Shaw_-_F3UT625140AC05_-_BNJA_for_JRE-Redacted_Redacted.pdf

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

I. Contracting Activity.

20th Contracting Squadron 321 Cullen Street Shaw AFB SC 29152

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

A firm-fixed price purchase order will be issued for the purchase of Joint Range Extender Equipment at Shaw AFB, SC. This requirement will be solicited as Brand Name only.

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

5 Each - Joint Range Extender (JRE) 3G System, Chassis Assembly, Semi-Rugged - Part Number: 30518 and 5 each - Help Desk, JRE for 12 Months - Part Number: 15206-15 to meet the needs of the AFCENT/609th ACOMS. The estimated value of this requirement is

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

In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(c)(1)(ii)(A), The brand-name product for this requirement is the JRE Help Desk Software which is manufactured by L3 Communications.

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

L3 Communications (LB) is the sole manufacturer of Joint Range Extender software and Engility Corporation (LB) is licensed to manufacture JRE Hardware /Equipment and perform maintenance. The equipment is used to provide air picture data to the CENTCOM AOR, Combat Operations Division in the AFCENT/609th ACOMS AOC. The Joint Range Extender (JRE) provides the theater with multi-point, interoperable, Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) Link-16 networks and Service C2 platforms. The JRE Gateway promotes and ensures interoperability and communication standardization among US Forces. The use of the JRE Gateway reduces airborne relays, optimizes Link-16 relay time slots and is a high reliability of system due to its low maintenance, low data latency and high track capacity.

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

The government expects competition from at least two sources. The government anticipates Engility Corporation (Large Business) and Veteran Corps of America an 8(a) authorized distributor. However, the applicable NAICS code, 334220, is waived under the non-manufacturer class waiver list, but only for televisions, thereby rendering an 8(a) set-aside inappropriate.

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

Price fair and reasonable will be based on the competitive quotations or offers received as well as informal research of current market conditions as well as past awards to the government. The contract award will be firm-fixed price.

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

Engility Corporation (Large Business) was provided as a potential source by the customer and is a licensed manufacturer of JRE Hardware and Maintenance on existing systems. L3 Communications (Large Business) is the sole manufacturer of JRE software. Veteran Corps of America is an 8(a) distributor of JRE products. However, the applicable NAICS code, 334220, is waived under the non-manufacturer class waiver list, but only for televisions, thereby rendering an 8(a) set-aside inappropriate. Market research did not reveal any other potential sources.

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

Based on the above findings, the Contracting Officer has made the determination that this requirement be solicited under a Brand Name J&A for JRE software products, under Full & Open competition.

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

Furthermore, changing to another equivalent JRE vendor would require engineering changes, development time, additional training, Contingency Operations (CONOPS), and rewrites to Tactics, Techniques, and Processes used to support the hardware and software. AFCENT/609th ACOMS and the United States Air Force would incur over in costs of maintaining the JRE equipment while designing and deploying another vendor's solution. This effort would result in extensive delivery delays and duplicated costs that would not be recovered through competition. Based on interoperability issues, Joint Range Extender Equipment is the most cost-effective solution and it is in the best interest of the U.S. Government and AFCENT/609th ACOMS to continue to purchase and use JRE equipment.

Finally, changes to the JRE architecture place AFCENT/609th ACOMS at an unmitigated risk to support combat operations within the AOR; while this risk cannot be directly monetized it would be minimized by maintaining a standard JRE platform.

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

Veteran Corps of America-8(a) and Engility Corporation-Large Business.

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.

AFCENT/609th ACOMS will continue to conduct market surveys to identify companies that develop similar products to preclude the necessity for future brand name acquisitions of the same device.

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.