F35 PTMU CJA 2.6-24-429 - Redacted.pdf

J&A Number: 2.6/24-429

CUI//REL TO US ONLY

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND

RADM WILLIAM A. MOFFET BUILDING

47123 BUSE ROAD, BLDG 2272

PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND 20670-1547

CLASS JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office (JPO), 200 12th Street South, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22202-5402

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

This Class Justification and Approval (CJ&A) authorizes and approves the issuance of multiple contract actions, on a sole-source basis, for a new acquisition to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company (LM Aero), Lockheed Martin Corporation: (1) a System of Systems (SoS) Analysis contract from FY24 through FY25; and (2) a Preliminary Design contract from FY26 through FY28 to encompass the design, development, and testing efforts necessary to integrate and deliver a modernized F-35 Lightning II Thermal Management Upgrade (TMU). The TMU encompasses the Power Thermal Management System (PTMS), Fuel Thermal Management System (FTMS), and Electrical Power System (EPS). The proposed contracting approach involves the utilization of these primary contracts with provision for the Program Office to issue ad hoc delivery orders under Basic Ordering Agreement N0001924G0010 (or successor agreements) for emergent requirements to alleviate administrative complexities associated with amending the principal contract for such adjustments. This CJ&A additionally authorizes any modifications to either contract that are necessary to execute the scope described in this memorandum. Authority to act under this CJ&A will expire on 30 September 2029.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The F135’s current power and cooling systems require a modernized solution to ensure future mission effectiveness. The original F135 engine specification formal change request in 2013 allocated 15kW of bleed air extraction to support system cooling requirements. The F135 engine was designed, tested, and qualified to this specification with a level of margin available for future growth. During the final stages of initial aircraft development, and the preliminary stages of Block 4 development, air vehicle cooling requirements grew to exceed planned bleed air extraction. To provide the necessary bleed air, the engine was required to run hotter, and early engineering assessments indicate that this increase in operating temperature decreases engine life, resulting in earlier depot inductions and an increase in lifecycle cost.

The JPO is in development of increased F-35 mission capabilities to meet future threat assessments (i.e., Block 4) and the required future mission capabilities will further exacerbate this issue by requiring additional cooling and power beyond what the current PTMS was designed to supply. Future capabilities and mission systems will be limited by PTMS cooling capacity as early as Lot 21 in 2029. With threats continuing to develop, the F-35 requires new mission systems to outpace the emerging threats to remain relevant and lethal. As a result, the JPO needs to upgrade the suite of TMU affected systems, to include PTMS, FTMS, and EPS to meet the warfighter’s needs. All three TMU subsystems perform independent functions to provide thermal cooling and heat sink to the thermal management system, but also, have multiple interdependencies within the F-35 air vehicle and associated mission systems. Given the complexity of these systems, their impact on the air vehicle itself, and the interdependencies of those systems on each other and the air vehicle, the JPO requires a Lead Systems Integrator (LSI) to perform the upgrade work and ensure development success.

The two contract actions authorized by this CJ&A will include all necessary labor, material, and engineering resources necessary to design and develop a modernized TMU. The execution of this work will aid in the delivery of a modernized TMU to the U.S. Air Force (USAF), Navy (USN), Marine Corps (USMC) and F-35 International Partners, and Foreign Military Sales customers. As shown in Table 1 below, expected work will include:

1. Integrating Thermal Management Systems (TMS) onto the F-35 air system;

2. Developing, designing, and testing a fully upgraded PTMS, FTMS, and EPS integrated architecture on the F-35 air system;

3. Designing, Developing, and Integrating a PTMS that will provide the required F-35 air system cooling;

4. Upgrading an FTMS, to meet the heat rejection required of an upgraded cooling system, on post-production F-35 air system;

5. Upgrading an EPS to meet the power requirements of the post-Block 4 F-35 air system upgrades;

6. Updating F-35 hardware and/or software to support the integration of new and upgraded systems;

7. Integrate a modernized engine; and

8. Development of retrofit kits/work packages for the F-35 air systems.

This acquisition is covered by the F-35 Lightning II JSF Acquisition Strategy version 6.0 which was approved on 26 January 2024 by the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment). The funding shall be allocated amongst the three Services and International Partners in accordance with the Procurement, Sustainment, and Follow-On Development Memorandum of Understanding's (PSFD MOU) governing financial provisions, including the associated Composite Share Ratios. The estimated total dollar value (in TY Millions (M)) of the

PTMU bay. The Government does not have sufficient rights in, or the technical data for, the required technical interface for the Interface Control Documents (ICD) between the air vehicle and the subcontract subsystems. The ICD defines both the hardware and software inputs and outputs of all systems and subsystems that are required to complete a full system integration.

Without understanding or having rights in the complex interdependencies that exist between the subcontracted systems of the TMU and between the TMU and the air vehicle system as defined in the ICDs, it is impossible for the integration to be performed by a LSI other than LM Aero.

For the above referenced reasons, the Government’s limited rights in data and contractor-specific processes, make thermal management upgrade supplies and services available from only one source: LM Aero.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable.

Over the past 24 months, the JPO has continued to survey the marketplace to determine what potential TMU upgrades are commercially available or currently in development to better inform the modernized TMU requirements.

The JPO hosted a “PTMS Modernization Industry Day” to solicit information regarding industry innovations for potential upgraded PTMS requirements for the F-35 air system. An invitation to participate in the Industry Day was posted to www.sam.gov. The JPO collaborated with industry partners to understand recent advances in thermal management technology. Ten companies responded and meetings were held 12-14 June 2023 in Washington, DC. On 12 June 2023, the JPO briefed participating companies on the status of the program, expectations for collaboration, and future planned strategies. On 12, 13, and 14 June 2023 one-on-one sessions were offered to all ten vendors and were conducted with each vendor interested. After the conclusion of industry communications, it became clear the requirements of PTMS were intertwined and dependent upon numerous air vehicle systems (as described above). This led the Government to determine that the requirement needed to be for an LSI for the full TMU system rather than the individual subsystems. The Government continued its market research in September 2023, when TMU requirements for an LSI were finalized by the JPO governance process.

The JPO published a synopsis on 21 March 2024 to www.sam.gov for the TMU program announcing the intent to issue multiple contract actions on a sole-source basis to LM Aero to upgrade the power and thermal management system on all the F-35 aircraft variants; no responses were received. Based on the lack of responses, the Government could not move forward with a competitive procurement.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies/services covered by this CJ&A will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

For the reasons set forth in paragraph five above, the Government has no plans at this time to compete the TMU requirement in the near future, but as part of its TMU upgrade, the JPO plans on procuring sufficient data rights to ensure long-term viability and sustainability.

The Government promotes competition for subcontract opportunities by referring companies that express interest in procurement actions publicized on www.sam.gov to LM Aero’s Subcontracts Department. The three current subsystems are all manufactured by different contractors; it is likely that LM will continue to outsource the subsystems to meet the demanding TMU technical requirements. LM Aero has an effective Subcontractor Plan and is encouraged to foster competitive environments among subcontractors to the maximum extent possible.