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COORDINATION AND APPROVAL DOCUMENT

CONTRACTING ACTIVITY: AFRL Det. 8/RDKL PROGRAM/PROJECT: Additional Physics for Energy Scaling AUTHORITY: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR Part 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii) and 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)

ESTIMATED CONTRACT COST: $100K for FY11and $100K for FY12

TYPE J&A: Sole Source

COORDINATION DATE

Program Manager

Contracting Officer

Legal Reviewer

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

I. CONTRACTING ACTIVITY

AFRL/RDKL, Stephanie M. Beauchamp 505-846-9691, Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition, RFP FA9451-11-R-0295

Contract FA9451-11-C-0295

II. NATURE AND/OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING PROCESSED

This contractual effort is for modeling and simulation research of flowing diode-pumped alkali lasers (DPAL). The effort will include addition and testing of new physics models to the General Aerodynamic Simulation Program (GASP) for simulation of energy pooling, photo-excitation, multi-photon absorption in a flowing diode pumped alkali laser system (DPAL), and simulation of flowing DPAL systems with the aim of maximizing efficiency and power output. This action is for a new Firm-Fixed-Price completion contract as a result of a sole source Request for Proposal (RFP). The contract will be Firm-Fixed-Price because the effort is funded by a project under the High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO).

III. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET THE AGENCY’S NEEDS

A. The purpose of the contract will be to enhance the physical modeling capabilities of the GASP software from Aerosoft, Inc. for DPAL systems. The data will provide detailed physics on optimal position in the gain medium, optimal optical placement, optimum species concentrations, and response to increasing pump power. The power scaling efforts will provide insights into various possible loss mechanisms such as energy pooling, photo-excitation, and multi-photon absorption, including the relative significance of these loss mechanisms, and what approaches can be used to mitigate them. The effort will take approximately 27 months from date of award to completion, stretching over the 2011 and 2012 fiscal years. This effort will be funded with RDT&E 3600 (6.2) funds. The estimated total cost for this contract is $200K.

B. Price estimates were made by estimating the labor; travel; other direct costs; indirect Costs; and New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax (NMGRT) required to complete the effort. The detailed program schedule was utilized to determine the labor and representative hourly rates for the skills required to arrive at the cost of labor. Estimates of the travel required were made based on program expectation from previous experience on the program, and future Government expectations.

IV. STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

10 USC 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii) and FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii) entitled, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy the agency requirements.

V. DEMONSTRATION OF THE CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR NATURE OF THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES THE USE OF THE AUTHORITY CITED ABOVE TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED SUPPLY/SERVICE (APPLICABILITY OF AUTHORITY)

Background: Under Contract FA9451-04-C-0366, which utilized full and open competition, Aerosoft added to GASP the capability of coupling the GASP Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver with third-party optical resonator models. This makes it possible to run GASP in conjunction with optical resonator models provided by other contractors, such as MZA’s WaveTrain, as well as optical resonator models developed in-house by AFRL, providing a unique capability for modeling gas lasers. In a subsequent competitive contract, FA9451-08-D-0211, Aerosoft added chemistry models to GASP, which enable GASP to simulate the energetic response of a DPAL laser. The result of these efforts has been that GASP provides unique capabilities for simulating gas lasers, particularly DPAL lasers, which are not provided by any other software package.

Aerosoft is the only company that has the DPAL GASP solver, and can efficiently provide data needed for DPAL experiments. The statement of work (SOW) for this contract requires Aerosoft to modify GASP to support additional physical processes known to occur in DPAL lasers, but not already modeled in the existing GASP DPAL model.

According to Government subject matter expert (SME) estimates, a new Contractor would need to go through a learning curve of several years in order to become proficient in ongoing research into simulation of such lasers, while duplicating work already done by Aerosoft. With respect to software development, a Contractor other than Aerosoft may need to re-accomplish all software-developed code as software code was not a deliverable on the original contract. Should Aerosoft offer the partially developed code as a courtesy, software development tends to be so developer-specific that large portions of the code would likely be re-accomplished as a means of saving the time of understanding the previously developed code. Interface nuances and agreements not captured in engineering change documents would need to be re-accomplished by the new Contractor. The anticipation is that new code construction approaches utilized by a new Contractor would result in additional changes to tailor the interfaces to their software preferences.

