Redacted_Limited_Source_J&A_for_posting.pdf

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

I. Contracting Activity.

This Justification and Approval to request authority for Other Than Full and Open Competition supports requirements generated for the Air Force Life Cycle Management (AFLCMC) group, AFLCMC/WWQE branch. The contracting activity for this requirement is AFLCMC/WWQK. The purchase request number supporting this contracting action is FD2060-17-95000.

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

Due to the circumstances described herein, the activity requests authority to acquire the services listed in this document using Other Than Full and Open Competition (OTF&OC) as prescribed by FAR 6.302-3, Industrial Mobilization; Engineering, Developmental, or Research Capability; or Expert Services.

This action will result in the award of a new Cost Reimbursable No Fee (CRNF) and Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract for 10 years; a one year base period, nine one-year options and a 6-month extension of services option. This will be a logical follow-on to General Services Administration (GSA) contract GS-23F-0143R for the continued provisions of mature engineering services for the F-15 Weapon System sustainment. The period of performance is projected to be 1 March 2018 through 29 February 2028 with the 6-month extension of services option (if exercised) from 1 March 2028 through 31 August 2028. The total estimated value at the time of award is with an appropriate 3% rate of inflation per year calculated into that final award value.

This effort will be a limited competition among three non-profits that were deemed fully capable through the Market Research performed. The three sources are:

University of Dayton (UDRI) Company Division Name: Research Institute 300 College Park Dayton, OH 45469-0001

CAGE: 50280

Educational Institution, and Non-profit

Mercer University (MERC) Company Division Name: Engineering Research Center 153 Osigian Boulevard Warner Robins, GA 31088

CAGE: 0AC45

Educational Institution, and Non-Profit

Southwest Research Institute ® (SWRI) 6330 Culebra Road San Antonio, TX 78238

CAGE: 26401

Non-Profit

This effort will support Air Force Material Command (AFMC), Air Combat Command (ACC), United States Air Force Europe (USAFE), and Air National Guard (ANG).

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

The areas of work covered by the scope of this J&A are engineering, research, development, fundamental scientific studies, and operational applications in support of developing and transitioning emerging technologies and methodologies to the aging F-15 United States Air Force (USAF) aircraft. The requirement includes, but will not be limited to, aircraft modification development, the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP), and the Functional System Integrity Program (FSIP), as well as day-to-day engineering services provided to operational units (Technical Assistance Requests), and Depot Engineering Support (AFMC Form 202 Requests). Additionally, the engineering services required for the engineering efforts are identified through comprehensive sustainment for all structural, electrical, mechanical, and avionic components and subcomponents of the F-15, as well as analysis development and recommended solutions for reliability and maintainability problems specific to structural, electrical and mechanical components and subcomponents of the F-15. Since technology continues to advance, a structured and systematic approach for technology refresh and insertion is critical to the AFLCMC/WWQ mission.

Emphasis will be placed on work which targets the identification, development, and incorporation of new and emerging technologies. In addition, this effort requires sustainment support of the F-15 program and associated maintenance, ground support, and test equipment for the following:

1) Operational Safety, Suitability, and Effectiveness (OSS&E)

2) Configuration Management (CM)

3) Weight and balance

4) Airworthiness Certification

5) Technical Assistance Requests (Depot and Field)

6) Failure/Accident investigation

7) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) support

8) Technical Data Development

9) Systems and Structural Aircraft Modifications

10) Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP)

11) Structural, material, environmental, durability, characterization, and performance testing

12) Reverse engineering and technical data package development

13) Quick reaction engineering and problem solving

14) New technology planning and integration

The requirement consists of an undetermined number of task orders with individual prices in the range of $25,000 to $1,000,000. The estimated cost is based on historical pricing and estimated material costs for building prototypes, tooling, etc., in addition to historical data related to sustaining aging aircraft issues. The total estimated cost is as follows:

Estimated Cost Breakout by FY

Year Estimated Cost

FY18

FY19

FY20

FY21

FY22

FY23

FY24

FY25

FY26

FY27

FY28

TOTAL

*6-month extension of services option included in FY28

The projected PoP is 01 March 2018 through 29 February 2028.

The funding type for this acquisition will be Operation &Maintenance (3400/3840).

