Justification_and_Approval_Redacted.pdf

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

March 2018 Page 1 of 5

NOTE: If a Justification and Approval was approved for the preceding acquisition, a copy of the approved J&A for the predecessor action must be included in the staff package for approval of the instant J&A. This applies to J&A staff packages that are submitted for review and approval at a level above the contracting officer. The predecessor J&A 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: < $700K > $700K and < $13.5M > $13.5M and < $93M > $93M

Contracting Activity: 325th Contracting Squadron (325 CONS)

Purchase Request / Local ID Number:

Program / Project (and PE, if applicable): Aircraft Arresting Systems Overhaul Program

Program Type (PEO or Other Contracting): Other Contracting

Authority: 6.302-1 – 10 USC 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

Estimated Contract Cost (including options): J&A Type: Class Individual

COORDINATION (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

25 Jun 2019

Project Lead / Program Mgr / Requiring Activity Bruce R. Goodwill

AFCEC/COMR/850-283-4776/4291

Signature

Date

22 Jul 2019

Contracting Officer Matthew S. Lahr

325 CONS/PKA 850-283-8668

Signature

Date

09 Aug 2019

Local Legal Reviewer Kevin G. Normile, Maj

325 FW/JA, 850-283-4681

Signature

Date

21 Aug 2019

Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO) Steven A. Fletcher, Maj, USAF

325 CONS/CC/850-283-3670

Signature

APPROVAL (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

23 Aug 2019

Competition Advocate

STEVEN NERENBERG

AFICA/KC (OL-ACC) DSN 574-5372

Signature

GOODWILL.BRUCE.R.

1033936261

Digitally signed by

GOODWILL.BRUCE.R.1033936261

Date: 2019.06.25 07:40:39 -05'00'

LAHR.MATTHEW.STEPH

EN.1459054746

Digitally signed by

LAHR.MATTHEW.STEPHEN.1459054746

Date: 2019.07.22 14:13:02 -05'00'

NORMILE.KEVIN.GERAL

D.1290293460

Digitally signed by

NORMILE.KEVIN.GERALD.1290293460

Date: 2019.08.09 14:07:20 -04'00'

NERENBERG.STEVEN.LE

E.1021947381

Digitally signed by

NERENBERG.STEVEN.LEE.1021947381

Date: 2019.08.23 10:33:34 -04'00'

March 2018 Page 2 of 5

I. Contracting Activity.

325th Contracting Squadron 541 Mississippi Rd., Bldg 36271 Tyndall AFB FL 32403-5526

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

This sole source requirement will result in the award of a contract for a non-commercial item using FAR Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. The contract type will be Firm Fixed Price.

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

Mobile Aircraft Arresting Systems Trailers (MAAS Trailers) are an integral part of a critical safety item used to support contingency airfield flying missions/operations for US and coalition tail hook fighter aircraft worldwide. The MAAS Trailer (Part Number 9D01164-905) is used to arrest fighter aircraft experiencing trouble on aborted take-off/ground abort or emergency landing situations. It is the last resort for the pilot and aircraft in distress. The MAAS Trailers are a critical safety item and must complete First Article Testing (FAT) and subsequent approval in order to be serviceable.

Vendors must be authorized and FAT approved by the Service Engineering Support Activity (ESA) in accordance with AFI 20-106, which is the Aircraft Arresting System (AAS) engineer at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex (WR-ALC).

