JA - SAVANT - Notice of Intent.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

I. CONTRACTING ACTIVITY

Air Force Research Laboratory/RIK, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome NY 13441-4514

Purchase Request Number: E-1-1477

II. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING PROCESSED

The action being processed is the award of a new contract, titled "SAVANT™ Support and

Deployment (SSD)" in Sep 2011. This will provide the National Air and Space Intelligence Center

(NASIC) and its customers with required essential operations and maintenance support for the national intelligence analysis and production mission in support of the General Defense Intelligence

Program (GDIP) with no interruption in the highly specialized services currently being provided by

Northrop Grumman Corporation. The new contract will be a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) performance-based services contract valued at $7.97M with a 12 month period of performance to provide for the continued provision of necessary services for which the delay inherent in obtaining the services from another contractor would be unacceptable for the national intelligence analysis and production mission. Development successes in FY10 and FY11 that led to increased costs have resulted in reaching the current maximum ordering amount of the current contract vehicle

["Automated Virtual Information Production Support System III (AVIPSS III)", FA8750-09-D-

0182] for these services before a follow-on competitive source selection (AVIPSS IV) could be completed.

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

AGENCY'S NEEDS

The SAVANT™ Support and Deployment contract will continue providing the intelligence technology solution to achieve NASIC’s corporate objectives for pre-positioning its analytical knowledge and enabling NASIC customers and intelligence analysts to build current, accurate and robust intelligence products meeting warfighters’ needs. NASIC is the primary DoD producer of foreign aerospace intelligence, analyzing all available data on foreign aerospace forces and weapons systems to determine performance characteristics, capabilities, vulnerabilities and intentions, as well as supporting American weapons treaty negotiations and verification.

This new acquisition will be a continuation of the current work program, entitled, "Automated

Virtual Information Production Support System (AVIPSS)", which transitions tools and infrastructure to include database technologies, signal exploitation, intelligence analysis and production technologies to NASIC and its Intelligence Community (IC) customers to accomplish their GDIP mission objectives.

The Systematic Architecture for Virtual Analytic Net-Centric Threat Intelligence (SAVANT™) is operational at NASIC, has been deployed operationally to the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), and is partially operational at the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA). This acquisition will support the SAVANT™ within NASIC, ONI and MCIA. This AVIPSS-developed capability was recently designated by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Chief Information Officer (CIO) as the Department of Defense Intelligence Information System (DoDIIS) "enterprise digital production tool". Newly developed capabilities will be implemented to support these existing customers and necessary support will be provided to ensure that personnel are trained, problems are resolved, unique site specific operational requirements are met, and impacts to existing production processes are minimized. This support includes ancillary support for integrally-related NASIC production tools as well as the components of SAVANT™. All the work to be performed by the new contract is described below:

(1) Maintenance, enhancements and problem fixes for SAVANT™ operational baseline. Provide technical and engineering expertise to operate, maintain, and update NASIC databases, tools, dynamic web-based products, and related systems and capabilities. Approximately 2,800 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance results in a lack of provision of expertise to correct issues related to

SAVANT™ production. In turn, this greatly increases operational readiness risk to customer base including operational, policy-making, and acquisition communities.

(2) Centralized SAVANT™ modifications for NAVAL production requirements. Provide technical and engineering expertise to operate, maintain, and update ONI databases, tools, dynamic web-based products, and related systems and capabilities. Approximately 1,700 staff-hours will be acquired.

Nonperformance creates an inability to make critical process adjustments to support new or modified products. Unable to fix non-functional SAVANT™ related issues; Incomplete generation, retrieval and dissemination of products. Cannot successfully feed digital products to LNI.

(3) SAVANT™ Database and web production enhancements and maintenance. Provide technical and engineering expertise to operate, maintain, and update MCIA databases, tools, dynamic web-based products, and related systems and capabilities. Approximately 5,100 staff-hours will be acquired.

Nonperformance creates an inability to troubleshoot and correct non-functioning software, database and products, and would directly impact all SAVANT™ based products and related production activities.

This greatly increases intelligence production risks of failure to theatre operations and critical data pushes to the LNI.