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

10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (3), as implemented by FAR 6.302-3: “Industrial Mobilization; Engineering, Developmental, or Research Capability; or Expert Services,” required by FAR 6.303-2(b) (4).

FAR 6.302-3(a)(2)(ii) states: “Full and open competition need not be provided for when it is necessary to award the contract to a particular source or sources in order to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a federally funded research and development center.”

FAR 6.302-3(b)(2) states: “Use of the authority if paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this subsection may be appropriate when it is necessary to -” perform what is stated in FAR 6.302-3(b)(2)(i) - “Establish or maintain an essential capability for theoretical analyses, exploratory studies, or experiments in any field of science or technology;” and FAR 6.302-3(b)(2)(ii) - “Establish or maintain an essential capability for engineering or developmental work calling for the practical application of investigative findings and theories of a scientific or technical nature.”

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 F-15 Reliability and Maintainability(R&M), Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP), and the Functional System Integrity Program (FSIP) require engineering services necessary to identify and resolve issues related to F-15 mechanical and structural subsystems, implement sustainment modification programs, investigate component failures, support mishap investigations, assess maintenance impacts to structural integrity, and assure configuration management. These services are accomplished through a mixture of on-site continuous engineering support as well as subject matter expert and facilities reach back for off-site investigations and engineering services. The experience and unique capabilities of the three nonprofits deemed fully capable through market research will be further explored in this section. Those three companies are: University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC), and Southwest Research Institute ® (SwRI).

A. UDRI has the required experience and unique capabilities to fulfill these tasks as demonstrated below:

1. F-15 ASIP support - UDRI has 40 years of experience with analyzing the structural life of aircraft. UDRI developed a large portion of the early ASIP methodology and were instrumental in developing experimental and analytical solutions to important material behavior in terms of fatigue crack growth and fracture toughness. UDRI developed many of the American Standard for Testing and Materials (ASTM) test methods that are now the benchmark for this type of testing. UDRI authored many of the early damage tolerance and ASIP reports for the USAF and conducted much of the early testing to support the development of fatigue crack growth. UDRI's PROF (Probability of Failure) software code is used by the USAF across most aircraft platforms. UDRI is currently performing direct structural analysis and conducts damage tolerance and ASIP work for the USAF. UDRI has played a critical role in providing independent review and oversight of the entire ASIP process, searching for structural hotspots, assessing crack growth, correlating teardown data, depot, and field maintenance crack findings, Individual Aircraft Tracking (IAT), and assessing corrosion. UDRI has conducted fatigue crack growth and fracture toughness testing of aerospace alloys (such as work on F-22 allowables directly for Lockheed) and have direct ASIP experience with A-10, B-1, F-15, F-16, and other platforms.

2. Structural, non-structural, mechanical testing, characterization, and failure analysis - UDRI laboratories include state-of-the-art material characterization equipment.

UDRI has the capability to conduct tests under various environmental conditions to test for fracture toughness, crack growth, spectrum loading, tension, compression, flexure, shear, bearing, stress corrosion cracking, and fatigue.

UDRI's facility includes more than

3. Rapid prototyping and development of ground support, test, and special maintenance equipment - Capabilities include reverse engineering of existing products via 3-D digitization and geometric analysis, 3-D printing of prototype models using a variety of new rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing machines, and computer design and optimization of molds and tools to manufacture newly developed products. Applications include consumer, industrial, or military products manufactured from plastics, polymer composites, or metals, as well as tooling for all types of plastic molding processes, composite curing techniques, and sheet metal stamping. In addition, UDRI has demonstrated an ability to build rapid prototypes of complex aerospace structural, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, and computer components, as well PLC's.

4. Aircraft modification programs and new technology planning and integration - UDRI has participated in a number of F-15 modification programs, which include designing, validating, verifying, and implementing sustainment and weapons system improvement programs that plan for and implement new technology including: UDRI led SNIPER POD development, evaluation, and implementation; UDRI was instrumental in the F-15 aircraft rewire, the SATCOM, and a variety of other F-15 modifications (FDR, DVR, GCU).

· UDRI currently provides support to a number of critical F-15 engineering projects, many of which are complex and will take several years to bring to fruition. These projects are currently in the development phase.

· Hypoxia warning system (oxygen cockpit pressure monitoring system): This task has visibility up to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. UDRI's knowledge of both the F-15 aircraft and the electrical issues the program had experienced, enabled this project to be completed in 11 months.