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC/COMR) requires the purchase of six each MAAS Trailers w/high gloss green paint and power pendant rewinder, P/N: 9D01164-905. The estimated unit price is each, inclusive of shipping, for a total estimated cost of . The estimated delivery time frame for the entire order is 180 days after date of contract if the vendor's item is FAT approved, as opposed to 365 days (or longer) if the vendor's item is not FAT approved. Due to a continued shortage of serviceable MAAS Trailer inventory, the Air Force has an urgent need for rapid delivery of MAAS Trailers to meet mission needs. Awarding to a company with FAT approved MAAS trailers enables the expeditious delivery to meet the Air Force's requirement. Whereas a vendor that does not have FAT approval will have an extended lead time with no guarantee of approval and delivery of the requisite trailers. The FAT process entails MAAS Trailer fabrication, Government review, time to correct any deficiencies identified, and return for additional testing for approval and delivery. Upon delivery after contract award, these MAAS trailers will be delivered to an AFCENT War Reserve Material (WRM) warehouse in Qatar. Deploying AF teams retrieve the MAAS trailers from the WRM warehouse for use in contingency operations on airfields that require AAS barriers. The contingency runway supports USAF and coalition tail hook fighter operations. The WRM warehouse currently houses over 60 MAAS trailers that require a complete overhaul due to wear and tear, while an additional 30 MAAS trailers are scheduled to require overhaul within the coming year. The current backlog of trailers requiring overhaul necessitates the Government's need for rapid fulfillment of new MAAS trailers to meet current mission requirements. Fiscal Year 2019 Operations and Maintenance (3400) funds will be used to fund this contract.

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

The statutory authority granting authority to use other than full and open competition as established in 10 U.S.C.

2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, as described at FAR 6.302-1 and required by FAR 6.303-2(b)(4).

March 2018 Page 3 of 5

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

SAFRAN also known as Zodiac Arresting Systems, Aerospace Systems & Technology, Engineered Arresting Systems Corporation (ESCO) is the only vendor in the marketplace with Mobile Aircraft Arresting System (MAAS) Trailers that have been FAT approved by the Service Engineering Support Activity (ESA). SAFRAN (ESCO) is listed as the prime contractor for all parts as documented by USAF Technical Manual for Illustrated Parts Breakdown Arresting Systems, Aircraft, Mobile, Technical Order (TO) 35E8-2-10-4. The trailer is identified in TO 35E8-2-10-4, Figure 3; Trailer Assembly, sheets 1 & 2. The MAAS trailer has a unique feature/requirement by which it must be able to lower itself ("kneel") to the ground using its board hydraulic system in order to be secured to concrete, asphalt or a dirt surface using cruciform stakes, moil points and stake lines. Once the MAAS system is no longer required in a contingency operation the trailer is raised to its normal configuration and towed off the airfield for storage or redeployment. The MAAS trailer is a highly specialized critical safety item that is essential to the Air Force's mission, thereby precluding consideration of a product manufactured by another company that has failed to pass FAT. Awarding a contract to a vendor that doesn't possess FAT approval for their MAAS Trailer, coupled with the inevitable delays associated with the FAT process, would prevent the Government from obtaining its required quantity of FAT approved MAAS Trailers within the 180 day delivery requirement to meet mission needs in support of contingency operations.

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

A contract for two each MAAS Trailers (FA481916P3018) was awarded by the 325 CONS on 23 Sep 2016 to ATECH Inc.

The delay with the most recent FAT was due to equipment damage sustained from Hurricane Michael on 10 Oct 2018.

While ATECH Inc. is making progress with gaining FAT approval, there is no expectation that it will be accomplished in time to fulfill the government's current MAAS trailer requirement. No other contractors have successfully passed FAT for the required MAAS Trailers to date. On 10 May 2018, an RFI was submitted on FBO to determine if there were any businesses that could provide a FAT approved MAAS Trailer. Two companies replied to the RFI; ESCO, a large business, and LDV Inc., a small business. After providing LDV Inc. with additional information, including engineered drawings for the requirement, LDV Inc. determined that they did not have the capabilities to provide the required MAAS Trailers.

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

The anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR Part 15.404-1(b)(2)(ii). The contractor's proposed prices will be compared with historical prices paid for the same or similar items. Additional price analysis techniques consistent with FAR 15.404-1 will be utilized as necessary. Prior contracts for MAAS Trailers have only been awarded through the 325th Contracting Squadron at Tyndall AFB, FL. These past contracts will be evaluated as part of the fair and reasonable determination.

