ID05190069 JA REDACTED.pdf

Federal Acquisition Service Great Lakes Region

Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition

FOR THE PURCHASE OF

US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Airborne Intelligence Surveillance, and

Reconnaissance (AISR) Sensor Data Transport Infrastructure, Command Data Link (CDL) and Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Support

ITSS SOLICITATION NUMBER ID05190069

22 January 2020

A procurement by the U.S. General Services Administration on behalf of The United States Special Operations Command

This requirement is being fulfilled through an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract

NAICS: 334220 Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing

PSC: R425 Support-Professional: Engineering/Technical

1. Agency/Contracting Activity Requiring Agency: US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) CIO Support Division 7701 Tampa Point Blvd, Rm 2246, MacDill AFB, FL 33621

Contracting Activity: General Services Administration, Region 5 (5QZA) Federal Acquisition Service, Contracting Division

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and its partners, including but not limited to Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), DOD Chief Information Officer (CIO), Air Force, Army, Marines, and Navy, require engineering and integration activities to support applicable Common Data Link (CDL), command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR), and remote split operations (RSO) requirements by focusing on the utilization of existing and future architectures, configurations and resources to support data relay ingest, and throughput at the ground stations and other customer locations.

A majority of the USSOCOM Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (AISR) Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or Satellite Communications (SATCOM) systems and components to be sustained under this contract will be deployed OCONUS to meet the Geographical Combatant Commanders’ (GCC’s) operational requirement for Airborne ISR assets and is critical to prosecution of violent extremist organizations (VEOs) and counterterrorism activities. These capabilities will expand existing data link capability to meet the requirement for worldwide operations and provide critical intelligence data to users in near real time.

The sensors and the equipment necessary to perform the AISR transport were developed by a single contractor and are proprietary to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), L3 Technologies. In order to provide consistent and no fail support for the L3 Technologies’ developed sensors and equipment specific to the AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems, contractor personnel must be experienced and possess high skill levels surrounding OEM specific AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and components; must be prepared for immediate/short notice tasking for travel; must remain current on all necessary training/required certifications; and must maintain applicable clearances/accesses (Secret – Special Access Programs {as required}). Given the austere environments and associated autonomy required, these personnel must exhibit high levels of technical competence and have historical/reliable/trusted access to L3 Technologies’ engineering support. This procurement will provide for a full range of Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) with the respective intellectual capital, contractor support, equipment, components, and systems for the applicable CDL, C4ISR, and RSO. .

Approval of this document will authorize a new five year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for USSOCOM and its partners. The resultant contract will provide the necessary equipment and services needed for a continued, seamless, uninterrupted sustainment and support for USSOCOM’s current and future AISR Transport Infrastructure (e.g., Satellite Remote Video Terminal {SRVT}, and Predator Receive Terminal {PRT}), CDL (e.g., Video Oriented Transceiver for Exchange of Information {VORTEX} Satellite Modem {VSM}, Predator Modem Assembly {PMA}, and Secure Link Modem Assembly {SLMA}), and SATCOM (e.g., Fixed Satellite Subsystem Terminal {FSST}, Ground Mobile Terminal {GMT}, Quad-band

Large Aperture Antenna {Q-LAA}, and Satellite Earth Terminal Sub System {SETSS}), CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and components to ensure USSOCOM can provide compatible and interoperable, L3 Technologies’ specific AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and components to ensure seamless downlink, processing, and distribution for near real time sensor data in support of the SOF warfighter. It further ensures cradle-to-grave sustainment for critical L3 Technologies’ specific systems and components previously fielded/deployed and guaranteeing required operational effectiveness (no fail original equipment manufacturer {OEM} support) while maximizing desired fiscal efficiency (no pass through fees/additional reseller costs). The sole vendor capable of meeting the requirements and mission need is L3 Technologies as further detailed herein.

3. Description of the Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Need The supplies and services required under this contract will provide vital support to the multiple systems/components listed below which are imperative to meeting the USSOCOM mission.

Equipment USSOCOM & Partners/Service Units Description of Need

Video Oriented Transceiver for Exchange of Information (VORTEX)

Supports downlink data and video processing.