· SATCOM UON: Developing an implementation plan for solution to the high-latitude satellite reception problem was identified as an urgent operational need (UON). A team, which included UDRI, was tasked to create a design package suitable for installing on a test jet in 30 working days.

5. Reverse engineering and technical data package development - UDRI has on hand conventional and state of the art to develop point cloud data for reverse engineering of aircraft parts.

UDRI used this equipment to reverse engineer and create solid models for F-15 fuel system components. UDRI reverse-engineered a series of fuel system components and provided the USAF with a complete technical data package allowing components to be competitively procured.

6. Non-Destructive Investigation/Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDI/NDE) development - For the F-15, UDRI helped develop and assess a Meandering Winding Magnetometer (MWM) NDI technique to assess pre-crack pitting and fatigue damage indications as well as fatigue crack progression in wing pylon ribs. UDRI has participated in NDE/NDI development for the USAF and has experience with tear-down investigations on a variety of aircraft platforms.

7. Composites manufacturing and process development - For the F-15, UDRI evaluated composite repair materials that could be used to more closely match the radar performance. Critical to this work was UDRI's ability to assess and characterize the dielectric constants for a variety of potential repair materials and to manufacture candidate coupons for evaluation.

8. Subject Matter Experts (SME) UDRI has a full time R&D staff, staff members who have direct F-15 SME experience, academia staff who are subject matter experts in materials, polymers, composites, adhesives, metals, ceramics, failure analysis, fatigue and fracture, flutter, vibration, impact physics, various microscopies, corrosion, NDE/NDI, structures, FEA, mechanical systems, flight loads, ASIP, aerodynamics and heat transfer, electrical systems and electronics, radar, software and scalable computing, UAV's, combustion, fuels, lubricants, sealants, energy, mechatronics, MIL-STD-810 and a wide variety of other testing.

9. Core Engineering Capabilities - UDRI performs ~ annually in R&D, and as a result have positioned themselves as the #2 University in the U.S. for materials R&D. Their engineering capabilities encompass: materials, manufacturing, lean, six-sigma, RCM, CBM, human factors, EH&S, energy, fuels and lubricants, structural, mechanical, aerospace, electrical, and a host of scientific disciplines.

10.UDRI infrastructure Overview: UDRI has a total infrastructure investment calculated at . This infrastructure includes over square feet of lab space. UDRI's infrastructure for structural technologies alone ranges from analysis of atoms, all the way to full scale structural testing of flight structures (such as F-15 landing gear and the F-15 wing pylon rib).

UDRI's support of the F-15 Program encompassed roughly infrastructure.

B. MERC has the required experience and unique capabilities to fulfill these tasks as demonstrated below:

1. ASIP support: The Mechanical and Aerospace Systems Engineering Directorate is comprised of more than engineers, scientists, and logisticians with experience ranging from junior engineers to senior principal engineers with decades of experience across the majority of weapons platforms managed at Robins AFB, including the F-15, C-130, H-60, UH-1, TH-1H, E-8 JSTARS, and C-5. MERC has developed the fatigue life methodology and implementation for the USAF rotary wing fleet.

MERC has continuously supported the F-15 SPO addressing sustainment issues since 1987. MERC created the F-15 C/D full aircraft Finite Element (FE) model in order to support more detailed structural analyses of the airframe and to support the current F-15 full-scale fatigue testing of the airframe.

2. Structural, non-structural, mechanical testing, characterization, and failure analysis: MERC has the ability to meet any special testing needs. MERC's structural test lab includes a load frame, load frame and load frames for static and fatigue testing. MERC has the ability to characterize composite layups and sandwich panels, including the constituent material properties using combinations of tensile, direct shear and flexural beam tests to various ASTM standards. MERC can perform crack growth fatigue and static coupon tests. MERC has the experience to analyze test data and make correlations to finite element models or flight/road test data. Additionally, MERC has onsite design, fabrication and analysis capabilities for creating fixtures from specialized coupon testing to the testing of large components that see very high displacements.

3. Rapid prototyping: MERC's prototype lab is capable of producing mechanical equipment suitable for prototype testing or low quantities of production parts, suitable for aircraft or support equipment installation. With CNC mills and a CNC late, extremely tight tolerances can be held on machined parts. With MERC's shear, press, saws, and drill presses, sheet metal parts can be accurately fabricated and bent to their final configuration. MERC has an electronics lab where electrical components can be integrated into prototype units, wire harnesses can be build, and finished components can be tested.