A contractor other than Aerosoft would need to develop its own gas laser modeling capability comparable to that of GASP. This would involve making additions to another CFD software package to model the chemical reactions that occur in gas lasers, transport of radiation through the gas, propagation of pump light into the gas, and coupling with an optical resonator. Such an effort would take several years, at a minimum of $1,000,000 in development costs to be equivalent to GASP, and would delay ongoing research into simulation of such lasers by several years, while duplicating work already done by Aerosoft. Switching Government researchers to new software would further delay mission and research efforts due to a learning curve of using the new software.

With respect to end-to-end modeling accomplished by Aerosoft during the course of the last five years, high fidelity system specific models for the system and targets sets utilized with the program have been developed over the course of the program. Delivery of the models was not a deliverable under the previous contract and also data rights were not asserted. Additionally, the application that was utilized for the modeling was developed by Aerosoft and verified under extensive comparisons as Aerosoft supported Airborne Laser (ABL) and other DPAL and GASP programs. Any new Contractor’s model of the system would be suspect until a cross comparison was done, and Government confidence in the model would be poor. Additionally, interface routine to take data outputs from one application to be utilized as inputs for other applications required to do the end-to-end modeling would need to be re-accomplished by the new Contractor. Also, familiarity with the data products produced in unison with other Contractors would be lost as a new Contractor would come on board. Knowledge of unindexed archived raw data files would be lost and there would be no assistance for the new Contractor in locating previously developed data files. It is assumed by the Government that many of the raw data files would need to be re-generated.

VI. DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS MADE TO ENSURE THAT OFFERS ARE SOLICITED FROM AS MANY POTENTIAL SOURCES AS DEEMED PRACTICABLE

A Pre-Solicitation notice was posted on 27 May 2011 to Federal Business Opportunities (FEDBIZOPPS.GOV) stating the Government’s intention to solicit to and negotiate with only one source, Aerosoft, Inc. The Government did not receive responses from industry, which resulted in a determination that only Aerosoft can accomplish the effort. The basis of the Government’s decision to award sole source is that any source other than the current Contractor would result in a “substantial increase in cost to the Government that would not be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays” per FAR 6.302-1 (a)(2)(ii)(A)-(B) and FAR 6.302-1 (a)(2)(iii)(A)-(B) (as well as the unique capabilities/qualifications explained in Section V above). All efforts, including this J&A, will be synopsized in accordance with the FAR Part 5 to ensure maximum competition for any follow-on efforts. There may be opportunities to compete in the future if physical modeling capabilities mature.

VII. DETERMINATION BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER THAT THE ANTICIPATED COST TO THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE

The anticipated cost is consistent with typical labor rates for a scientist/engineer working half time for two years, plus associated travel, administration, and other overhead. It includes approximately 1,000 man-hours of direct labor at $40-60 per hour, $2,000 per year of travel costs, plus overhead, New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax, and an award fee. The anticipated cost will be considered fair and reasonable based on the following: In the past, Aerosoft has provided fair and reasonable prices for past contract actions executed under the initial requirement. The Contracting Officer anticipates using Price and Cost Analysis, and Cost Realism Analysis as a method for determining fair and reasonable proposed price on the proposal submitted. DCAA audits, technical evaluations, and other documentation as necessary will be used to determine fair and reasonable price. The Contracting Officer will consider cost and pricing data realistic by proving the data: (1) reflects fair market value or total allowable cost of performance by a well-managed, responsible contractor plus reasonable profit; (2) realistically reflects the contractor’s ability to satisfy terms; and (3) shows that the price that a prudent buyer would pay considering market conditions, requirements alternatives, and non-price factors.

