REDACTED_FINAL_J&A-_Crossfire_Canopies.pdf

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY - J&A No. 19-1707 Page 1 of 3V1.3, 4 Dec 18

United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)

Justification and Approval (J&A) Document Template

Authority: FAR 13.501(a) Unusual and compelling urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand name, industrial m

Individual Class Type J&A: ( or ) Yes NoBridge Action: ( or ) Yes NoGreater than 12 Months: ( or )

Project/Program Name: ICARUS Crossfire 2 Canopies for Military Free Fall School

Component/PEO/Other:

Estimated Contract Cost (including options) :

J&A No.

Generated when entered in log

19-1707

Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items Sole Source Justification

1. Agency and Contracting Activity:

(US Army Special Operations Command 1st Special Warfare Training Group (SWEG)(Airborne) Military Free Fall School, 2ND BN 1SWTG(A) Bld 1322 Old Stable Lane Fort Bragg, NC 2831 Delivery to:

Military Free Fall School 301 C St. BLDG 305 Yuma, AZ 85365)

(HQ US Army Special Operations CMD, DCSC ATTN: AOCO (Contracting)

BLDG E-2929

Desert Storm Drive Fort Bragg, NC 28310.)

2. Description of Supplies/Services:

(Approval is requested for this new contract for brand name ICARUS Crossfire 2 parachute canopies for Military Free Fall (MFF) School instructors in Yuma Arizona. The contract will be a Firm-Fixed Price purchase order. P11 O&M funding applies to this supply contract. The dollar amount is anticipated at and delivery of the canopies is expected 14-16 weeks after receipt of award.)

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command 1st Special Warfare Training Group (SWEG) (Airborne) out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has a requirement for brand name ICARUS Crossfire 2 Parachute Canopies to be used at the MFF school in Yuma, Arizona. The canopies required are commercial, capable of being relined and have some of the aspects of the RA-1 parachute system. RA-1 provides soldiers with a multimission, steerable High Altitude Low Opening or High Altitude High Opening capability with Ram Air design and double bag static line configuration. The Crossfire 2 Canopies are not used in the same way that MFF/Special Warfare Tactical Group (A) uses the RA-1 parachute system (see attachments 8 and 9). The RA-1 parachutes are for tactical use at an exit altitude between 3,500 feet and 35,000 and a total jumper weight of 450 pounds. The MFF school utilizes the Crossfire 2 Canopies at a jumping height up to 17,999 and a total jumper weight of up to 300 pounds since they utilizing the commercial Crossfire 2 Canopies at MFF. The non-tactical ICARUS Crossfire 2 Canopy is a custom requirement for the MFF school instructors. The requirement is for the following square footage sizes and quantities: 50 at 150 square feet, 40 at 170 square feet, 30 at 190 square feet and 12 at 210 square feet. The canopy’s glide ratio, opening for characteristics and landing behavior are similarly in line with the RA-1 standard but not all aspects of the RA-1 are required for use at the MFF school. The MFF school does not require a double bag static line configuration; thus Crossfire Canopy 2 does not offer that RA-1 aspect. The Crossfire 2 Canopy is capable of being relined, extending the life cycle of the canopies that can reduce costs for reprocurement. The relining capability is custom to this requirement. Military Free Fall School (MFFS) instructors perform an average of 550 military free fall (MFF) jumps annually. This duty and these responsibilities put extreme wear/tear on their parachute systems, forcing the requirement of a durable canopy, and the option to re-line the parachute instead of purchasing an entire new canopy, which is the current

TTP.

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3. Authority Cited:

41 U.S.C. 1901 (or 41 U.S.C. 1903 for Special Emergency Procurement) as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5:

Brand-Name

4. Reason for Authority Cited:

ICARUS is the only company that manufactures the Crossfire 2 Canopy which is a non-tactical canopy that matches or exceeds the glide ratio of current tactical canopies, which increases instructor and student safety. This canopy’s glide ratio, opening for characteristics, landing behavior, and ease of maintenance determine the need for this canopy, and it is fully supported by Military Free Fall School Command and Program Operating Instructions. Instructors at the Military Freefall School utilized numerous canopies in FY18 to ensure the safest, most effective canopy was being used by the instructors at the schoolhouse. The instructors concluded that the ICARUS Crossfire 2 is the proper choice for Military Freefall School.

A Request for Information (RFI) was sent to Complete Parachute Solutions, Paragear and the Sky Diving outlet regarding their ability to sell a Crossfire 2 Canopy or similar item resulted in a phone call from the Sky Diving stating that they did not offer a commercial canopy that offers the tactical aspects of the custom requirement for this canopy purpose but they do sell Crossfire Canopies for a sport purpose. An RFI regarding Paragear's ability to sell a Crossfire 2 Canopy or similar item resulted in an email from Paragear stating to please contact ICARUS because they are the manufacturer of the Crossfire 2 Canopy.

On 17 April 2019 a Sources Sought notice was posted to FedBizOpps.gov with a closing date of 1 May 2019. The Sources Sought received three responses. Response number one was from Rock Sky Market (CAGE: 7PMU2) a Woman-Owned Small Business. Rock Sky Market indicated that they were capable of fulling the requirement for the custom ICARUS Crossfire 2 Canopies; however, Response number two was from New Zealand Aerosport, their CAGE and DUNS were not provided and when asked they responded they don’t think they are registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) The phone number for international entities registration in SAM.gov was provided to NZ Aerosport. NZ Aerosport's business status provided in their capability statement said they were a medium sized business.

Since the canopies are commercial items that are not commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) and are subject to the Buy American Act (see part c of this report), it is possible that New Zealand (NZ) Aerosport cannot fulfill the requirement since FAR 52.225-1 Buy American or DFARS 252.225-7012 Preference for Certain Domestic Commodities both apply to this acquisition. Response number three was from G7T, LLC (CAGE: 5FPC0) an Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business. G7T identified themselves as capable of fulfilling the requirement for custom ICARUS Crossfire 2 Canopies because they are a distributor for NZ Aerosports. Their response included information about contract W9124R-15-P-1101 in which they previously provided Crossfire 2 Canopies to the MFF school in Yuma, Arizona.

ICARUS World (CAGE 8AL24) is the source provided by the customer and can provide the custom ICARUS Crossfire 2 Canopy that is manufactured in Spain. The brand name requirement will be competed amongst the vendors identified above selling the ICARUS Crossfire 2 Canopy. ICARUS World, Rock Sky Market and G7T are small business concerns. NZAerosports currently does not have a verified small business size status. An ICARUS manufacturer or distributor can provide the custom ICARUS Crossfire 2 Canopies required for the MFF school instructors according to Market Research.

This requirement will be posted to www.FBO.gov to encourage as many quotes as practicable. This brand name J&A represents the best value for the Government as the agreed to prices will be based upon competitive commercial quotes.

However, the Government will continue to review new products as they come on the market and present recommended products to the agency for assessment and safety testing. Any decision to introduce a new product will depend on its performance in a training environment as well as budget that will support 100% replacement of current inventory.

5. Technical and Requirements Certification:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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Name: Title: Executive Officer

Signature: Date:

6. Contracting Officer Certification:

I hereby certify that this J&A is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Justin W. Burke Title: Contracting Officer

Signature: Date: May 22, 2019