MERC is currently working as prime contractor on a project involving the AFRL airframe digital twin initiative and a pair of F-15 wing structures. The prototype lab supports the fabrication of structural items as well as integration, modification, or repair of mechanical, hydraulic, or pneumatic components. Electrical, computer, and programmable logic controller controls are supported in the electronics lab. MERC possesses a 3-D printer suitable for fabrication of 3-D printed plastic components, up to in size. Combined with a FARO 3-D laser scanner, MERC can rapidly produce plastic prototypes of actual hardware items when a drawing is not available or illegible.

4. Aircraft modification programs: MERC has executed modifications (temporary and permanent to support weapon system sustainment from the Airworthiness Determination through risk assessment and development of the Certification Basis and, after analysis and verification/validation, the Compliance Report. MERC engineers have developed a Form, Fit, Function, and Interface replacement for the obsolete HH-60 Electronic Fuel Quantity Indicator (EFQI).

5. Reverse engineering: MERC has extensive experience in reverse engineering components to support customers in situations where the original technical data package is missing, illegible, or missing required information. MERC possess a which is regularly used to reverse engineer items, such that a physical part can be turned into a 3-D model and/or a drawing, available for manufacturing. MERC routinely creates highly detailed 3-D solid models using 2-D drawings, in non-proprietary format, suitable for future procurement. CAD work is done using software.

6. NDI/NDE development: MERC has a combined 45 years of nondestructive inspection experience. MERC has personnel with NDI level III and Level II certifications covering all of the inspection techniques; liquid penetrant, eddy-current, ultrasonic, magnetic-particle, and radiographic NDIs. MERC NDI personnel have significant experience developing and validating new NDI procedures for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. MERC can collect field data or use design load specifications to develop load spectra. MERC has written and modified non-destructive inspection procedures for various USAF TOs using Frame Maker, Arbor Text, Adobe Illustrator, Acrobat, and AutoCAD. MERC has substantial knowledge of and experience with the F-15 wing structural.

7. Composites manufacturing and process development: MERC has experience in design and test of aerospace components using composite materials. The aging C-5 aircraft fleet requires extensive maintenance on honeycomb components due to time in service and the service environment. Certain areas exhibit high maintenance rates due to corrosion, dents, disbands, and organically caused damage. The C-5 directorate contracted with MERC to conduct an engineering investigation that would identify and evaluate materials to replace honeycomb structure with the goals of improving damage tolerance, decreasing maintenance actions, and reducing total life-cycle costs for the aircraft. Based on the results of the investigation into the C-5, MERC presented specific recommendations, including specific material solutions.

8. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): MERC has electrical, electronic, and avionics engineers with relevant experience in systems engineering covering analysis and synthesis of customer needs, program planning, design optimization, effectiveness analysis, life cycle cost analysis, supportability analysis, system specification and requirements development, subsystem and support equipment requirements allocations, system interface design, system level integration, and environmental test specification development. Additionally, there are individuals within the company with specific experience including the HH-60 power and display circuitry and MSG-3 analysis of C-130 avionics systems, as well as experience with development of a Form, Fit, Function, and Interface (F3I) fuel measurement system for the C-5.

9. Core Engineering Capabilities: MERC has experience performing thermomechanical analysis on such systems as the Infrared Suppression System for the AC-130U gunship and for individual LRU level systems and board level systems. MERC has used fast Fourier-transforms to determine the variations in natural frequencies during “rap” tests of probes, both on and off the aircraft.

10. MERC Infrastructure Overview: MERC is a key supplier of high technology and engineering applications to a full range of customers that include the USAF ALCs, AFRLs, Army, Navy, and Marines, as well as state and local governments and commercial clients. MERC has developed a significant, highly-qualified professional staff, complex tools and test equipment, and extensive technical capability in the fields of mechanical and electronic design, software development, aircraft structural analysis and design, RCM/MSG-3 analysis, etc. Over of MERC's staff has advanced scientific degrees.

