Tab_6_JAFinalRedacted-25M_Ceiling_Incr.pdf

I. Contracting Activity

The United States Air Force (USAF), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Armament Directorate (AFLCMC/EB), Direct Attack Division (AFLCMC/EBD), Contracting Branch (AFLCMC/EBDK), 207 West D. Ave, Bldg 349, Ste 214, Eglin AFB, FL 32542 is the contracting activity providing a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition.

II. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed

The Government anticipates awarding a contract modification to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (NGSC), Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Bethpage, NY under the existing Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract, FA8677-10-D-0006, to increase the contract ceiling from $99M to $124M, an increase of $25M. The additional contract ceiling is needed to complete development of WPS 2.X and continue maintenance of fielded WPS versions. The ID/IQ contract will continue to utilize Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF), Firm Fixed Price (FFP), and Cost Reimbursable (CR) contract types in future orders as appropriate. The ordering period end date will remain unchanged at 28 September 2018.

III. Description of the Supplies/Services Required To Meet the Agency’s Needs

The Weapon Planning Software (WPS) requirement is driven by an Air Combat Command (ACC) mandated requirement to continue development and sustainment of components for the Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS) supporting Precision Guided Munitions (PGM) mission planning requirements.

The WPS product is based on a single graphical user interface which enables operator-managed planning processes for all weapons minimizing inefficiencies and challenges in training. The scope of this effort includes (but is not limited to) continued development and sustainment of the following JMPS-compatible Common Components (CCs): Precision Guided Munitions Planning Software CC (PGMPS- CC), JMPS Target Manager CC (JTM-CC), Key Handler CC (KH-CC), and Weapon Data Link CC

(WDL-CC).

As described above, the estimated contract ceiling increase is $25M. This estimate includes:

1) Complete development of the WPS version 2.1 re-architecture

2) Continued maintenance of the fielded versions of WPS (versions 1.4/1.5/1.6 for USAF and all FMS platforms ($6M)

3) New integrations such as JSF, Navy, M-Code, SDB-II, LRASM and FMS

Appropriation types used under the subject contract include Operations & Maintenance (i.e., 3400), Research & Development (i.e., 3600, 1319) and FMS funding. These funds are provided on a year-by-year basis for sustainment and continued development of WPS contract software components.

Continued use of these appropriation types will be required through the end of contractor performance under this contract.

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

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), "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 (applicability of authority).

WPS is a highly specialized product and is not commercially available. It is custom-developed software designed to meet the specific needs of military customers and must function within the military's JMPS environment. WPS interfaces with external software components built by more than 15 different aircraft and weapon development teams. Each aircraft and weapon has unique interface requirements that must be managed within the overall JMPS mission planning environment to ensure seamless operations and integration. PGMPS enables integrated planning of weapons and aircraft for combat use.

The highly specialized and unique nature of the subject acquisition is the driver for this Justification and Approval based on end-user needs for a completed WPS 2.X product line. Currently, WPS version 2.0 and WPS version 2.1 are scheduled for completion ~March 2018 and ~March 2019 respectively. WPS version 2.1 includes several capabilities that are required in 2019 (i.e., Network Enabled Weapon-support, GPS M-Code, SOM-J, etc.). Any slippage in the current schedule will result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Government's requirement, including the disruption and delay of multiple aircraft mission capabilities.

The WPS program is designated as a non-ACAT program within the PEO portfolio and is a Common Component of the JMPS program, an ACAT I-designated effort providing mission planning for all phases of military flight operations. As the primary Precision Guided Munition (PGM) mission planning tool supporting JMPS, WPS is managed as an ACAT III-equivalent program. The WPS contract, FA8677-10-D-0006, was competitively awarded on 29 September 2010 as an eight-year ID/IQ. The contract’s ordering period ends on 28 September 2018. The predecessor contract for this effort, titled Precision Guided Munitions Planning Software (PGMPS), was also competitively awarded to NGSC under contract F08635-02-D-0035 as an eight-year ID/IQ contract. A ceiling increase of $10,000,000 occurred under the PGMPS contract based on very similar logic to that contained in this document.

PGMPS was the starting point for the WPS version 2.X product being developed today. The fact that only one contractor, NGSC, has ever been on contract to develop the WPS product (and it's predecessor) over a 15+ year period contributes to the “highly specialized” nature of this requirement.

Under the current contract, the contractor has been developing and supporting the products identified in Section III above. However, only $19M of the $99M contract ceiling originally authorized remains and the WPS PO estimates the remaining $19M contract ceiling will be exhausted by January 2018. The current contract ceiling has been expended faster than expected due to increased requirements from various DoD activities in support of several programs to include (but not limited to):

- Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) integration - Electronic Warfare CC (EWCC)

- FMS requirements transitioning to WPS - Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB-II) changes

- Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) (dual platform effort) - US Navy transition to WPS

- Multiple Graphic Display baseline changes (dual platform support)

For example, the original estimate for FMS requirements was 2 to 3 deliveries per year, but the basic contract underestimated the potential for growth. Since initial award, the WPS PO experienced a surge of requirements (totaling 13 efforts) which significantly decreased available contract ceiling for continued baseline WPS development. Many of these changes were a direct response to ongoing combat needs articulated by Combatant Commanders. This acquisition is for continued development and sustainment of a highly specialized product supporting real world mission requirements.

