3_-_Justification_Approval.PDF

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

25 May 2018 Page 1 of 5

NOTE: If a Justification was approved for the preceding acquisition, a copy of the approved Justification for the predecessor action must be included in the staff package for approval of the instant Justification. This applies to Justification staff packages that are submitted for review and approval at a level above the contracting officer. The predecessor Justification will be used as a reference document by the approving official.

Is this a new or amended J&A Document? New Amended ( Prior to Award Only! )

Is this a Bridge Action as defined in the AF Bridge Action Reduction Plan? Yes No

Funding level for this acquisition: >SAT and < $700K > $700K and < $13.5M

Contracting Activity: 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron, Hurlburt Field,FL

Purchase Request / Local ID Number: F2FF088207AW01

Program / Project (and PE, if applicable): Harris PRC-160 HF Radios

Program Type (PEO or Other Contracting): Other Contracting

Authority: AFFARS 5313.501 - 10 U.S.C. 2302b, Implementation of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (41 U.S.C. 1901)

AFFARS 5313.501 - 10 U.S.C. 2304a, Special Emergency Procurement Authority (41 U.S.C. 1903)

Estimated Contract Cost (including options): $372,144 Justification Type: Class Individual

COORDINATION (AFFARS 5306.304(a) ) Sign and Save Procedure

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Date Project Lead / Program Mgr / Requiring Activity Robert J. Hogan Jr.

AFSOC/A6X, 850-884-2470

Signature

X

Date Contracting Officer Jeffrey Snyder, SSgt, USAF

1 SOCONS/PKC, 850-884-1260

Signature

X

APPROVAL (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date One Level Above Contracting Officer Stephanie McCullough

1 SOCONS/PKC, 850-884-6613

Signature

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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I. Contracting Activity.

Department of Air Force, 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron, Hurlburt Field, FL. This document serves as a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition.

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

This action will be awarded as a new contract and it will be a firm-fixed-price contract.

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

The contractor shall provide a quantity of twelve (12) Harris High Frequency (HF) Falcon III AN/PRC-160 radios, also referred to as the RF-300H. Each radio is comprised of/configured with the parts listed below:

RF-300H-MP001, AN/PRC-160 HF Manpack Radio with Internal GPS;

RF-1941 Antenna;

12200-8501-01 LPI/LPD Option File, RF-300H, AN/PRC-160;

12200-8501-01 HFRW-S Option File, RF-300H, AN/PRC-160.

The total estimated value to purchase the 12 PRC-160 radios is $372,144.

Delivery is estimated within 30 - 60 days after receipt of contract award.

57 3400 (Operations and Maintenance) 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 brand name basis in accordance with the statutory authority 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) and implemented by FAR 13.501, Sole Source acquisitions, to include Brand Name, conducted under simplified acquisition procedures. Only one brand is suitable for this requirement 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 Harris AN/PRC High Frequency (HF) Radio is the only wideband HF radio currently fielded that meets the requirements below:

- Is NSA Type-1 Crypto Certified up to Top Secret Level;

- Employs HF wideband data transmission techniques;

- Backward compatible with all 2G radios and 3G HF radios in the same manufacturers brand line;

- Software defined to facilitate upgrades such as complying with emerging waveform standards and other capabilities;

- Allows an operator to change frequencies within seconds at the push of a button or twist of a dial without the need for equipment external to the radio.

- Provide the operator with a viewing screen that indicates the operating state of the radio without the need for equipment eternal to the radio.

The Harris AN-PRC-160 is the only radio that meets all of the requirements identified above. It is also the only such radio currently being manufactured. Hundreds of these radios have been delivered across the Department of Defense, and are performing satisfactorily.

Other radios reviewed by an HF Radio Study Group were either beyond a year from production, had backward compatibility problems, were unable to upgrade to the emerging 3G and 4G HF waveform standards, could not be used for classified transmissions, required peripherals to permit the operator to interact with the radio, or a combination of these limitations.

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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

A Combined Synopsis Solicitation will be issued via Federal Business Opportunities, limited to the specific brand name products to allow Harris Corporation and their authorized distributors to provide an offer for the requested items.

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

The anticipated price will be determined fair and reasonable based on competition.

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 an HF Study Group at Maxwell AFB in November 2017 as discussed in paragraph IX.