C. SwRI has the required experience and unique capabilities to fulfill these tasks as demonstrated below:

1. ASIP support: SwRI has been involved in the development and maintenance of the fracture mechanics bases DADTA for structural lifting of the T-37, T-38, and, since 2000, the modernization of A-10 lifting. SwRI has complete metallurgy laboratory to provide the testing needed to perform necessary calculations for crack growth rates. SwRI has modernized these calculations with the latest in crack growth codes to produce the coefficients needed for crack growth codes such as AFGROW and NASGRO. Current task orders for the T-38 and A-10 continue to perform durability analyses and DADTA related activities. This effort includes fracture mechanics model development, stress sequence generation, and performing crack growth analyses. SwRI has many years of experience performing fatigue crack growth analysis and probabilistic risk assessments for USAF aircraft using software tools (AFGROW and PROF) and has also developed and continues to manage some of the newer software tools used in probabilistic structural analysis (NESSUS and DARWIN) and fatigue crack growth analysis (NASGRO).

2. Structural, non-structural, mechanical testing, characterization, and failure analysis: SwRI uses a

, which is one of the techniques in Environmental Stress Screening (ESS), to ensure the quality of products.

The screening that SwRI currently performs uses a

. The purpose is to weed out infant mortality failures of components and manufacturing defects. SwRI has the environmental facilities on-site to perform the vibration and temperature testing. As a result, SwRI can also perform on-site. The levels of applied stresses are much higher than the product normally sees in order to precipitate failures and reduce testing time. In addition, SwRI can evaluate materials and equipment according to military, national, and International standards. SwRI developed an extensive avionics test capability in the development of the Avionics SIL, configured with capital investment items explicitly used for testing the A-10 TEMS/ADI and associated support equipment. This capability significantly provides overall risk reduction in schedule, cost, and technical performance and will be used extensively in performance of acceptance testing.

SwRI has a long history of designing repairs for the T-37 and T-38. In the past four years, they have been developing repairs, revised airframe hardware, and designing repair tooling for the A-10 as well. Currently, one of the designs of bulkhead repair is flying on the F-16.

3. Rapid prototyping: SwRI's laboratories have been used to fabricate and test prototypes ranging from hybrid microcircuits to full-scale vehicles to circuit card assemblies. SwRI's fabrication facilities support production of electronic and mechanical assemblies and systems ranging from miniaturized beacons for position location to radio direction-finding equipment for the entire fleet of Navy Aegis cruisers to high-reliability NASA space science missions.

4. Aircraft modification programs: Since the early 1990s, SwRI has used well-defined and established processes for developing software systems such as OFP, avionics ground support equipment applications by adopting standards modeling around their CMMI-Dev Level 3 and AS91000C best practices standards. SwRI has expertise and experience in real-time avionics software development, ballistics, and flight control systems. SwRI offers its experience and capability, disciplined processes, and proven track record in developing, re-hosting, and reverse engineering current and legacy software applications. To assure the quality, efficiency, reliability, and maintainability of the products, SwRI uses an engineering methodology for software development that incorporates detailed cost and schedule management and a comprehensive quality assurance program.

5. Reverse engineering: SwRI has provided a wide range of reverse engineering services, including redesigning mechanical, electrical, and software systems, subsystems or components; replacing outdated technology with modern and innovative solutions; increasing mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) of high failure items; developing efficient and effective diagnostic and maintenance capabilities; generating requirement documents and end item full procurement data packages; satisfying requirements for drawings or technical data ownership; enhancing functionality of components or systems; and qualifying vendors through validation of production processes.

6. NDI/NDE development: SwRI has a complete service materials laboratory that can provide all the fractographic analysis and evaluations needed. SwRI has been providing NDE support of the A-10 and T-38 aircraft for the past ten years. SWRI has designed a variety of inspection kits of several locations on the T-38 aircraft. SwRI has also been involved with the development of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system using Magnetostrictive Sensors (MsS) to produce guided waves to monitor an aluminum laminated repair of the bulkhead of the F-16 block 40 aircraft. SwRI has delivered inspection, engineering, advanced calibration hardware, and technical support to maintain the A-10 AW beyond its originally expected life.

7. Subject Matter Experts: Since the 2000s, SwRI has supported A/OA-10 aircraft Mechanical Equipment and Subsystems Integrity Program (MECSIP) programs. SwRI was tasked to perform MECSIP analyses on fire detection/extinguishing, fuels, pneudraulics, oxygen, and environmental control systems and has personnel with over 43 years of experience doing this type of analysis. SwRI has over Scientist and Engineers in over different fields of engineering, with at the Bachelor's level, at the Master's level, and at the Ph.D. level.