The WPS PO believes that failure to award the proposed $25M contract ceiling increase under the current contract action will result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the DoD's requirements. Awarding to a new contractor at this stage would be very risky and could result in a delay of 42 months. A Source Selection will take approximately 18 months to plan and conduct. Upon award, a new contractor would need an estimated 12 months for familiarization with 1) how WPS coding works and 2) how WPS interfaces with other systems. Once up to speed with the WPS Framework, the new contractor would be able to continue the WPS development cycle, a tightly synchronized effort affecting development cycles across all WPS end-user organizations. It would likely take another 12 months before the new contractor would be able to deliver tested, functioning product for rollout to the WPS customer base.

This 42-month delay could be substantially longer if the contractor does not have extensive JMPS Framework experience prior to award of a contract.

To further explain the criticality of timing for WPS development, the end-users have been constructing their development schedules and dependencies to an early-2019 release of WPS version 2.1. These schedules are aligned with mission-critical requirements projected for multiple aircraft/weapon platforms. For example, the F-15, B-1, and F/A-18 program offices have announced schedules targeting Functional Qualification Testing (FQT) of platform-specific software releases in Spring 2019.

All three of these platform software lines require WPS version 2.1 to complete their testing. Other aircraft have similar schedules for aircraft-specific releases that have not yet been formalized, but all current estimates line up with a 2019 requirement for a fieldable, fully functional WPS version 2.1 product, which is supported by the ordering period availability through 28 September 2018. If WPS version 2.1 is not fielded on time, the ripple effects throughout the enterprise will cause significant mission degradation across multiple aircraft/weapon platforms.

Accordingly, NGSC is the only known firm capable of completing WPS 2.1 development without the DoD experiencing unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements and maintaining the highest level of mission readiness.

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

A Sources Sought Synopsis was issued on 27 October 2016 (“FA868116WPS01” on www.fbo.gov) seeking any contractors capable of completing WPS version 2.1 development from the estimated 30% stage to 100% complete within the required mission-critical timeline. The synopsis listed the minimum requirements for WPS development/sustainment and requested capability statements demonstrating each interested contractor's ability to meet the required need. Three contractors requested and received the export-controlled supporting documentation, but none of the three contractors responded to the Sources Sought with the required statement of capabilities. The three contractors were 1)

, 2) and 3) . Since there were no formal responses or requests for additional information, the Government believes the negative response from industry confirms assumptions that a new industry contractor will not be capable of meeting the Government’s requirements to produce a functional WPS version 2.1 software line by the Spring of 2019.

A Notice of Contract Action was issued on 1 December 2016 (“FA868116WPS01” on www.fbo.gov) detailing the Government's intent to increase the contract ceiling by $25M under the current contract.

No responses were received in response to this notice.

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

No additional costs will be incurred within the proposed modification to increase the contract ceiling by $25M. All costs associated with the contract are embedded in issued delivery orders against the basic contract. Anticipated costs in these delivery orders will be determined fair and reasonable by performing cost and/or price analysis as described by FAR Part 15. For each future delivery order under this contract action, the same procedures used for the previous delivery orders will be utilized in which a fair and reasonable price is determined on a delivery order by delivery order basis through the following process:

First, the WPS PO prepares a detailed cost breakdown as an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE). Next, the contractor submits a proposal (in response to an RFP) which details labor categories, hours, direct/indirect rates, profit, and other direct costs including travel. Upon receipt of the proposal, the WPS PO then performs a thorough technical evaluation of the contractor's proposal to ensure all aspects of the proposal are adequate for the requested work. After that, an analysis of direct and indirect rates is performed using DCMA-approved/recommended direct and indirect rates. As a final step, the weighted guidelines tool is utilized to determine a fair profit or fee per delivery order.

Based on history using the process described above, the Contracting Officer anticipates that the price/cost of future delivery orders issued against this contract action will continue to be fair and reasonable to both the Government and the contractor.

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 from 1 August 2016 through 30 November 2016. Market research techniques included Government Contacts/Subject Matter Expert experience and two FedBizOpps notices (Sources Sought Synopsis and a Notice of Contract Action for a Sole Source Contract Ceiling Increase, as described in Section VI above).

Government Contact Experience: The WPS PO team has extensive market experience with this particular product based on 10+ years of hands-on access and oversight of the WPS product line development (to include its predecessor products). Based on this experience, the WPS PO team feels strongly that continued development of the WPS product line through a contract ceiling increase under the current contract effort is the most appropriate approach and in the Government's best interest.

While the team feels strongly that the next realistic opportunity for competition for the WPS product will occur after completion of the WPS version 2.1 product, they also believe that a Sources Sought Synopsis and NOCA to industry were appropriate to ensure no potential opportunity was missed.

FedBizOpps notices: See Section VI above.

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.

Based on current market research, the WPS PO technical opinion is that completion of WPS version

2.1 may better accommodate a competitive environment where development responsibilities can be assumed by other potential contractors. As long as further market research continues to support a competitive acquisition approach, the Government plans to compete this effort as a follow-on contract with an estimated award date in June 2018.

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 signature above, I certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my responsibility, is both accurate and complete.

Tab 8

Prior Justification & Approval under preceding acquisition

(Contract# F08635-02-D-0035)