This study found other radio capabilities were either beyond a year from production, had backward compatibility problems, were unable to upgrade to the emerging 3G and 4G HF waveform standards, could not be used for classified transmissions, required peripherals to permit the operator to interact with the radio, or a combination of these limitations.

The Navy has a Portable Radio Program contract that has been utilized to purchase these radios, N0003918D0070.

AFSOC attempted to procure the items requested under this justification through the Navy Portable Radio Program;

however, the Navy was not able to support AFSOC's radio requirement.

Additional research was performed by 1SOCONS through EZSearch, EDA and Federal Business Opportunities. The research found the contracts below for Harris FALCON III Radios.

N6426717P0169 awarded by Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Div in the amount of $433,124 on 2 June 2017. The contract was solicited and competed, with competition limited to the specific brand name Harris Falcon III radios.

Several delivery orders were found to be issued from FA489016D0027. This Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract was awarded by AFF AMIC/PKD, Langley AFB, VA. The contract was written with a ceiling of $92,800,000 and provides only Falcon III Radio Systems. The contract does not appear to include the AN/PRC-160, likely because the AN/PRC-160 was introduced to the market in 2017.

Lastly, a contract FA441718C0006 was recently awarded by this office in the amount of $7,999,668 on 18 July 2018. the RFP was solicited on an unrestricted basis, limiting submissions to the specific brand name requested. Two proposals were received in response to the Request for Proposal.

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

In order to bolster the deterrent and warfighting capability of the Air Force, senior Air Force leaders seek to build a more robust, resilient, and reliable C3 architecture for American air forces worldwide, with urgent priority given to the Pacific, North America next, and then the rest.

Senior Air Force leaders recognize that High Frequency (HF) radio is the only "infrastructure independent" form of communications (meaning it uses neither space nor cyber) that can pass voice and data at trans- and inter-continental ranges.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has a program already underway to deliver Rockwell-Collings HF wideband radios capable of forming ad hoc peer-to-peer "mesh nets". However, at the current research and development rates, such radios will not be delivered before 2020 and networking might not be possible before 2025.

Senior Air Force leaders seek a rapid gap-filler solution to create a global HF network for airpower C3. The goal is to have systems in place and operational in the Pacific by the end of the first quarter of calendar year 2018 (NLT 31 March

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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2018) and across North America shortly thereafter, and across the rest of the Air Force by the end of 2018.

An HF Study Group was established at Maxwell Air Force Base, designating Air University faculty members and Civil Air Patrol personnel as members of the research team. Members of the DoD HF Working Group were also active participants in this study. The study performed determined that the temporary systems set in place must ensure:

- AOCs have 2-way, secure HF voice and wideband data connectivity to those entities that provide them with data used in the C3 air operations.

- AOCs have 2-way secure HF voice and wideband connectivity to air bases hosting assets apportioned to them for execution by the Air Component Commander.

The selected radio must:

- Employ HF wideband data transmission techniques.

- Be backward compatible with all 2G radios and 3G HF radios in the same manufacturers brand line.

- Be software defined to facilitate upgrades such as complying with emerging waveform standards and other capabilities.

- Be capable to Type 1 encryption able to secure transmissions up to at least secret.

- Allow an operator to change frequencies within seconds at the push of a button or twist of a dial without the need for equipment external to the radio.

- Provide the operator with a viewing screen that indicates the operating state of the radio without the need for equipment eternal to the radio.

Given the capabilities and limitations of HF radios, the HF Radio Study Group recommended two tiers of HF radio networks that together create a global network.

- Tier 1. The first tier consists of all AOCs and the entities that supply them with data relevant to the C3 of air forces, to include those AOCs and schools used for training and exercises.

- Tier 2. The second tier consists of each AOC and the air bases, beddown locations, and aircraft carriers that provide airpower assets for execution by the associated Air Component Commander.

Based on the above requirements, the HF Radio Study Group recommended the Harris AN/PRC-160 as the preferred radio in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 networks.

The Harris AN-PRC-160 is the only radio that meets all of the requirements identified above. It is also the only such radios currently being manufactured and hundreds have been delivered across the Department of Defense, and are performing satisfactorily.