8. SwRI Infrastructure Overview: SwRI is one of the oldest and largest independent, nonprofit, applied research and development organizations in the United States. SwRI provides contract research and development services to industrial and government customers in the US and abroad. SwRI offers engineering services to the DoD in the areas of systems engineering, systems integration, mechanical engineering, interface requirements analyses, prototype hardware and fabrication, limited production, advanced simulation and modeling, and training.

It is necessary to maintain this capability in order to sustain the day-to-day engineering functions of the F-15 fleet. This responsibility is accomplished by long-term efforts such as modification development, the ASIP and the FSIP, as well as daily engineering services provided to operational units and Depot Engineering Support. This critical research identifies engineering services required for AFLCMC/WWQE engineering efforts to provide comprehensive sustainment for all structural, electrical, mechanical, and avionic components and subcomponents of the F-15. It also provides analysis development and recommended solutions for reliability and maintainability problems specific to structural, electrical and mechanical components and subcomponents of the F-15. The final portion of this research demonstrates that the requirement needs specific test equipment and capabilities located off-base at the contractor facility to accomplish tasks that cannot be accomplished on-site, with a specified turn-around-time, and with facilities not possessed by, or otherwise available to, the Government.

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

This requirement will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) web page as required by FAR 5.201.

The synopsis will cite conditions which preclude full and open competition. Any source that responds to the synopsis will be identified to the prime contractor for subcontracting possibilities.

A Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) (Solicitation Number: KB16F15RMENGMKTRSH) describing the F-15 Reliability and Maintainability Engineering Support Services was published in FedBizOpps on 17 March 2016 with responses due by 18 April 2016. It requested all interested sources respond in writing and provide a statement of capabilities. There were eight (8) responses to the SSS. All respondents were evaluated for their capabilities of performing all requirements. Of the eight, four companies were determined fully capable, with three of those companies being nonprofits; the fourth company was a large business.

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

A fair and reasonable price for this acquisition will be determined based on adequate (limited) competition. A technical evaluation of each offer will be accomplished on a non-biased basis to ensure the Government's minimum needs are met and also not to preclude any offeror from receiving a fair evaluation. Price competition will be documented on a SF 1409, Abstract of Offers, and detailed in a Price Competition Memorandum (PCM) in order to ensure that the most fair and reasonable price available is received by the Government.

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

Market research was completed on 27 April 2016 (with minor updates 06 Jan 2017) and was conducted pursuant to FAR Part

10.001 and 10.002. Techniques used for this report were a search using the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) within the Small Business Administration (SBA) website, targeted internet searches, and a Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) issued through the Small Business Office.

A search of the DSBS within the SBA website was first utilized to search for potential vendors. The search conducted involved the following parameters: NAICS Code - 541330 (Engineering Services), General Nature of Business - Research and Development, and Services, and finally Keywords - reliability, maintainability, and rapid prototyping. The research determined that while small companies were capable of doing specific tasks within the Performance Work Statement (PWS), there were no small businesses that could perform all engineering requirements dictated in the PWS.

An internet survey was conducted to research companies that were known to possess some of the capabilities required in the PWS, specifically, companies that had experience in engineering services, experience working on USAF airframes, have subject matter experts on staff, and have access to necessary laboratories. There were two sources identified and determined to be fully capable.

A SSS was posted to FedBizOpps on 7 February 2016 - 6 March 2016 with responses due by 18 April 2016. A total of eight companies responded. The eight interested respondents were evaluated for their capability of performing all PWS requirements. Five respondents were large businesses and three small businesses. Four (all large businesses) of the eight companies were determined to be fully capable, however only three of the four companies were designated as nonprofit organizations.

The market research revealed three capable Not-For-Profit institutes and one capable large business. The market research concludes this follow-on award should be limited to competition between the three Not-For-Profits determined fully capable through the market research performed.

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

None

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

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.

This is a limited competition among qualified non-profit sources. Maintaining an essential engineering capability for these requirements is in the best interest of the Government. The expertise and rapid response capability of the selected source among these qualified non-profits is vital to the Robins engineering workforce and the programs they support; without them, the F-15 mission could be gravely impacted.

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.