Mini-Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) / Mini-TCDL2

Supports downlink data and video processing.

VORTEX Satellite Modem (VSM) Supports downlink data and video processing.

Predator Modem Assembly (PMA) Supports downlink data and video processing.

Secure Link Modem Assembly (SLMA) Supports downlink data and video processing.

Tactical Wideband Interoperability Surface Terminal (TWISTER)

Supports downlink data and video processing.

Predator Receive Terminal (PRT) *OEM is General Atomic, contains L3 equipment

Supports downlink data, video processing, and distribution.

Fixed Satellite Subsystem Terminal (FSST) Supports Regional Ground Entry Point (RGEP) downlink distribution

Ground Mobile Terminal (GMT) Supports RGEP downlink distribution Quad-band Large Aperture Antenna (Q-LAA) Supports RGEP downlink distribution Satellite Earth Terminal SubSystem (SETSS) Supports RGEP downlink distribution SATCOM Remote Video Terminal (SRVT) Supports downlink video processing and distribution.

Matrix Switch Distribution System (MSDS) Supports interfacility uplink and downlink distribution

As noted in Section 2, the CLS provided by this effort will provide the respective intellectual capital, contractor support, components, and systems for the applicable CDL, C4ISR, and RSO which includes the L3 Technologies’ equipment identified in the above table. In addition, spare part replenishment and services directly associated with performing the requirements established under the resultant orders will be necessary. These may include:

Specialized Repair Activity (SRA) Management: The necessary SRA materials, personnel, facilities, and services to inspect, test, repair, modify, upgrade, and/or overhaul applicable USSOCOM AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and components, and related equipment.

In-plant Engineering Support: Engineering/technical services shall support maintenance and operation of existing hardware and software, provide development facilities for new and follow-on systems and components, and provide for computer program/software configuration controls for all systems, associated hardware, and support equipment.

Contractor Field Service Representatives (CFSRs): CFSR services to ensure complete Operations and Maintenance (O&M) support for applicable USSOCOM AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and components assigned at various (current and future) sites/units and/or contractor facilities, both Continental United States (CONUS) and Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS).

Reporting: Technical data and reports shall be provided IAW DD Form 1423-1s. The Contract Data Requirements List (CDRLs) are comprised of all CDRLs that may be invoked during the execution of this contractual effort. Any effort utilizing a particular CDRL will be tasked independently and funded on that specific Task Order. The CDRLs also detail the required recurring (weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual) reports to be delivered to the Government/Customer.

Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs): Documentation that implements a modification/upgrade to legacy equipment.

Procurement of Commercial Satellite Leases: Commercial satellite leases provide the satellite bandwidth used by USSOCOM AISR assets to relay asset/payload commands and the associated sensor data to/from the in-theater Tactical Operations Centers (TOCs), Forward Operating Bases (FOBs), and/or the Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination (PED) Cells.

Procurement of L3 Systems and Components: Support for procurement, build, delivery, and integration of the Government for applicable AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and components.

Travel of Contractor Personnel: Travel to various CONUS and/or OCONUS locations in support of the respective order requirements.

Program Management Support: Program management support for all disciplines applicable to USSOCOM’s AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM requirement.

This justification is not asserting all of the aforementioned services are unique to the contractor; it is only to document in accordance with FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) the description of the “supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs”. In the performance of awarded orders, it is expected that some or all of these services will be required. For example, services such Travel of Contractor Personnel and Program Management Support are not services that only L3 Technologies can perform but they are services L3 Technologies will need to perform as the may be directly associated with the purchase of any equipment and performance of any engineering, operational, or sustainment service as required by the respective order.

A majority of the USSOCOM AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and components sustained under this contract will be deployed OCONUS to meet the GCC’s operational requirement for Airborne ISR assets and is critical to prosecution of VEOs and counterterrorism activities. In order to provide consistent and no fail support for the applicable L3 Technologies’ specific AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems, associated contractor personnel must be experienced and possess high skill levels surrounding OEM specific AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and components, must be prepared for immediate/short notice tasking for travel, must remain current on all necessary training/required certifications, and must maintain applicable clearances/accesses (Secret – Special Access Programs {as required}). Likewise, given the austere environments and associated autonomy required these personnel must exhibit high levels of technical competence and have historical/reliable/trusted access to L3 Technologies’ engineering support.