The AN/PRC-160 is the replacement radio for Air Combat Command's TACP community that had previously used the AN/PRC-150 (along with the Army, Marines, and SOCOM). Harris has announced end of life to the AN/PRC-150, but provides the AN/PRC-160 as its replacement. It offers the same features, is backward compliant, plus it offers HF wideband.

As previously stated, other radios reviewed by the HF Radio Study Group were either beyond a year from production, had backward compatibility problems, were unable to upgrade to the emerging 3G and 4G HF waveform standards, could not be used for classified transmissions, required peripherals to permit the operator to interact with the radio, or a combination of these limitations.

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

N/A.

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.

Market research will be performed prior to future purchases to determine if any other products have been fielded on the market that meet the requirements described addressed in paragraph V of this justification.

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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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.

Remove the Guidance pages below.

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items 25 May 2018 Page of International Agreement Competitive Restrictions (IACR) March 2018 Page of NOTE: If a Justification was approved for the preceding acquisition, a copy of the approved Justification for the predecessor action must be included in the staff package for approval of the instant Justification. This applies to Justification staff packages that are submitted for review and approval at a level above the contracting officer. The predecessor Justification will be used as a reference document by the approving official.

Is this a new or amended J&A Document?

Is this a Bridge Action as defined in the AF Bridge Action Reduction Plan?

Funding level for this acquisition:

Authority:

Justification Type:

COORDINATION (AFFARS 5306.304(a)) ** The text in the signature blocks below is editable, including the title.

** To remove a row, click the "X" next to the signature block. CAUTION: Once removed, it can only be restored by downloading the BLANK FORM again.

APPROVAL (AFFARS 5306.304(a)) NOTE: A signature block will appear here based on the funding level selected above.

(See "Specific Guidance for Completing this Template" below.)

I. Contracting Activity.

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

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

IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

Specific Guidance for Completing this Template

I. Contracting Activity. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(1))

Fully identify the contracting agency and organizational activity responsible for the proposed contracting action.

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(2))

State whether the action will be awarded as a new contract or by modification to an existing contract (identify contract number) and identify the type contract planned (FAR 12.207 and DFARS 212.207).

An individual Justification cannot be used to support more than one contract irrespective of the quantities or the dollar value stated therein. If a proposed contract will contain unpriced options (including NTE prices), those options must be supported by a separate Justification prior to option exercise or the Justification supporting the basic contract must be a Class Justification. For Class Justification situations (covers more than one contract) where the number of contracts in the class can be identified: (1) Provide a brief general description of actions; (2) identify the supplies and services that are being acquired; and (3) for each contract in the class identify the contractor, estimated value, type of contract and rationale for contract length, and estimated award date. Where the same information applies to more than one contract within the class, it need only be stated one time.

III. Description of the supplies/services required to meet agency needs. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(3))

Specifically describe the supplies and/or services to be acquired, the total estimated value of the acquisition - including options (provide cost estimate by year and, for class Justifications, by contract action), and the estimated delivery dates/periods of performance If commodities are being procured, provide quantities. All contract line items (CLIN) -- e.g., technical data, support equipment, support services, etc. -- should be listed. If all of the ancillary requirements associated with a particular item are not specifically described in the Justifications, those ancillary requirements cannot be included in the resulting contract and would require a second Justification. Also, state the type of appropriation (e.g., 3010, 3400) that will be used to fund each requirement listed.

If approval for more than one fiscal year requirement is needed, give the rationale for this request. Generally, the scope of these actions is limited to current requirements only, so that actions may be taken to facilitate competition for out-year requirements.

In some cases, there are no feasible actions that could develop future competition, and it is reasonable to seek approval for more than one fiscal year's requirements.

For ID/IQ or requirements contracts, use the maximum dollar value of the total estimated orders as the estimated Justification dollar value.

IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(4)) V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority). (FAR 6.303-2(b)(5))

Provide, in narrative form, a detailed explanation supporting and clearly relating to the conditions described by the FAR for using the particular authority cited. This section is normally the most detailed part of the justification as the essence of the justification is presented here. For acquisitions that include both supplies and services, separately justify the use of the authority for the services and supplies.

Contracting without providing for full and open competition shall not be justified on the basis of lack of advance planning by the requiring activity or concerns related to the amount of funds available (e.g., funds will expire) (10 U.S.C. 2304(f)(4)).

