JA_21_Mar_16_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION 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 Sustainment Center (AFSC), 638 Supply Chain Management Group (SCMG), 411th Supply Chain Management Squadron (SCMS)/GULA. The contracting authority for this requirement is AFSC/PZAAA. The purchase request number supporting this contracting action is FD2060-15-00290.

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 as prescribed by FAR 6.302-1(a)(1), only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. This action will result in the award of a new firm fixed price repair contract with a basic year plus four option years. This sole source requirement will be purchased from the following company:

Communications & Power Industries DBA: CPI Beverly Microwave Division 150 Sohier Rd Beverly Ma 01915-5536 United States, CAGE Code: 88236 Large Business

III. DESCRIPTION OF THE SUPPLIES/SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET THE

AGENCY’S NEEDS

This effort is for a Firm Fixed Priced Requirements type contract for the depot level repair of the magnetrons and servo control module listed below for the AN/APQ-170(V) Radar.

NSN P/N NOUN

5960-01-454-6982SO VMX-1872 (881203-2) X-Band Magnetron 5960-01-457-0157SO VMU-1630A (881303-3) KU Band Magnetron 5960-01-537-8161SO VMU-1630S (881303-4) KU Band Magnetron (Use 881303-3 until exhausted)

5841-01-305-1053SO 339065-4 (881206-4) Servo Control Module

It will utilize Best Estimated Quantities (BEQ) and will support the MC-130H Combat Talon II Special Operations Force (SOF) aircraft. This effort will be funded using 4930 Working Capital Funds.

The total estimated cost of this acquisition is which includes a 1-year Basic and four 1-year Options. The total estimate for this proposed acquisition was developed by taking repair costs from the last Option year of Repair Contract FA8538-11-D-0018 and adding a 3% escalation factor for the Basic and each Option year. If an asset is determined to be No Fault Found (NFF) or Beyond Economical Repair (BER) after the accomplishment of Test Teardown and Evaluation (TT&E) of that asset, the incurred cost for determining if NFF or BER, will be accounted for under a TT&E contract line item. TT&E CLIN unit price is not charged in addition to the repair unit price if a unit is actually repaired.

IV. STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

10 USC 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services 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

The agency’s minimum needs can only be satisfied by the unique supplies or services available only from the above cited source. Effective repair of these components requires specialized test fixtures (proprietary test assets not available to the commercial sector) and engineering data that were not obtained when the items were procured. Because of the specialized repair requirements of these components, only CPI has the capability to perform the depot level repairs on these items. These assets are specifically designed and built components for the APQ-170 Terrain Following Radar system which enables low level flight missions of the MC-130H Combat Talon II aircraft to provide infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces and equipment in hostile or denied territory. These APQ-170 assets are required and critical components of the APQ-170 Receiver-Transmitter. They are designed to transmit and receive at specific frequencies in the APQ-170 Terrain Following Radar system to ensure successful flights during low level Terrain Following missions. The OEM was contacted most recently on 10 April 2015 to determine their willingness provide the Government with the necessary data to establish repair capability in order to compete future repair requirements. The OEM responded 14 April 2015 that they were not interested in selling the data rights to the Government at this time. In addition, only the OEM has the expertise and in-depth knowledge of these radar components. The OEM has all the equipment required to perform the testing and repair of these radar components. Any reverse engineering of these items in order to allow a competitive environment is not considered a viable strategy. A reverse engineering effort would take an estimated 14 years total in addition to the estimated cost of before delivery of any assets could be produced from a competitive strategy. Currently, the MC-130H Combat Talon II aircraft are projected to retire in CY 2025. Contracting to a new source would require test data development; first article testing, Flight testing, training and qualifying personnel to operate the equipment, as well as added delay to achieve the required capabilities. The average time required to develop and award a reverse engineering contract is 24 months. These APQ-170 assets are complex operational hardware that would need to be flight tested on MC-130H Combat Talon II configured for these specific Part Numbers.

Available resources were utilized below to research potential sources of repair:

Thomas Register: No results Central Contractor Registration (CCR) Dynamic Small Business Search: No results

Google: Radio-Research Instrument Co., Inc.

(www.radioresearch.thomasregister.com) 584 North Main Street Waterbury CT 06704

Although Radio-Research Instrument Co., Inc. listed the APQ-170 on their website as a system they have repaired in the past, phone and email requests for details and repair history on the APQ-170 were never answered. Therefore, they are not considered capable.

OEM: Communications & Power Industries (CPI), Inc.

607 Hansen Way Palo Alto, CA 94304

CPI is OEM of these radar components and is the current repair source for these items as well.

For the APQ-170 magnetrons, the OEM repair source is a division of CPI Inc. known as Beverly Microwave Division (BMD):

Beverly Microwave Division (BMD) 150 Sohier Road Beverly, MA 01915 USA Market research has clearly concluded the only company capable of repairing the specified NSNs is Communications & Power Industries.

IX. ANY OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING 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

Data rights were not pursued in the 1970’s when the system was initially acquired. This system has multiple obsolescence issues and is being replaced with newer technology. A Request For Information (RFI) was posted on 25 Aug 2015 to the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps.Gov) web site with responses due by close of business 9 Sep 2015. This RFI posting was to further survey the market for any sources that believe they have the capabilities to repair these assets. One company, L3 Electron Devices, CAGE Code 89146 responded to the