JA_-MJU52_Redacted.pdf

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

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY13 Sep 2017

FY20 - 3011 Procurement; FY21 - 3011 Procurement; FY22 - 3011 Procurement; Total Estimated Value

D. Approval is requested for more than one fiscal year due to funding and performance exceeding one fiscal year.

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

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(2)(ii), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, required by 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).

A. The MJU-52A/B is a highly specialized decoy with improved capability in protecting military aircraft from Man Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS). The MJU-52A/B is ejected solely from the BOL dispenser on the aircraft in order to provide preemptive protection to the aircraft from heat-seeking missiles. The MJU-52A/B is the only decoy design and qualified for use with the BOL dispenser. The MJU-52A/B form factor must meet the requirements of the BOL dispenser. There is no other source of supply for this specialized decoy material at this time. Additionally, the MJU-52A/B is a proprietary design to Alloy Surfaces Company (ASC). Currently, ASC is the only qualified vendor capable of providing the supplies described in Section III. The MJU-52A/B contains pyrophoric material that is highly specialized because when it is exposed to air it becomes hot enough to decoy heat-seeking missiles away from aircraft.

The pyrophoric material is manufactured by depositing a specific ratio of chemicals onto a steel substrate and then processing that substrate to leach out all but those materials necessary to produce the desired heat when exposed to air. The complex development effort necessary for other sources to develop this technology would cause an unacceptable delay. ASC has already produced the decoy using this technology. Any other source would have to develop the initial technology to create pyrophoric material, and then additional time would be required to create a product that would be competitive with the ASC product. It is estimated that award to any other source would result in a minimum of six years delay in fulfilling the agency's requirement. The estimated delay of six years is based upon previous efforts to develop new sources of decoys that currently utilize ASC pyrophoric payloads. It will take a new vendor approximately four years to develop the material required to meet the performance specification. In addition, it will take another two years to qualify the new material and end item design through testing that includes safety, environmental, flight clearance, performance, and flight test.

B. On 17 October 2017, the contracting office sent a letter to ASC to determine whether ASC would allow the government to acquire license rights to competitively procure the MJU-52A/B. ASC responded on 16 November 2017 and declined to provide or sell the government purpose license rights. On 19 October 2017, the contracting office posted a Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) to FedBizOpps to determine interested parties. The contracting office only received one response to the SSS which was from ASC.

C. Accordingly, as illustrated above, the government does not have sufficient government purpose license rights to allow for a competitive procurement of this requirement. ASC is the only firm capable of providing it without the US Air Force experiencing unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements.

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

A SSS was posted to FedBizOpps under number FA8213-18-R-3010 from 19 October 2017 to 20 November 2017. The government received only one response to the SSS from ASC on 20 November 2017. In addition, before this contract is awarded, a pre-solicitation synopsis and a solicitation will be posted to FedBizOpps IAW FAR 5. All vendors that request a copy of the requirement will be provided one and will be given an opportunity to prove they can provide the MJU-52A/B in time to meet the government's need.

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

The following steps will be taken to ensure that the anticipated cost of this acquisition will be fair and reasonable: The

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY13 Sep 2017 contracting officer will comply with the procedures and criteria contained in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) under Part - 30 Cost Accounting Standards, Part 31 - Contract Cost Principles and Procedures, Subparts 15.4 - Contract pricing; to include technical evaluations and audits, as appropriate. Additional steps to ensure price reasonableness will be under the guidance of the Contract Pricing Reference Guides, jointly developed by the Federal Acquisition Institute and the Air Force Institute of Technology. The contracting office will obtain certified cost or pricing data IAW FAR Subpart 15.403 if the value of an individual contract exceeds $750,000 unless an exception exists. Detail documentation and justification of price reasonableness will be contained within the contract file at Tab 50.

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

The MJU-52A/B BOL-IR decoy is designed specifically for use on military aircraft. The product data for the MJU-52A/B is controlled by ASC. The performance requirements are found in drawing number OES-3037. This document provides adequate documentation for the government to sustain an acquisition of the MJU-52A/B. However, the government does not have license rights to the technical data package that would allow for full and open competition. The government has attended various industry conferences and meetings to learn about other capabilities in the industry.

Through all this research, including research on the Internet, no viable alternative vendor or solution was found to meet the government's need.

The market research for this specific acquisition began with the SSS. The contracting office only received one response to the SSS which was ASC. The XCM SPO stays in contact with all countermeasure manufacturers. The SPO contacted an educational institute (Georgia Technical Research Institute) and a government entity (NSWC-Crane) to discuss if there were any other vendors or solutions currently available. Currently, there are no other known manufacturers qualified to produce the MJU-52A/B.

As the sole designer, developer, and manufacturer of the BOL-IR identified herein, ASC is the only responsible source with the expertise, capability, and technical data pertaining to these items necessary to fulfill the government's requirements without incurring unacceptable delays.

The government does not possess adequate technical data for the MJU-52A/B, nor does it have a right to such technical data, in order to enable another source to produce these decoys. Previous requests to potentially procure the data rights to these decoys have been rejected by ASC.

In response to the SSS, ASC described its capability to manufacture, test, and deliver the MJU-52A/B having sufficient manpower and manufacturing capability to meet the government requirement.

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

N/A

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

Please see Section VI and Section VIII.

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.

The XCM SPO conducts continuous market research to remove or overcome barriers in an effort to make this flare competitive. However, the overall requirement for this item is considered small by industry and it is unlikely any other manufacturer will become interested in producing this item and it is unlikely that ASC will sell the technical data package in the future. A Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) will be posted annually to identify any new qualified sources in the future.

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY13 Sep 2017

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.