(4) Enhance SAVANT™ for the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA) Production Gap.

Development of MCIA SAVANT™ production and publishing technologies for/to (Approximately

12,000 staff-hours will be acquired.):

(a) GEOINT mapping. Nonperformance creates loss of ability to tie intelligence to all relevant locations and support theatre operations.

(b) Information models to support Coastal Landing Beach (CLB), Helicopter Landing

Zone (HLZ) and Line of Communication (LOC) studies. Nonperformance creates loss of ability to pre-position and disseminate CLB, HLZ and LOC related data for use by warfighters.

(c) Analyze mapping/topographic production requirements, design, develop, test, and deploy solutions to provide capabilities. Nonperformance creates inability for MCIA customers to discover and query information/products geospatially. Impacts entire customer base including operational, policy-making, and acquisition communities.

(d) Integrate SAVANT™ with the Marine Corps Intelligence Surveillance and

Reconnaissance – Enterprise (MCISR-E) Fixed Site Portals. Nonperformance significantly impacts ability of USMC to disseminate their SAVANT™ intelligence products to customers, further impacting operations world-wide.

(e) Support the creation of Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) Trip Books, Police and Marine Forces of the World studies, System Threat Assessments, and Long Range Threat

Assessments. Nonperformance will cause the interface to USMC products to be non-functional and will significantly reduce command situational awareness. Ability to push key products into the Library of

National Intelligence (LNI) will be eliminated, thus affecting product utilization by the world-wide customer base.

(5) Defense Intelligence Space Order of Battle (DISOB). Complete the migration of the DISOB to standard SAVANT™ database structures through generation of physical structures, testing, and modification of legacy tools. Approximately 5,800 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance greatly impacts ability to move key data and products to SIPRNET, Stone ghost, and Normal Law networks, leaving coalition partners without the information they require to conduct operations. Additionally, eliminates ability to integrate and associate DISOB information with other SAVANT™ based intelligence products, which in turn impacts the ability of Space mission partners to conduct their operations.

(6) Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). CNCI requirements for cyber and advanced networks in support of NASIC's cyber analytic mission. Approximately 4,100 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance eliminates NASIC ability to provide complete IO picture, with cyber intelligence, to key customers involved in operational missions.

(7) Arabic language translation for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). Enhance Arabic translation capability to target terrorism-related communications focused on specific dialects (Farsi, Dari, Urdu, Pashto, Tajik and Arabic). Approximately 12,400 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance impacts OCO support, Indications and Warning (I&W) and Tactical Intelligence. Non-performance denies Intelligence Analysts access to translated Arabic documents and communications, impacting their ability to predict terrorism activities. The reliability and accuracy of translations will be significantly impacted.

(8) Chinese translation of S&T journals. Employ specific enhancements to improve quality and production efficiencies of automated translation of Chinese Scientific and Technical (S&T) Journals.

Approximately 7,300 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance impacts Intelligence Analyst access to high quality translated Chinese S&T documents required to support mission requirements.

Significantly impacts analyst's ability to provide advance warning and quality products of Chinese technological capability and threats to leadership.

(9) Production Operations Management Information System (PROMIS) Modernization.

Workflow management system modernization to enable collaborative production, tracking completion and calculating metrics. Approximately 4,700 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance significantly impacts leadership's ability to provide key products in a timely manner to operational customers.

(10) Target Template Database Interface development. Develop a web-based front-end interface to the Target Template Database employed by NASIC. Approximately 6,200 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance significantly reduces NASIC ability to update target information used by operational customers world-wide. Impedes Analysts ability to navigate nominated target information and associated targets to perform key analysis functions.

(11) Space and Missiles Threat Visualization and Simulation. Enhancements to tools to create situational awareness products for leadership describing the characteristics, capabilities, and operations of foreign ballistic missiles and threats to U.S. space systems. Approximately 2,100 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance eliminates the NASIC ability to develop and provide timely visualization products of space and missile events to senior decision-makers, thereby adversely affecting leader's situational awareness.

