For Posting - JA-26-RTP-0338_UAF Renewal_Redacted.pdf

Control Number: JA-26-RTP-0338

JUNE 2025

FAR Part 6 Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition

1. Requiring Activity: U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, on behalf of NORAD-USNORTHCOM, Peterson Space Force Base, CO.

2. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), Research Triangle Park Division.

3. Description of Action: Request approval to award a new $499,000,000, non-competitive, five-year (5-year base period with no options), hybrid Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) (Completion) and Firm Fixed Price (FFP), Indefinite-Delivery, Single Award (SA) Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, CAGE: 3R2B4, 3295 College Rd., Fairbanks, AK 99709-3705. The contract will establish the Geophysical Detection of Nuclear Proliferation (GDNP) University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). This contract will be incrementally funded using appropriate Fiscal Year (FY) Operation and Maintenance (O&M) and Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) funds.

4. Description of Supplies/Services: This requirement is necessary to provide the Department of War (DoW), specifically the sponsoring command of NORAD- USNORTHCOM, with essential, long-term research, development, testing, and engineering capabilities to address critical national security challenges. The Government has a specialized and enduring need for a strategic partner with unique expertise and infrastructure to provide the nation with essential scientific and engineering capabilities focused on the geophysical detection of nuclear proliferation.

To successfully perform this mission, the UARC must maintain technical preeminence across the following Core Competencies, as established and approved by USD(R&E):

Theoretical and practical understanding of the techniques and technologies related to nuclear treaty verification, from research and development of such techniques and technologies, to their implementation and operation around the world.

Theoretical and practical understanding of the techniques and technologies related to geophysical measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) from research and development of such techniques and technologies, to their implementation and operation around the world;

Theoretical and practical understanding of the techniques and technologies related to Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) from research and development of such techniques and technologies, to their implementation and operation around the world; and

Basic and applied geophysical research in the solid earth, atmosphere, cryosphere, oceans, unmanned aerial systems, and space.

Government that provides essential, long-term technical preeminence across the full RDT&E spectrum.

a. Background: The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) maintains a unique national standing established by a 1946 Act of Congress (Public Law 580), which founded the Geophysical Institute (GI) specifically to provide the Department with specialized research results of direct military application in the detection of nuclear proliferation.

UAF’s technical uniqueness is grounded in its ability to provide an integrated sensing environment that co-locates the Poker Flat Research Range with the Alaska Satellite Facility—a combination of facilities and command structure not found at any other educational institution. Furthermore, UAF holds the nation’s deepest repository of high-latitude geophysical signatures, serving as the primary source for the data that other academic institutions use to train their own models. This institutional knowledge is essential for the high-confidence event forensics and yield estimation required for treaty verification.

Building upon this 80-year foundation, the GDNP UARC was formally established in September 2018. To ensure mission continuity since the previous contract expired in 2024, the Department conducted the 2025 Comprehensive Review, which formally re-validated UAF’s designation on March 23, 2026. This review, supported by a formal affirmation from UAF (titled "UAF Affirmation of Institutional Continuity and Capability – GDNP UARC Renewal"), confirmed that UAF has maintained all specialized laboratories, kept its facilities cleared, and retained the key Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) required for performance throughout the gap. From an operational standpoint, UAF maintains the specialized infrastructure and established interagency agreements necessary to manage complex, globally dispersed sensor networks 24/7/365. Finally, UAF’s unparalleled experience in extreme Arctic environments is critical for mission success in the North American Arctic. To attempt to obtain these integrated capabilities from any other source would result in mission degradation and a significant duplication of cost estimated at over $65,000,000.

b. Alternatives: Attempting to establish this capability with any other institution would result in unacceptable mission risk, significant cost duplication, and years of delay. The Government evaluated other DoD-sponsored UARC holders as potential alternative sources. While these institutions maintain world-class general R&D expertise, none possess the integrated combination of Arctic-hardened sensor arrays, university-operated space-launch infrastructure (Poker Flat), and the deepest repository of high-latitude geophysical signatures unique to UAF.

This lack of viable alternatives was formally confirmed by a Sources Sought posted on SAM.gov in June 2026. The SS yielded four (4) responses from interested small-business vendors, none of which maintain the required integrated geophysical laboratories or the Department-level technical preeminence required for the GDNP mission.

