AAD's that are required. Consequentially, SSK Military industries remains the only authorized distributor with the capacity fulfill this requirement.

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

A fair and reasonable determination will be made based on prices of similar items in the market, past purchases, and price range of quotes received from other military bases.

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

Market research was conducted by utilizing EDA. Multiple contracts were found with SSK Military Industries including FA4417-16-P-0247, FA4877-16-P-B020, FA4877-16-P-B032, H92240-16-A-0001-0002, and W911QY-16- P-0076. After researching each of these contracts, it was revealed that all with the exception of two were procured on a sole source basis. FA4877-16-P-B020/32 were procured with competition limited to the Brand Name specific items. The items purchased under these two contracts were not the CYPRES AAD being purchased under this acquisition. 1 SOCONS has verified through contact with the manufacturer that SSK Industries, Inc. is the only authorized distributor of the Military CYPRES in the United States.

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

Cypres is the only AAD used for military free fall parachutes across the DOD.

X. List of sources, if any, that expressed interest in the acquisition.

See paragraph VI.

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

Through every available means, AFSOC will continue to monitor market information and technical publications to determine whether any other products are tested and approved for use with the RA-1 system.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

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