JA 22268_T-ARC(X) Requirements Feasibility Studies_10.22.26_Redacted.pdf
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- Solicitation number
- N00024-26-C-2220
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This is a Justification and Approval (J&A) document for a sole source contract award issued by the Department of the Navy, PAE Maritime.
The Navy seeks to award a sole source contract to Vard Marine, Inc. (1311 Broadfield Blvd., STE 350, Houston, TX 77084) for Requirements Feasibility Studies supporting the future Navy cable laying and repair ship capacity, known as the T-ARC(X) program. The contract will procure minimum design products needed to assess the feasibility of incorporating the Government's configuration requirements for legacy cable systems into an existing commercial cable ship design and identify impacts to ship characteristics, cost, and producibility. These design products will inform future contracting actions for cable ship capacity and ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory domestic restrictions. The estimated contract value spans FY 2025 and FY 2026, with total appropriation amounts redacted in the document. The Navy's minimum needs have been verified by certifying technical and requirements personnel.
The Navy justified the sole source award under 10 U.S.C. § 3204(a)(1), asserting that only Vard Marine can satisfy agency requirements. Extensive market research conducted since 2018, including an April 2020 industry day and subsequent requests for information through 2025, identified only five companies with potential capability. Of those companies, only Vard Marine's non-developmental design demonstrated the potential to meet the T-ARC(X) Top Level Requirements. A Federal Register synopsis issued in August 2026 announced the sole source intent and invited responses; no responses were received. The Navy determined the anticipated cost to be fair and reasonable and stated it has no current plans to compete future contracts for these services, though it may assess competition if alternative sources emerge. The supplies and services acquired will inform technical requirements for potential future competitive construction and/or charter awards.
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J&A No. 22,628 the agency are only available from one source, and no other type of supplies or services will -ARC(X) Top Level Requirements (TLR) require a
Market research conducted in 2025 identified current cable ship designs by Each of the designs provided by the G requirements for legacy cable systems into an existing commercial design.
Competing these requirements requirements. A source other than Vard Marine would incur schedule impacts associated with existing technical products and , recreating or validating technical work already performed, and establishing a comparable level of design maturity requirements. Additionally, identifying and evaluating alternative cable ship designs would further delay the effort and likely duplicate the market research already conducted.
Accordingly, retaining Vard Marine as the lead design agent would reduce technical and schedule risk, enabling the Navy to proceed efficiently towards fielding a solution that meets the cable ships.
6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable
The Navy conducted extensive market research to identify potential commercial cable ship designs and design agents since 2018. In April 2020, the Navy held an industry day to inform potential offerors of the opportunity to participate in a full and open competition for industry studies for the T-ARC(X) program. That competition resulted in 2021 industry study awards to and to The latter entity was dissolved prior to its completion of industry study.
In addition to the awards for industry studies, the Navy continued its market research while the technical and funding requirements evolved, including additional requests for information and seeking industry feedback on specifications, from 2023-2025. Of the submissions, only five companies were identified with :
Of the information provided for -developmental design showed the potential of meeting
J&A No. 22,628
In August 2026, the Navy issued a synopsis announcing the intent of the Government to award a sole source contract to Vard Marine for the requirements identified in paragraph 3 and encouraged interested parties to submit a response. No responses were received by the closing date of the synopsis.
7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost
The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies/services covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable.
8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition
For the reasons set forth in Section 5, the Navy has no plans at this time to compete future contracts for the supplies/services covered by this J&A. If another potential source emerges, the Navy will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible. However, as discussed in Section 3, the Navy intends to utilize the supplies/services acquired under the proposed contract action to inform technical requirements for potential, future competitive construction and/or charter awards.
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