The estimated ceiling value of all procurements to be acquired over the five year contract term is approximately ; this includes the required supplies, services, and related direct costs.

Delivery orders for the acquisition of required equipment will use a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract type. Equipment-only Delivery Orders may also have associated service tasks necessitating performance utilizing the fixed labor hour rates for the respective services. It is also anticipated that Task Orders for services required on existing equipment may be necessary. These Task Orders may be procured as FFP or T&M/LH utilizing the fixed labor hour rates included on the awarded contract and with established ceilings as applicable. The attached Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) was developed utilizing the existing purchase history and anticipated needs over the course of the five-year contract duration. It breaks out the anticipated spend amount for USSOCOM and each partner over the life of the IDIQ and is summarized for each contract year as follows:

It is uncertain if an order will be ready at the time of award of the base IDIQ as a result of the timing of award of this contract and the client’s continued needs based upon current world events. However, an in progress requirement is being coordinated by the R5 FAS project team and the USSOCOM client to facilitate an order award either at time of award or shortly thereafter. In the event an order is not available upon IDIQ base contract award funding in the amount of for the minimum guarantee will be obligated at the time of award and allocated at the order level when a respective order is prepared.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(A) which states “Supplies may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of a follow-on contract for the continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, including major components thereof, when it is likely that award to any other source would result in -- (A) Substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.”

Initial market research conducted in January 2015 by the Army included a Sources Sought Notification (SSN) for the FY17-21 Army CDL and/or SATCOM support contract. Five sources/contractors responded to the SSN. From the five responses received L3 Technologies was identified as the only responsible source qualified for sustainment of the applicable USSOCOM AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and components requirements. The other four respondents (e.g., Cubic Defense Applications Inc., Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Raytheon Company, and Scientific Research Corporation) all provided responses; however, their replies detailed support as Prime Contractors and/or Lead Integrators (with subcontracts to L3 Technologies) specific to a platform (air or ground) with similar electronic equipment, but no specifics for the L3 Technologies’ AISR Transport Infrastructure, CDL, and/or SATCOM systems and/or components therefore not meeting the requirements of USSOCOM. Subsequent to the SSN issuance, additional market research was conducted to determine the costs to secure the data rights and sustain and advance the CDL portion of the requirement; costs to transition the inherent and OEM specific operational knowledge; and the costs to design, build, test (with possible re-engineering), and certification at component and system levels an alternate source for a solution ready to field. The costs associated with each of those phases are included below.

The timeframe associated with transition to an alternate source was estimated at 10-15 years.

This takes into consideration the factors identified above which include the time required to obtain the data rights to the existing L3 Technologies equipment for the Government to then design, build, test, and certify the developed equipment. Once that equipment is fully functional, additional time is required for training individuals on the sustainment and maintenance of this equipment. With the continually evolving global threat, evolutionary technology insertion and improvement, and ever present obsolescence issues, the 10-15 year timeframe for the alternate source to achieve full production was deemed unrealistic and detrimental to mission success. Moreover, the estimated total costs to achieve the alternate source solution would result in a total cost of approximately

; confirming that this was not a feasible or reasonable solution.

5. Demonstration of the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications As detailed in Section 2, the equipment specific to the AISR transport on the unmanned assets were developed by and proprietary to L3 Technologies. As the OEM, L3 Technologies continues to be the only source for the equipment and possesses the unique knowledge and experience to engineer, acquire, operate, and sustain the subcomponents need to downlink, process, and distribute the produced sensor data as a necessary mission/task of the AISR Transport Infrastructure. L3 Technologies has been the sole source for these requirements since approximately September 1990 when the

, began procuring the required L3 Technologies equipment and related-services. Since then the have awarded contracts under which the USSOCOM has procured the required needs. Until the DOD changes the existing manned and unmanned asset system configuration, or until an alternate source is developed, certified, and available, L3 Technologies is the sole source for the required needs.