(12) DISTOC Web production, distribution, enhancement and maintenance of operational baseline. Develop web-based tools in support of the DISTOC (Defense Intelligence Space Threat and

Operations Committee). Approximately 1,000 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance significantly degrades leadership's situational awareness of activities focused on monitoring and countering key space threats.

(13) Enhancement of Palantir GlobalEdge Interface. Enhancement of this analyst tool to import and model data, create intuitive constructs to search against this data, and powerful techniques to iteratively define and test hypotheses. Approximately 300 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance greatly reduces the ability of analysts to retrieve, relate and combine disparate data elements from different sources. Impacts entire customer base including operational, policy-making, and acquisition communities.

(14) Threat Modeling and Analysis Program (TMAP) Enhancement. Implement dynamic modeling environment for analysis of threat system behavior and performance. Base on the use of

MATLAB/Simulink® in a standard environment to build interoperable, reusable engineering threat representations for use by Intel and DoD M&S customers. Approximately 200 staff-hours will be acquired. Nonperformance degrades access to data/product repositories, thus impacting analyst's ability to produce new intelligence products across the spectrum of functional areas (air, space, and cyber-space).

The total estimated value of the contracted work for this acquisition as described above is $7.97M.

All requirements will be funded through 3400 Operations and Maintenance (O&M) appropriations.

IV. STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

10 USC 2304(d)(1)(B), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B).

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 SAVANT™ systems, infrastructure, applications and databases are highly specialized, detailed, interrelated and complex. SAVANT™ provides a corporate, scalable, extensible framework for knowledge management through an infrastructure of systems constructed to analyze, predict, capture, convey and disseminate intelligence information.

The highly complex, interrelated and integrated nature of the SAVANT™ framework, applications, databases, interfaces, information models and knowledge bases requires corresponding highly specialized services, skills and knowledge to maintain, modify, troubleshoot, install and operate it.

The current contractor is the only available source for the required services at NASIC and its customers at this time. Northrop Grumman possesses unique and highly specialized capabilities necessary to accomplish the services administering to the interrelationships, complexities, dependencies and designs of the SAVANT™ and its databases, applications, information structures, models and architecture. The short timeline available to address current requirements necessitates that the Government continue to use the incumbent. The current tasks, enhancements, designs and analyses are at varying levels of completion, maturity and operational status.

Award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Air Force's requirements due to the: impact to the mission; complex nature of the details of the work; the interrelationships between tasks at various states of progress; and dependencies inherent in the SAVANT™ and the other integrally related tasking. The specific impacts to the mission are described for each requirement in

Section III. Given the nature of the work and magnitude of these impacts, there is no way in which another contractor could transition in to perform this work in less than 12 months. It is extremely important to the NASIC customer that the requirements be accomplished as planned so that NASIC can continue operations to provide timely and accurate data and finished intelligence products to its world-wide customers. The Technical Director of the Communications and Information Directorate at NASIC has fully vetted the requirements and has determined that they are vital for NASIC to continue to provide daily support to its operational, policy-making, and acquisition customers, and are essential to the completion of their respective missions.

Accordingly, Northrop Grumman Corporation is the only firm capable of providing the highly specialized services for NASIC and its customers described in Section III above without the Air

Force experiencing unacceptable delays of 12 months or more in fulfilling its GDIP requirements.

The current contract vehicle, entitled "Automated Virtual Information Production Support System

III (AVIPSS III), contract number FA8750-09-D-0182, is a CPFF IDIQ performance-based services contract originally awarded under full and open competition to Northrop Grumman Corporation for

$49.9M on 2 Jun 2009, with a 36 month ordering period. Total obligations on the contract will reach ceiling value in Sep 2011. Therefore, this acquisition will be a follow-on contract for the continued performance of highly specialized services.

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00002304----000-.html

VI. DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS MADE TO ENSURE THAT OFFERS ARE SOLICITED

FROM AS MANY POTENTIAL SOURCES AS DEEMED PRACTICABLE

A Notice of Intent to award a contract on a sole source basis was posted to FedBizOpps on 7 Jul

2011. Responses were due 22 Jul 2011 and none were received. A Sources Sought notice

(E11269_AVIPSS_IV) was posted on 23 Jun 2011 for the AVIPSS IV source selection to determine feasibility of small business set aside for that procurement and to solicit interest from other potential sources. No capability packages from small businesses were received.

