G15 - ASAM_ViaSat_JA-redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION

21983 BUNDY ROAD, 441 BUILDING

PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND 20670

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWC-AD) Patuxent River, MD

2. Description of the Action Being Approved

This Justification and Approval (J&A) authorizes and approves the issuance of a sole source award of a Firm Fixed Priced (FFP) contract with ViaSat, Inc., 1725 Breckinridge Plaza, Duluth, GA 30096, to procure pedestal/antenna upgrade components and services through a five (5) year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The pedestal/antenna upgrade will extend the life of existing radar pedestals utilized by the Atlantic Test Range (ATR), located on the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, MD, for another seven to ten years.

3. Description of Supplies/Services

The ATR’s, Aircraft Signature & Avionics Measurement (ASAM) Branch maintains/operates fifteen (15) ViaSat dual-axis dual-drive and two (2) ViaSat dual-axis single-drive antenna pedestal/controller systems that are essential to the support of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) as a Major Ranges & Test Facility Base (MRTFB) test installation supporting missions for the Department of Defense (DoD). In FY21, ASAM is programmed to receive funding from the Improvements and Modernization (I&M) program for three years (FY21-FY23) to fund the upgrade, replacement, and improvement of antiquated servo drives and antenna control units that are reaching their end-of-life. This project is hereby referred to as the Pedestal Improvement Project (PIP). The ATR ASAM Branch has a requirement to support the maintenance, services, and acquisition for the PIP, encompassing several aspects: technical support, non-warranty hardware repair or replacement, obsolescence management, on-site maintenance, preventative maintenance, spare parts, and replacement pedestals. The resulting IDIQ contract will provide a vehicle under which delivery orders will be issued to order parts that will upgrade current 3414/3880 and 3308/3880 pedestal servo drive/antenna control units to the new standard 3414/4100 control units.

Moreover, ASAM pedestals support Advance Dynamic Aircraft Measurement system (ADAMS) Radar Cross Section (RCS) and Electronic Warfare Counter/Counter Measure (ECCM) projects. The benefactors of this IDIQ will allow ASAM to continue to support Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Next Generation Jammer (NGJ), Next Electronic Warfare Generator (NEWEG), and Broadband Emitter & Antenna Measurement System (BEAMS) testing.

4. Statutory Authority

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as cited in FAR 6.302-1, “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.”

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority

ATR currently owns over $8.5M in ViaSat radar pedestals and antennas ranging from entire pedestals and antennas to small parts that have been acquired through other contract vehicles. The last major maintenance/upgrade project was awarded in 2004 under contract number N00421-04-D-0097. Several of the radar pedestals have been upgraded/replaced through individual contracts (DLA IDIQ), P-Cards, or the Material line in the current ATR Range Services contract (N00421-14-C-0038). Radar pedestals consist of several pieces of Information Technology (IT) equipment such as Antenna Control Units (ACU) and Graphical User Interface (GUI) that are required to make the radar functional and state-of-the-art servo drive amplifiers and motors.

The hardware required to make these pedestals and antennas work properly must come from ViaSat, Inc. Due to data rights and proprietary information, ViaSat is the only vendor that can service, repair, upgrade, or maintain original ViaSat pedestal equipment. If forced to change vendors, ATR would pay well over $20M to replace all of ATR’s pedestals, IT infrastructure, programming, training and spares. In addition, there would be unrecoverable losses of RDT&E missions and potentially customers. As a result, it would not be in the best interest of the government to completely outfit the entire range with new radar pedestals all at once.

This requirement will sustain ATR’s radar pedestal systems for an additional ten years or longer or until pedestals have reached their absolute end of life expectancy. This ATR requirement has been generated to replace obsolete, antiquated, unsupported, and high failure components before those obsolete, unsupported parts disrupt flight test schedules. ATR currently does not have enough spares on the shelf to sustain the current tempo of operations supporting the Navy’s RDT&E customers without upgrading/replacing the pedestal’s servo drive systems. This requirement also includes in-house/factory repairs/evaluations and field support to existing systems and during upgrade project.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable.

Pursuant to DFARS PGI 206.302-1, a sources sought was posted to beta.SAM.gov on 31 March 2020 for 15 days to determine Small-Business Set-aside opportunities and if other companies could demonstrate their ability to complete the required effort by the required completion dates. The sources sought closed on 15 April 2020 with no responses received.

In accordance with FAR Subpart 5.201(b), a synopsis was issued on the beta.SAM.gov website on 27 April 2020, specifically stating the Government’s intent to contract on a sole source basis with ViaSat, Inc. for the required effort. The proprietary information and data rights severely limits competition; as ViaSat is the sole manufacturer and distributor of the hardware required to make these pedestals and antennas function properly. The synopsis was posted for 15 days, ending on 13 May 2020. No companies responded to the posting.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost

In accordance with FAR 15.402, the Contracting Officer shall ensure that all supplies and services provided under this contract are procured at a fair and reasonable price. The Contractor will submit a formal price proposal with pricing data and sufficient information to support the accuracy and reliability of the estimate. VIASAT’s proposal will be reviewed by experienced technical analysts and contract specialists. As these items are considered Commercial Items as defined in FAR 2.101, the Contracting Officer will utilize price analysis as the basis for negotiating a fair and reasonable price.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition

ATR will continue to monitor the market for vendors that can provide the expertise and capability to provide a complete system needed to satisfy and support requirements. If another potential source emerges, ATR will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible. When the current pedestals are beyond economical repair and must be upgraded entirely, ATR will conduct a comprehensive market research and ensure competitive contracting selects the best available vendor.