J A-FBO.doc

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (J&A)

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) – ONLY ONE RESPONSIBLE SOURCE AND NO OTHER SUPPLIES OR SERVICES WILL SATISFY AGENCY REQUIREMENTS

SOLICITATION HSCG38-10-R-200015

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.3, HSAM 3006.3, CGAP 3006.3 and in accordance with requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

(1) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition.” – The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Aviation Logistics Center (ALC), Short Range Recovery (SRR) Contract Section, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, proposes to enter into a contract on a basic other than full and open competition and hereby presents this Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (J&A) for review and approval.

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved. – ALC has a requirement on a limited sources basis to purchase various spare parts used on the SRR aircraft.

(3) Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value). – As the Aviation Inventory Control Point (AICP), ALC must provide effective supply support for all Coast Guard aviation units and for the Programmed Depot Maintenance Program. Authorized Part Numbers, National Stock Numbers, quantities and nomenclatures for the base period are identified in attachment 1. The material and estimated quantities to be procured are based on current and past usage. Projected stocking levels are based on: experienced mean time between failure rates; failure and corrosion trends; experienced and projected scrap rates and procurement lead times. A requirements type contract is anticipated. The proposed period of performance is a one-year base period plus two (2) one-year option periods.

(4) Identification of statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. –The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1).

(5) Demonstration that the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. – The components/parts to be procured are manufactured by a limited number of foreign manufacturers who own all rights to proprietary data, specifications and drawings. There are no domestic manufacturers for these parts. There are, however, U.S. affiliates and distributors who may be able to propose on one or more of the parts to be procured. This requirement is anticipated to be awarded to responsible sources with traceability to from Eurocopter SAS, which is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of the items solicited. Failure to purchase these parts may cause aircraft to be grounded. A similar part from another manufacturer would not suffice as these parts would require numerous changes to the aircraft (software, configurations, etc), which ultimately would result in increased funding. The United States Coast Guard did not purchase the technical data rights as part of the original acquisition for the Short Range Recovery (SRR) aircraft (formerly referred to as HH-65), nor we do have accessibility to the complete specifications and drawings for each part. Eurocopter owns the proprietary data for these parts and will not release it. The majority of the part numbers to be procured are manufactured by Eurocopter France (ECF). Over the past 2 years, ECF has systematically eliminated all domestic firms, except American Eurocopter LLC, from purchasing spare parts or substantially increased the unit prices which severely impacts competition.

(6) Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable. – A sources sought notice was posted via the FBO website on 4/26/10 with a closing date of 5/3/10. A combined synopsis/solicitation will be posted on the FBO website. To date, no new vendors have been identified. If any other vendors express an interest in this acquisition, they will be instructed to submit a proposal which will be evaluated.

(7) Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. It is the Contracting Officer's opinion that prices ultimately negotiated for this repair will be fair and reasonable based on competition, a comparison to commercial catalog prices for these or similar items, a comparison to the government estimate, and if necessary, an analysis of other than cost and pricing data.

(8) Description of the market research. Market research was conducted by posting a sources sought notice was via the FBO website from 4/22/10-4/29/10.

(9) Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition, i.e., proprietary data packages, etc. – The approval of this justification is necessary because USCG did not purchase data rights as part of the initial system acquisition for the SRR aircraft. The necessary manufacturing drawings, data, and special tooling are proprietary and available only to the foreign original equipment manufacturers. The performance and acceptance data are also proprietary. The USCG does not have adequate technical descriptions to enhance competition. A large portion of the parts to be procured are available only from the original equipment manufacturer, as indicated by the vendor code, which is Eurocopter France. American Eurocopter LLC is the approved foreign manufacturer distributor for Eurocopter. Many of the parts are listed in American Eurocopter, LLC’s 2009 commercial catalog. Historical data indicates that several other domestic vendors have supplied the Coast Guard with parts used on the SRR aircraft. They are: Sey Tec, Inc., Hurst, TX; Boone Air Parts, Valencia, CA; B & B Marketing, Spring, TX. and Eurotradia. Each of these contractors will be given the opportunity to provide an offer for this solicitation.

(10) Listing of the sources, if any that expressed in writing, an interest in the acquisition. – The three vendors who are interested in this acquisition include Eurotradia, B & B Marketing, and American Eurocopter Corporation.

(11) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent for the supplies or services required.

Complete specifications and drawings for the SRR aircraft are not available to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard does not possess technical expertise nor were the data rights to spares purchased as part of the initial system acquisition for the SRR aircraft. As the Aircraft Inventory Control Point (AICP), ALC is tasked with supporting systems that have been deployed for use in the aviation community. As a result, it would be difficult to foster a competitive procurement effort. However, in an effort to increase competition among affiliates and distributors, SRR Product Line members conduct extensive internet database research and procurements are advertised in FedBizOps.

In support of the Competition in Contracting Act, ALC established the New Product Development Branch (NPD) and a representative of the NPD Branch is assigned to the SRR Product Line. This representative has the responsibility to locate alternate sources of supply/services and alternate acceptable products. In FY-07, 524 items were located and FY-08 51 items were located from contractors not previously doing business with ALC. NPD was responsible for reverse engineering hard to find items. However, this process is lengthy, costly and a labor intensive effort. Engineering, contracting and New Product Development representatives continuously conduct market research through sources sought notices, posting RFQs and RFPs in FedBizOps, attendance of trade shows and networking to ensure that companies interested in doing business with the USCG are given every opportunity to compete for our requirements.