Only one other potential source to perform the necessary work has been identified through in-depth analysis of the available market, as well as interaction between the Government and industry. While that one other source may have the technical capability to perform the work, the time required for that contractor to replace the current contractor would delay provision of the described services by a minimum of 12 months, which is unacceptable for the continued performance of this national intelligence mission.

The required effort was discussed with AFRL and NASIC technical and management personnel in order to seek out potential sources. AFRL and NASIC personnel knowledgeable regarding the specific services that must continue and other potential sources currently engaged in supporting

NASIC confirmed the incumbent as the only qualified source available within the next 12 months capable of performing the required services.

In addition, GSA Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) and DISA ENCORE task ordering contracts were considered. Although the required services appear to fit within the scope of these contracts, the time required for award is incompatible with the continued provision of necessary services. These vehicles will continue to be considered as potential vehicles for generating effective competition for future source selection.

VII. DETERMINATION BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER THAT THE ANTICIPATED

COST TO THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE

The contractor shall be required to submit certified cost or pricing data for this contracting effort. In order to determine if the negotiated cost and fixed fee is fair and reasonable, the contracting officer shall conduct a detailed cost analysis with assistance and rate recommendations from the Defense

Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). A technical and resource evaluation will also be completed by the program manager to ensure the proposed technical approach is acceptable and the resources are reasonable.

VIII. DESCRIPTION OF THE MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED AND THE

RESULTS

As described in Section VI above, market research, in accordance with FAR Part 10, was conducted by synopsis of the proposed acquisition, advising industry of the pending acquisition and soliciting inquiries from interested parties. In addition, the Government technical personnel have continued to maintain contact with potential contractors within the industry to identify possible additional sources for this as well as future requirements. As mentioned in Section VI, only one such additional source has been identified and that entity would require a minimum of up to 12 months to transition into performing these services.

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 TAKEN TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME ANY

BARRIERS TO COMPETITION BEFORE MAKING SUBSEQUENT ACQUISITIONS FOR

THE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES REQUIRED

Every effort will continue to be made to ensure that potential offerors are identified as soon as possible and further solicited in accordance with the AVIPSS IV Acquisition Plan upon its approval.

The acquisition strategy for this follow-on will be established, in part, to foster competition at the prime level and remove any known barriers to competition as it is developed and progresses through the review process. A Sources Sought notice "E11269_AVIPSS_IV" was published 23 Jun 2011 on

FedBizOpps to determine if there are AVIPSS capable sources and identify companies that seek to participate as potential Prime Contractors or Subcontractors whether they be large or small

Businesses. A technical Read File was created and offered, and will remain offered until proposals are received. While no capability packages were received from small businesses, we are encouraged that a large business with potential capability has expressed significant interest in the future acquisition.

In addition, a SAVANT™ Users Group meeting is planned for December 2011 where contacts will be sought. The Government will also seek to contact current and past subcontractors, those firms providing support to NASIC customers (ONI and MCIA), and in particular those supporting the ten

Unified Combatant Command (COCOM) and United States Forces Korea (USFK) locations where

SAVANT™ will be deployed. Other market research will be performed to determine the availability of additional capable companies in accordance with the Acquisition Plan.

The Government will continue to acquire rights to the completed software, databases, applications, designs and analyses, software documentation, training material and engineering data, etc., required to fully operate, maintain, enhance and modify the SAVANT™ and the other supported systems, exclusive of previously licensed commercial packages. The availability of these rights in software and technical data will permit future actions involving this technology to be competitively awarded without the need for a new contractor to have to repeat a substantial portion of the development cycle or incur duplicative costs.

XII. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S CERTIFICATION

The contracting officer’s signature on the Coordination and Approval Document evidences that he has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of his knowledge and belief (FAR 6.303-2(a)(12).

XIII. TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS PERSONNEL’S CERTIFICATION

As evidenced by their signatures on the Coordination and Approval Document, the technical and/or requirements personnel have certified that any supporting data contained herein, which is their responsibility, is both accurate and complete (FAR 6.303-2(b)).