UAF possesses a unique combination of institutional knowledge in geophysical sciences and decades of operational experience in extreme Arctic environments that cannot be replicated without an estimated duplication of cost exceeding $65,000,000 and a 3–5 year mission gap necessary to construct some of the facilities currently supporting the UARC such as:

- The Alaska Center for Unmanned Aerial System Integration (constructed at a cost of ~$4M);

- The Alaska Satellite Facility (three (3) operational antennas, with each new antenna install averaging ~$5-7M);

- Poker Flat Research Range (5,132 acre-range, initially constructed in 1967-1968, with ongoing expansions on the order of $30-$40M currently)

As documented in the original justification for this UARC, and confirmed by consistent performance, no other FFRDC or academic institution has this specific, integrated set of capabilities essential for the NORAD-USNORTHCOM mission. Full and open competition is not a viable alternative as it would require the Government to fund a new entity to recreate decades of intellectual capital and infrastructure that already exists at

UAF.

c. Impact if not approved: If this J&A is not approved, the Government will be unable to re-establish its critical strategic partnership with UAF for the geophysical detection of nuclear proliferation. This failure to restore the UARC capability would create an immediate and critical gap in the Department’s ability to meet the national security objectives defined in the 2026 National Defense Strategy. Ultimately, this would degrade NORAD-USNORTHCOM’s ability to provide timely warning of global nuclear activities to national leadership and result in the loss of 80 years of integrated geophysical expertise and infrastructure.

7. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

The Government’s justification for this sole-source award is based on the authority of RFO FAR 6.103-3, which permits the Government to maintain essential engineering and research capabilities at any educational or nonprofit institution without providing for full and open competition. To identify potential competitors and ensure no other sources had developed comparable capabilities during the two-year gap since the 2024 contract expiration, the Government conducted a market survey, including a formal Sources Sought (SS) posted on SAM.gov from 12 June 2026 through 22 June 2026.

The SS explicitly sought to identify other educational, non-profit entities, and all businesses to include small business concerns with the laboratory facilities, cleared infrastructure, and integrated geophysical research capabilities required for the mission.

The notice yielded four (4) responses from interested small-business vendors. Upon evaluation, it was determined that no respondent possessed the required integrated geophysical laboratories, university-owned launch infrastructure (Poker Flat), or the established Department-level technical preeminence essential for the GDNP mission.

In a further effort to validate the current market landscape, the Assistant Secretary of War (Science & Technology) conducted the 2025 Comprehensive Review, which concluded in a formal determination on 23 March 2026. This multi-agency technical evaluation explicitly analyzed potential alternative sources across the Department and confirmed that the University of Alaska Fairbanks remains the uniquely qualified institution to maintain this essential national capability. These collective efforts confirm that competition for this specialized requirement is not feasible.

In accordance with RFO FAR 5.101(b)(2), a pre-solicitation notice is not required when using other than full and open competition under the cited authority of RFO 6.103-3.

a. Effective competition: Not applicable. In accordance with RFO FAR 6.103- 3(b)(2), the DoW requires the maintenance of an essential engineering and R&D capability provided by this specific educational institution. As this action is for the renewal and sustainment of a strategic partnership with an existing UARC, effective competition is not anticipated. The unique geophysical infrastructure, specialized workforce, and "special relationship" developed by the UAF/GI—which includes access to sensitive data and freedom from conflicts of interest—cannot be duplicated by commercial or other academic sources. Competing this requirement would result in the loss of this essential capability and create an unacceptable gap in the 2026 National Defense Strategy priorities of Homeland Defense and Arctic Security.

b. Subcontracting competition: The Government will ensure the prime contractor, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), obtains as much competition as practicable in its subcontracting efforts.

This will be accomplished through several mechanisms:

1. Master Subcontracting Plan: As a condition of the award, UAF is required to submit a Master Subcontracting Plan that details the methods they will use to solicit and award subcontracts competitively, particularly to small business concerns.

2. Government Oversight: Under the terms of this CPFF and FFP contract, the Government retains the right to review and consent to major subcontracts, ensuring that the selection process is fair and the costs are reasonable.