The Government will perform an independent price analysis of the effort. The determination of a fair and reasonable cost will be made from a comparison of the Independent Government Estimate with the estimate of price arrived at by the Contractor.

The Contracting Officer considers Aerosoft a contracting responsible source pursuant to FAR 9.104-1, General Standards. Aerosoft was not found in the “Excluded Parties Listing System (EPLS)”. The searches were conducted on 16 March 2011 and 14 June 2011. Aerosoft is registered in CCR through 02 June 2011 as of 14 June 2011. Aerosoft is registered with the Defense Logistics Information Service, as of 14 June 2011. Additionally, Aerosoft has no negative remarks in FAPIIS or AFMC Debarments and Suspensions listings.

VIII. DESCRIPTION OF MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED AMONG ALL AWARDEES AND THE RESULTS OR A STATEMENT OF THE REASON MARKET RESEARCH WAS NOT CONDUCTED

Aerosoft, Inc. is the only company that has the capability to develop and modify the GASP CFD modeling software. Aerosoft developed original DPAL physical models in its GASP software under the High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO) contract FA9451-08-D-0211. The current effort will extend and apply this capability for AFRL specific needs. The data generated will give the physics for current and future DPAL experiments. Beyond the DPAL physics models in the GASP software, fluid dynamics physics models exist, that in combination with the DPAL physical models, provide a solution capability uniquely suited to the AFRL research program that no other vendor provides. It is this combination of unique, existing DPAL and fluid dynamics modeling capabilities within the GASP software and Aerosoft’s ability to perform modifications as the developer that sets Aerosoft apart from other solution providers.

Specifically, existing commercially available fluid dynamics software include Star-CD (http://www.cd-adapco.com), which advertises features primarily for simulation of internal combustion engines; CFD++ (http://www.metacomptech.com/), which offers general-purpose fluid dynamics features; and Fluent (http://www.ansys.com/), which offers internal combustion engine modeling, turbomachinery modeling, and coupling with structural simulations. None of the above software includes the optical modeling necessary for simulating gas lasers, nor any of the DPAL chemistry models required.

IX. ANY OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Aerosoft has modified and extended the proprietary GASP software under two competitive contracts: FA9451-08-D-0211 and FA9451-04-C-0366. These efforts have resulted in a unique capability in GASP which is unmatched by any other CFD software. Specifically, Aerosoft has implemented flux schemes uniquely suited to gas lasers, coupling with optical resonators and pumps, and chemistry models for DPAL and other gas lasers. No other CFD software currently provides these capabilities.

Aerosoft is the developer of the CFD software GASP. The GASP software is proprietary to Aerosoft, as described in Section 5.1 and 5.2 of Aerosoft’s Software License Agreement.

Giving this work to another contractor would require re-creating the capabilities already available in GASP. Such an effort would take several years and involve costs estimated to be on the order of $1,000,000. In the meantime, all RDLC modeling efforts would have to be put on hold until a new CFD modeling capability was developed to replace GASP. In addition, such an effort would require that AFRL scientists learn a new modeling toolset based on the new vendor’s software.

X. LIST OF SOURCES, IF ANY, THAT EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THE ACQUISITION

No sources have been responsive other than Aerosoft Inc.

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

We will continue to monitor the requirements to ensure that future sole source requirements are avoided if possible. The Government will acquire Government Purpose Data Rights at the end of effort, ensuring that future acquisitions will be fully competed. All efforts, including this J&A, will be synopsized in accordance with FAR Part 5 to ensure maximum competition for any follow-on efforts.

XII. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S CERTIFICATION

The Contracting Officer’s signature on the Justification Review Document certifies that she has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of her knowledge and belief (FAR 6.303-2(a)(12)).

XIII. TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS PERSONNEL’S CERTIFICATION

As evidenced by their signatures on the J&A signature page, the technical personnel have certified that any supporting data contained herein, which is their responsibility, is both accurate and complete (FAR 6.303-2(b)).