6. A Description of the Efforts Made to Ensure Offers are Solicited From as Many Potential Sources as is Practicable, Including Whether a Notice Was or Will be Publicized by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, Which Exception under 5.202 Applies.

In accordance with FAR 5.2, the GSA R5 FAS project team issued a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) via FedBizOpps (FBO) on 25 July 2019 to obtain responses from vendors interested and capable of providing the required supplies and ancillary services. The SSN included a copy of the draft requirement and required vendor responses by 12:00 p.m. Central Time on 9 August 2019. Vendors had also been made aware of the release of this sources sought in various forums including prior Government-hosted sync meetings held in December 2018 and June 2019 attended by various DoD Government representatives and current DoD contractors as well as direct inquiries from interested contractors. In addition, consideration was given to the existing GSA contract vehicles in accordance with GSA’s August 2011 Acquisition Alert guidance requiring the use of GSA’s acquisition vehicles when applicable. This market research was conducted in early November 2019 and focused on the Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACS) and Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) with a scope review request submitted via the GSA Scope Review web portal for confirmation of available GSA contract vehicles to meet the required need. The results of these efforts and the result of this market research are further discussed in Section 8.

7. A Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable.

The supplies and services involved in this procurement are similar to those procured under the contract vehicles detailed in Section 8. The Contracting Officer will determine that the price is fair and reasonable at the time of contract award and will conduct the respective price analyses at the contract level consistent with FAR 15.4, including FAR 15.403-3(a)(ii) & FAR 15.404- 1(b)(2); engaging other Government agencies that may have existing contracts for which the GSA R5 project team is able to obtain for pricing comparison; and utilizing R5 staff resources as applicable.

8. A Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results or a Statement of the Reason Market Research was not Conducted.

Upon USSOCOM engaging GSA R5 FAS to assist with procuring the requirement, GSA conducted market research which started in July 2019 through November 2019. As noted in Section 6, GSA FAS R5 issued a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) via FedBizOpps (FBO) on 25 July 2019 to obtain responses from vendors interested and capable of providing the required supplies and ancillary services. The SSN included a copy of the draft of the requirement with vendor responses due by 12:00 p.m. Central Time on 9 August 2019.

The technical capability responses received by the Government from the FBO SSN included the following three vendors:

1. L3 Technologies, Communication Systems-West

2. Simba Enterprises LLC

3. TeraSense, Inc.

These responses were shared with the client technical point of contact to determine if, based upon the submitted capability statement, the vendor was capable of providing the requirements.

Each submission was evaluated utilizing three criteria - Organizational Construct/Skillset, Relevant Capability & Technology Experience, and Relevant Hardware & Software Experience

– and the respective sub-factors which are detailed in the Attachment 1 – ID05190069 FBO SSN Capability Review. The cumulative results of this review are below; confirming the only vendor capable of providing the requirement is L3 Technologies CSW.

L3

Technologies SimbaCom TeraSense Organizational Construct/Skillset CAPABLE CAPABLE CAPABLE Relevant Capability & Technology Experience CAPABLE NOT CAPABLE NOT CAPABLE Relevant Hardware & Software Experience CAPABLE NOT CAPABLE NOT CAPABLE

OVERALL CAPABLE NOT CAPABLE NOT CAPABLE

Consideration was given to the existing GSA contract vehicles in accordance with GSA’s August 2011 Acquisition Alert guidance requiring the use of GSA’s acquisition vehicles when applicable. This market research was conducted in early November 2019 and focused on the Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACS) and Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) with a scope review request submitted via the GSA Scope Review web portal for confirmation of available GSA contract vehicles to meet the required need. A response was received on 20 November 2019 from the VETS 2 GWAC IT Services Operations CO confirming the VETS 2 GWAC was not a feasible option as the VETS 2 GWAC does not facilitate the awarding of an IDIQ/BPA against the base contract. Also on 20 November 2019, the R5 project team received confirmation from the IT Services Contract Operations Division CO that the Alliant 2 GWAC was also not a viable option given the equipment needs under the requirement.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition All other supporting factors have been described above.