3. Annual Program Reviews: The Government will review subcontracting performance and efforts as part of the annual program management reviews with UARC leadership to ensure compliance and promote maximum competition at the subcontract level.

8. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will actively take action to increase competition for portions of the work that mature over time. Specifically:

a. Periodic Review: The Government will conduct a comprehensive review of the UARC's portfolio every five years. This review will assess all ongoing work, with a particular focus on any long-term Operations & Maintenance (O&M) activities.

b. Divestment of Mature Work: If, during a review, it is determined that the commercial marketplace has matured and a specific O&M task is no longer in the Government's best interest to perform within the UARC, that work will be formally divested.

c. Transition to Competition: The UARC will be required to support a well-managed transition plan to move the divested work to a separate, competitively awarded contract.

This strategy ensures that while the core R&D mission remains with the UARC to preserve its essential capabilities, the Government has a formal process in place to identify and transition mature work to the competitive private sector, thereby increasing competition in the future.

9. Market Research: In accordance with DoW UARC policy and FAR Part 10, market research for this action was conducted using a multi-phased approach that evaluated both the historical and current market landscape. This research is anchored by the "Comprehensive Review of the Continued Need for the DoD, Geophysical Detection of Nuclear Proliferation (GDNP) University Affiliated Research Center (UARC)," dated June 2024, which assessed the multi-year performance and technical preeminence of the UARC.

In an effort to identify alternative sources, the Comprehensive Review performed an evaluation of all other existing Department-sponsored UARCs and FFRDCs. This review of the chartered core competencies across the Department concluded that while other institutions possess expertise in individual technical areas, no other institution or consortium provides the integrated combination of capabilities essential for this mission.

As established in the Comprehensive Review and confirmed by current market testing (discussed below), UAF maintains unique services, property, and established international coordination mechanisms that cannot be replicated without significant mission risk and unacceptable sensor downtime. To ensure the currency of this assessment, the findings were re-validated through a recent NORAD-NORTHCOM (NNC) Independent Review and formally codified in the UARC Approval issued by the Under Secretary of Defense [USW(S&T)] on April 23, 2026.

To formally test the market during the transition period since the previous contract expired in 2024, the Government issued a Sources Sought (SS) posted on SAM.gov from 12 June 2026 through 22 June 2026. This current market test yielded no viable responses. No existing UARCs or FFRDCs responded. The only responses received were from interested small-business vendors, none of which possessed the required integrated geophysical laboratories, university-owned launch infrastructure (Poker Flat), or the established technical preeminence essential for the GDNP mission. These results are consistent with the market landscape established during the original 2018 competition for the UARC, where a “contract sources sought” yielded no viable responses other than the University of Alaska Fairbanks. At that time, a formal evaluation of existing UARCs confirmed that no other university or consortium possessed the required core competencies.

Vendor

Core Competency

Meets Army Requirements

Potentially Meets Army Requirements

Does Not Meet Army Requirements

Patriot Allied Solutions

LLC

CAGE:

9ALS7

Custom computer programming services;

computer systems design services; computer facilities management services.

X

Varritech Inc.

CAGE/UID:

In progress

Contributes “production agentic AI infrastructure applicable to Army R&D/testing/engineering workflows”

X

SemperMade

191F9

Small business source for software engineering, data integration, test automation, DevSecOps, documentation, and transition-ready support.

X

BHPE LLC

9SWS7

Marketing and Data Analytics division provides comprehensive support to government agencies by delivering valuable market research, actionable data, industry forecasts, and insights into industry capabilities.

X

The research to be performed under this contract is consistent with the core competencies defined in the PWS, and there are established governance processes in place to ensure all future research remains aligned with these competencies. Based on this research, the Government has determined that UAF remains uniquely qualified and is the only viable source to meet the Department's needs.

10. Interested Sources: Four (4) small businesses identified themselves as interested vendors in response to the Sources Sought Notice posted on SAM.gov from 12 June 2026 through 22 June 2026. Upon evaluation, the sources were determined to be non-viable as they do not possess the integrated geophysical laboratories, university-owned launch infrastructure, or the established technical preeminence required to maintain the Department's essential capability. No other viable sources have expressed interest in this requirement.