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

(FAR 6.303-2(b)(6))

Describe all efforts taken (or to be to be taken) to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable under the circumstances. Although Market Research is covered in Section VIII, the information in Section VI should correlate with the Market Research described in Section VI. The following issues should be addressed in this paragraph:

Sources Sought Synopsis (used as part of market research). If a sources sought synopsis was issued, state the date the synopsis was issued and a brief description of its content. If any responses were received, describe in detail the results of the screening process and the rationale for determining the unacceptability of any synopsis respondents. Reference FAR 13.105, Synopsis and Posting Requirements.

Other Actions. In this paragraph, discuss any other actions taken or planned to facilitate competition for this acquisition. The discussion should include actions tried or considered even if the actions were unsuccessful. If the efforts were unsuccessful, so state and describe why.

Qualifying Country Sources. If qualifying country sources have expressed interest, but are to be excluded, provide supporting rationale.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(7))

Include a statement by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost will be considered fair and reasonable and provide the basis for this determination. The steps that will be taken to ensure the final contract price will be fair and reasonable are also described here. Describe the extent of cost or price analysis anticipated including the requirements for certified cost or pricing data, technical evaluations, and audits.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or explain why market research was not conducted. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(8))

Generally, some form of market research should be conducted. Discuss any market research conducted pursuant to FAR Part 10 and describe results of that research. Market research is any effort undertaken to determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exist and to determine if commercial items or non-developmental items are either available or can be modified so that they will satisfy the agency's needs. Market research should be focused not only on identifying alternate sources, but also on alternate equipment or substitutes that might fulfill the Government needs with only minor modification. Regardless of the approach used, the results should provide a high level of confidence that no other qualified sources exist.

When other exceptions from the requirement to obtain full and open competition are relied upon, the market research might be limited to an examination of the acquisition history and experience with the marketplace under previous acquisitions for the same or similar items.

If no market research was conducted, so state and provide the rationale.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(9)(i))

Provide any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition, including an explanation of why technical data packages, specifications, engineering descriptions, statements of work, statements of objectives, or purchase descriptions suitable for full and open competition have not been developed, are not being developed, are not being used, or are not available.

X. List of sources, if any, that expressed interest in the acquisition. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(10))

If a sources sought synopsis was done and all interested sources are included in Section VI, it is acceptable to state, “See Section VI above.”

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. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(11))

Describe any actions taken or to be taken to foster competition for future acquisitions of the supplies or services being acquired. Describe potential actions that could be taken to remove the barriers to competition that have been identified in the justification and include a milestone schedule, where available, for accomplishing these actions. For example, if a follow-on competitive acquisition is planned, so state and provide the planned award date, or state that the Government will attempt to acquire rights in technical data and computer software sufficient to compete follow-on acquisitions as a priced option in the contract action that is the subject of this Justification, or (if applicable) state how the Government intends to challenge nonconforming markings on technical data and computer software delivered to it under previous contracts so those markings can be removed in order that the technical data and computer software may be used in support of a follow-on competitive acquisition, or describe plans to qualify additional sources.

Address efforts to ensure competition for future spare parts and maintenance in support of systems or equipment covered by the justification, even when these acquisitions will be accomplished by other organizations. Include a discussion on available breakout data.

If no actions are planned, so state and provide reasons. If approval is sought for more than one year, explain why a sole source effort is required for the planned time duration.

For a non-competitive follow-on acquisition to a previous award for the same supply or service supported by a Justification citing the same authority, include a discussion of the actions planned to overcome barriers to competition established in the previous justification, the status of those actions, and the results of those actions. The approval authority shall determine whether the planned actions were completed. If the planned actions were not completed, the justification for the follow-on acquisition shall be approved by the approval authority one-level above the approval authority for the previous justification (see FAR 13.501(a)(2)). If the previous justification was approved by the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE), the approval remains at the SPE level.

[DFARS 213.501(a) and DFARS PGI 206.304(a)(S-70)(ii)] XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer. (FAR 6.303-2(b)(12))

As evidenced by his/her signature, the contracting officer has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel. (FAR 6.303-2(c))

As evidenced by their signatures, the technical and/or requirements personnel have certified that any supporting data contained herein, which is their responsibility, is both accurate and complete.

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