March 2018 Page 4 of 5

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

Market research revealed that the mandatory sources for supplies in accordance with FAR 8.002 cannot fulfill the Air Force's requirement for MAAS Trailers. The MAAS Trailers are not commercially available in the marketplace. The fabricated and welded steel frame of the MAAS Trailers is the only known component of the MAAS trailer system that cannot be purchased commercially off the shelf. A completed FAT approved MAAS Trailer makes this requirement unattainable in the commercial marketplace. The MAAS Trailers are required to be fabricated in strict accordance with Air Force Technical Order 35E8-2-10-4 to meet the government's needs. In Fiscal Year 2016, two contracts for MAAS Trailers were awarded by 325 CONS, FA4819-16-P-3005 and FA4819-16-P-3018. At the time of these contract awards, only two companies were capable of providing the MAAS Trailers; one was ESCO, a large business, and the other was ATECH Inc., a small business. FA4819-16-P-3005 was initially awarded as sole source to ESCO. Upon award, ATECH Inc.

protested the contract on the basis that they could provide the same modified MAAS Trailers as ESCO. As such, this requirement was re-solicited under Full and Open competition to promote competition to the maximum extent practicable and was ultimately awarded to ESCO using the "lowest price technically acceptable" evaluation methodology. Later in FY16, a separate requirement for MAAS Trailers was solicited under Full and Open competition.

In this case, ATECH Inc., was awarded contract FA4819-16-P-3018 on 23 Sep 2016.

To date, ATECH's FAT approval process in ongoing, and there is no expectation that approval will occur within the time line needed for the government's current MAAS trailer requirement to be fulfilled. In FY18, contract FA4819-18-C-7017 was awarded on a sole source basis to ESCO for four each MAAS trailers. This was awarded on a sole source basis due to the fact that ESCO is the sole vendor with FAT approval. For the current requirement for MAAS trailers, AFCEC/COMR and 325 CONS utilized the Internet and searched multiple contract databases to update the market research for a possible supplier of the MAAS Trailer resulting in no new capable sources with FAT approval as of 20 August 2019.

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

All MAAS trailers must meet specific form, fit, function and configuration control mandated requirements as defined in Technical Manual 35E8-2-10-4 and AFI 20-106. The FAT process is the Air Force's mandated method for ensuring compliance with critical safety features. Other potential vendors would have to submit their MAAS Trailers for the FAT testing process unless they have directly or indirectly supplied MAAS Trailers to the Air Force within the last 60 months.

Market research revealed that there are no other FAT approved manufacturers of MAAS trailers at this time. The required testing process is time consuming and costly for the contractor. These factors make purchasing MAAS Trailers without the FAT previously completed and approved to not be in the best interest of the Government. Timely delivery in order to address inventory shortfalls and meet current needs in the AOR would be impossible. There is currently a shortage of MAAS Barrier Sets in the AOR supporting contingency operations. AFCEC/COMR cannot wait to have another vendor provide a trailer for FAT as it impedes the Air Force's ability to meet mission needs. To date, ESCO is the sole vendor that can provide FAT approved MAAS Trailers to the Government.

A new vendor's completion of FAT on a new product, not including production, would take a minimum of six months which would prevent the customer's ability to fulfill real world mission requirements. The WRM warehouse which stocks MAAS Trailers is currently suffering from a depletion of functional MAAS Trailers due to an increased operational tempo in the area of responsibility. To date, nearly 60 of the MAAS trailers in the WRM inventory require complete overhaul and are inoperable for mission needs. Within the next year, this number is expected to grow to 90 units, which will place even greater burden on the Air Force to meet its mission requirements.

March 2018 Page 5 of 5

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.

Air Force drawings for the MAAS Trailers are readily available to any qualified vendor upon request. We currently have a vendor, ATECH Inc. undergoing FAT.

For this particular requirement, the Air Force cannot accept any further delays associated with having another vendor compete for the MAAS Trailers and gain FAT approval before production. The urgency of the delivery deadline for this requirement is not sufficient for a vendor to obtain FAT approval. However, for future non-urgent requirements the agency will seek contractors with the capability and interest in fulfilling the Government's MAAS Trailer requirement through market research techniques and exchanges with industry.

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.