FD2060-26-30928_TADS_ JA__CAD-redacted.pdf

Department of the Air Force: Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition

CUI

April 2026 CUI Page 4 of 5 of cost to the Government and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's needs. A new contractor would be forced to reverse-engineer or completely re-develop the TADS and CMDP systems, an effort that would introduce prohibitive costs and significant schedule delays, creating a critical gap in F-15 fleet readiness. Furthermore, attempting to replace the OEM's proven solution would introduce unacceptable operational risk, as a non-OEM system could compromise the stringent security requirements of the data download process, which is essential for protecting the F-15 platform.

The Government acknowledges the risk of vendor-lock associated with this proprietary ownership and has taken active steps to mitigate it. The long-term sustainment strategy is to maintain the existing TADS and CMDP systems, and as part of this, the F-15 System Program Office explored acquiring the necessary intellectual property. On 5 March 2026, Telspan Data, LLC, offered to sell a non-exclusive, perpetual license, including the full technical data package and source code, to the U.S. Air Force for a total price of . A business case analysis concluded that purchasing these rights would be cost-prohibitive based on current program projections and the remaining service life of the fleet. This is consistent with a prior Depot Source of Repair (DSOR) decision (reference #17036F, April 2019) that designated sustainment as Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) precisely because the OEM owns the proprietary data.

Accordingly, based on Telspan Data, LLC's status as the sole OEM, its exclusive ownership of the required proprietary data, the unacceptable costs and risks associated with reverse-engineering, and the prohibitive cost of acquiring the data rights, it is the only firm capable of providing the essential sustainment services described in Section III.

VI. Integrated Market Analysis and Efforts to Solicit Competition (RFO 6.104-1(a)(6), (8), and (10)):

The Government conducted extensive market research to determine if competition was viable for the sustainment of the F-15 TADS and CMDP systems. Initial research, including a review of historical acquisitions and publicly available data, quickly established that Telspan Data, LLC is the OEM and sole developer of the TADS hardware and CMDP software. This intelligence immediately identified the primary and most significant barrier to competition:

Telspan Data, LLC's exclusive ownership of the proprietary technical data, firmware, and software source code, which are all essential for performing any maintenance, repair, or modification.

To test the market despite these data limitations, the Government performed a multi-step process to identify and solicit interest from potential sources. A search was conducted in the Small Business Administration (SBA) Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) database using NAICS code 334511, which yielded nine companies with potentially related capabilities. Concurrently, to ensure maximum industry exposure, a formal Request for Information (RFI) was publicized on the Government Point of Entry (GPE). The RFI was posted on 20 February 2026 with a closing date of 19 March 2026, and it required interested vendors to demonstrate their capability to perform the necessary contractor logistics support, which inherently requires access to the proprietary TADS and CMDP data package.

The results of these comprehensive efforts confirmed that viable competition does not exist. The detailed review of the nine businesses identified via the DSBS concluded that none were technically acceptable, as they lacked the required specialized experience with the F-15 platform's data architecture, the IRIG 106 Chapter 10 standard, and, most critically, none possessed access to the necessary proprietary systems data. Based on this thorough analysis, the Government concludes that Telspan Data, LLC is the only source with the requisite proprietary data, technical expertise, and experience to meet the Government's minimum requirements without incurring unacceptable cost, schedule, and operational risks.

Department of the Air Force: Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition

CUI

April 2026 CUI Page 5 of 5

VII. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost (RFO 6.104-1(a)(7)):

The Contracting Officer is responsible for evaluating, determining, and documenting the anticipated contract cost/price is fair and reasonable in accordance with RFO Subpart 15.4, Contract Pricing.

VIII. Any Other Facts Supporting the Justification (RFO 6.104-1(a)(9)):

An award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost and unacceptable harm to the Government's mission. The cost to duplicate this effort would involve complete reverse-engineering of the proprietary TADS hardware and CMDP software, followed by extensive testing and re-certification. While a precise cost for this effort is not available, it is logically expected to be comparable to or greater than the that the OEM quoted for the outright purchase of the data rights. This figure represents a baseline for the non-recurring engineering, development, and testing costs that would be entirely duplicated.

Furthermore, the schedule delay associated with a reverse-engineering effort would introduce unacceptable operational harm. The F-15 fleet would be forced to operate without the mission-essential Trusted Download Station, which is the only system capable of supporting the Fully Automated Debrief System (FADS). This would create a critical capabilities gap, preventing the collection of unclassified flight data required for essential maintenance analysis, reliability programs, and aircraft structural integrity monitoring, directly impacting fleet readiness and safety.

IX. Actions to Overcome Barriers to Competition (RFO 6.104-1(a)(11):

The primary and sole barrier to competition for this requirement is the proprietary nature of the technical data and software for the TADS and CMDP systems, which are exclusively owned by Telspan Data, LLC. The Government does not possess the complete technical data package required to support competitive sustainment.

The only viable action to overcome this barrier would be for the Government to acquire the complete technical data package and associated intellectual property rights. This course of action has already been formally evaluated. As previously noted, the cost to acquire these rights was determined to be cost-prohibitive and not in the Government's best interest, particularly when weighed against program projections and the ongoing retirement of portions of the F-15 fleet.

Therefore, no actions to remove the barriers to competition are planned for this subsequent acquisition. The program office will reassess this strategy only if there are significant changes to the F-15's projected service life that would make the investment economically viable.