19-31779_JA_REDACTED.pdf

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

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

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

10 USC 2304 (c) (1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. “Only One Responsible Source. No other supplies or service will satisfy agency requirements.”

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 AN/ALM-99B (NSN 6625-01-067-5466EW) is highly specialized equipment that is used to test the AN/ALQ-155 Control-Indicator-Programmers (CIPs). The AN/ALQ-155 is a critical component of the B-52H aircraft. The test set aligns the CIPs to meet operational and tactical settings as well as performs a complete operational checkout of the CIP. The original test set design dates back to the 1970s and has numerous obsolescence issues, utilizes extremely dated technology which adds complexity, requires extensive support, and makes the tester more challenging to maintain and troubleshoot. The test set includes numerous obsolete circuit card assemblies (CCAs), located in both the test set and the associated Adapter, Test Set, Programmer, and A8. This acquisition will benefit the United States Air Force (USAF) by increasing the reliability and maintainability of the AN/ALM-99B through the re-design to the AN/ALM-99C, as well as, sustaining the electronic warfare suite for the B-52H strategic bombers until retirement, currently planned for 2050.

The agency's minimum needs to replace the AN/ALM-99B with the AN/ALM-99C can only be satisfied by Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman, as the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the AN/ALM-99B, is the only source who possesses the combination of technical knowledge and the associated full technical drawing package to support this requirement in a timely and cost efficient manner as demonstrated in the following paragraphs.

The ALM-99B was developed by Northrup Grumman Systems Corporation in the 1970s and is currently unsupportable due to obsolescence. This test set was last purchased in 1986. The Government does not possess the full technical data package for the AN/ALM-99B to support competition or re-design for the AN/ALM-99C. On 30 January 2019, Northrup Grumman was formally asked by phone, with a follow up email, if they would be interested in selling the drawing package for the AN/ALM-99B to the Government in which they declined.

Since the Government does not possess the data rights package adequate for competition, a contractor would have to reverse engineer and adapt a similar commercial item or do original research and development testing to produce another test set in order to contemplate the re-design of the AN/ ALM-99C. Currently there are no similar commercial items and AFLCMC/WNY cannot provide a test set to use at a contractor's facility due to limited sets on hand. Reverse engineering with another contractor is considered unfeasible at this time without causing an unacceptable delay of at least 48 months. This 48 months consist of the contractor traveling to the Government facility (when a test set becomes available), investigating and reverse engineering the test set to bring it up to modern standards. The Government would need to test the contractors reverse engineered unit in order to qualify it. The length of time required to bring another contractor in as an additional qualified resource is unacceptable given the lack of test sets currently available in the field.

The Warner Robins Depot is the only potential reverse engineering candidate because of their

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 4 of 6 technical knowledge and access to the AN/ALM-99B test sets. The Warner Robins Depot provided AFLCMC/WNY an estimate of $ with a period of performance of 36 months to reverse engineer and redesign the AN/ALM-99B to the AN/ALM-99C. Northrop Grumman provided the Government an estimate of $ with a period of performance of 18 months to redesign the AN/ALM-99B to the AN/ALM-99C and include the full technical data package. AFLCMC/WNY believes the additional cost to reverse engineer organically ($ ) is not economically reasonable nor is the return on investment expected to be recovered through competition. The additional time of 18 months required to undergo an RE effort by the depot is an unacceptable delay in the fulfillment the Air Force's requirement due to the shortage of this test set in the field supporting the B-52H fleet.

Accordingly, Northrop Grumman is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III without the U.S. Air Force experiencing duplication of costs that could not be expected to be recovered through competition and 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 Sources Sought (SS)/Request for Information (RFI) synopsis was posted to Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) on 25 July 2018 with a response date of 24 August 2018 and modified on 8 September 2018 under solicitation title “Replacement item for AN/ALM-99C Programmer Test Set-for the AN/ALQ-155 Control-Indicator Programmers on the B-52H Aircraft”. The SS/RFI requested responses from interested vendors that possess the expertise, capabilities, and experience to meet the requirements for production of replacement for the AN/ALM-99B Programmer Test Set NSN:

6625-01-067-5466, P/N: 001-006682-001. The Government received one vendor response from X Technologies, CAGE code 1JDN2. They were determined not capable because they lacked access to proprietary technical data to redesign the ALM-99B to the AN/ALN-99C nor possessed any experience in regard to the ALM-99B.

This requirement will be synopsized in FedBizOpps, as a notice of contract action IAW FAR 5.201. If other sources express interest as a result of this synopsis or other action, they will be listed in the official contract file. Although the Government does not own data to support acquisition of this AN/ ALM-99C from any other source, any source who responds to the Government as a result of this synopsis will be identified to the prime contractor as a potential subcontracting possibility.

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

The overall cost of this acquisition will be fair and reasonable to the Government. In accordance with FAR 15.403-3, the contracting officer may require submission of data other than certified cost or pricing data to be used in supporting the Government's evaluation of the proposed cost. The proposed skill mix of labor, labor hours, types and quantities of material, other direct costs, and direct and indirect rates will be negotiated by the Government based on recommendations from the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and expert technical personnel supporting the program. The contract price will be negotiated in accordance with the procedures in FAR Part 15 ensuring the ultimate cost to the Government is fair and reasonable.

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

Market Research was conducted in August 2018 and completed on 11 December 2018 pursuant to FAR 10.001 and 10.002. The two known sources with ALM-99B experience, Northrop Grumman and the Warner Robins AFB organic depot, were contacted and both supplied ROMs.

Per Section VI, an RFI was issued in which X Technologies, CAGE code 1JDN2, responded. They were determined non capable as they do not have any ALM-99B experience or possess the proprietary tester data. The Government does not have data or excess ALM-99B testers to loan to X Technologies for a reverse engineering effort. All functioning testers are currently in use.

Review of several industry-wide searches on the Internet were conducted, using the following search engines:

www.google.com www.fbo.gov www.gsaadvantage.gov http://web.sba.gov/pro-net/search/dsp_dsbs.cfm

Google returned 47 results. The RFI and multiple NSN information and surplus sites were the only relevant results. Of the relevant information, all sources were determined non capable based on lack of access to the proprietary technical data information associated with the AN/ALM-99B.

The GSA Advantage search returned no matches.

The Small Business Administration search returned 22 results. All were determined non-capable due to lack of experience and access to proprietary technical data associated with the AN/ALM-99B.

This item is not considered commercial in accordance with FAR 2.101. There are no commercial products that exist for this application. This item is not available in the commercial marketplace because the tester was designed for a specific military only application.

The Market Research concluded that Northrop Grumman is the only known source with the proprietary technical data, skills, and experience associated with the AN/ALM-99B to perform the redesign and upgrade to the AN/ALM-99C tester for the Government.

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

None.

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

The Government did not purchase the TDP necessary to compete the requirements under the original production contract and does not possess a TDP adequate for competition for the currently fielded ALM-99B Test Set. Northrup Grumman declined to sell the data of the AN/ALM-99B when contacted on 30 January 2019. The test set life expectancy should carry through the life of the B-52H aircraft. The previous test set lasted for 30 years, which is beyond the current life expectancy of the B-52H aircraft. The Government expects to receive a TDP and the data rights adequate for competition for the AN/ALM-99C with this procurement; therefore, barriers will be removed for full and open competition for production and future procurement. The Government expects to compete the production of approximately 12 AN/ALM-99Cs after receipt of the TDP.

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.