10. A List of the Sources, if any, that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition In addition to the responses received and discussed in Section 8, after the SSN closed, the GSA FAS R5 project team received additional inquiries from interested contractors. They were instructed to review the notice and draft requirement and given the opportunity to submit a response at that time. Upon further review the contractors noted they were not capable of providing the required services.

11. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to Competition Before any Subsequent Acquisition for the Supplies or Services Required As noted in paragraph 4 above, initial market research was conducted in 2015 to explore the competitive environment for obtaining the required services. Since then USSOCOM has continued to monitor developing technologies by hosting bi-annual Sync Meetings which commenced in 2016. These meetings, held twice a year, bring together DoD representatives from Joint Staff, DISA, and USSOCOM and existing industry partners and facilitate discussions regarding the current transport infrastructure, potential future needs, and emerging technology efforts industry is taking to meet the current and potential DoD needs. This enables USSOCOM and DOD to maintain a pulse on the current market conditions for available vendors and existing technologies. To assist USSOCOM in monitoring the competitive opportunities that exist in the market, the R5 project team will attend the bi-annual USSOCOM AISR Transport Sync Meetings. These meetings facilitate discussions between DoD representatives from Joint Staff, DISA, and USSOCOM and existing industry partners regarding the current transport infrastructure, potential future needs, and emerging technology efforts industry is taking to meet the current and potential DoD needs which could include those related to this acquisition. The R5 FAS project team will also conduct yearly sources sought notices to gather insight into the vendor activity and capabilities currently available in the market. The team will host annual industry days as necessary to monitor the competitive landscape of other vendors developing similar technologies. The R5 FAS project team will compile a contract file memorandum that will summarize the information gathered from the above actions. This memorandum will be presented to the R5 FAS Contract Review Board (CRB) which includes the Regional Commissioner/HCA, Deputy Regional Commissioner, Competition Advocate, Contracting Division Director, and Assisted Acquisition Services Director, for a determination on whether or not to continue use of the contract.

In addition, USSOCOM is leading a new effort for architectural, engineering, and technical support to enable the DoD Chief Information Officer (DoD CIO), and supported GCCs) to advise and assist on how these team members should move forward with a mandated assessment of today’s disparate sensor data transport infrastructure in order to develop, propose, and resource an operationally effective and fiscally efficient DoD-level enterprise equivalent/replacement.

Through JROC Memorandums 028-17, 029-17, and 034-17, the VCJCS has tasked Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) with defining criteria for the enterprise replacement effort, and has tasked the Joint Staff J6 and DoD CIO with completing an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) to explore disparate pre-existing Service and Program Management Office (PMO) AISR sensor data transport infrastructures and provide recommendations for a future “best of breed” solution for downlinking and distributing sensor data for: LOS & beyond line-of-sight (BLOS); Government owned-Government operated (GOGO), Government owned-contractor operated (GOCO), & contractor owned-contractor operated (COCO) assets through a more cohesive enterprise strategy supporting the entire DoD. It is not known at this time what the solution will be but the intent is to transition away from the sole source environment. This required Advise and Assist Support (A&AS) contract was awarded in June 2018 and will expire in June 2023.

While the bi-annual Sync meetings and A&AS contracts’ intended purposes are to monitor the current AISR environment and determine a path forward for the greater DOD, any solution being developed or discussed, would still be required to go through the rigorous certification process.

At present no alternative solution has been identified or developed, and even if a solution was to be produced in the near future, the current time-frame for obtaining the certification necessary to be a deployable, operable piece of equipment is taking approximately seven (7) years. As a result of the DOD certification requirements and the ongoing need as evidenced by historical purchases, the only available solution to meet the required needs present and for at least the next five (5) years, is L3 Technologies.

12. Contracting Officer’s Certification The contracting officer’s signature on the signature page evidences that he/she has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.

Rosemarie Buchalski Date Contracting Officer GSA, FAS R5, Contracting Division