JA-25-0007 _Super Dialer_Final_Redacted.pdf

JA-25-0007

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL FACILITIES ENGINEERING AND EXPEDITIONARY WARFARE CENTER

1000 23RD AVENUE

PORT HUENEME CA 93043-4301

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

The requiring agency and contracting activity for this action is the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC), Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC), Port Hueneme, California.

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

NAVFAC EXWC seeks to award an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) who is a non-profit applied research and development organization, Unique Entity ID PB11V1KH3KV4, using other than full and open competition, as authorized by FAR 6.302-3. The work will be conducted at NAVFAC EXWC, Bldg. 1412, Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Port Hueneme, CA, and at SwRI's facility in San Antonio, Texas (TX). This IDIQ contract will be funded by FY25-FY30 Operation & Maintenance, Navy (O&MN) funds. Estimated annual funding requirements are detailed in the table in Section 3 on the following page.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The DoD Lock Program provides essential long-term operational support and continuous enhancement of Super Dialers, specialized prototype automatic dialers used for combination lock testing along with ongoing design modifications required as new lock technologies are submitted for evaluation. This program encompasses comprehensive research and development activities, including the design, fabrication, and deployment of proprietary Super Dialer systems specifically engineered to evaluate new combination locks submitted through the General Services Administration (GSA) approval process. These specialized testing services are critical to ensuring the quality, reliability, and security of combination locks and security components used to protect National Security Information (NSI) across the Department of Defense, Federal Government agencies, and NATO allied nations.

The DoD Lock Program represents the sole Government capability for this specialized testing function and no other Federal agency possesses the technical expertise, equipment, or authority to conduct this essential security validation. The program's testing and certification function is mandatory, and combination locks cannot receive GSA approval for Government use without successful completion of DoD Lock Program testing protocols. This creates an essential, non-redundant capability that directly supports national security requirements and the protection of classified information across the Federal Government and allied partners.

The continuity of this specialized research and development capability is vital to maintaining security standards as lock technologies evolve and new threats emerge, ensuring that protective security measures remain effective against current and anticipated vulnerabilities.

The estimated value of this procurement is . The planned period of performance is a base ordering period of 60 months and a six (6) month option period to extend services. Contract task orders will be funded using the respective years' Operation and Maintenance (O&M) funds, as shown in the following table:

Estimated Dollar Value

Fiscal Years (FY) Type of

Funding Estimated Funding

Amount by FY

FY25 O&M

FY26 O&M

FY27 O&M

FY28 O&M

FY29 O&M

FY30 O&M

FY25-FY30

Estimated Total

O&M

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition.

The statutory authority permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition is 10 U.S.C.

3204(a)(3)(B), as implemented by FAR 6.302-3(a)(2)(ii).

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition applies to this procurement under 10 U.S.C. § 3204(a)(3), as implemented by FAR 6.302-3(a)(2)(ii). This provision authorizes direct contract awards when necessary to establish or maintain essential engineering, research, or development capabilities provided by educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, or federally funded research and development centers. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), as an independent nonprofit research institution, has developed and maintains unique, mission-critical capabilities essential to the DoD Lock Program's security testing mission. SwRI possesses specialized institutional knowledge encompassing:

• Proprietary Super Dialer technology and design expertise, which has been developed through years of dedicated research and development

• Comprehensive understanding of existing testing protocols and software systems integral to combination lock evaluation

• Established research methodologies, specifically tailored to evolving lock technologies and security threats

• Irreplaceable institutional memory regarding testing standards, historical performance data, and security validation requirements

The loss of SwRI's specialized research and development capability would eliminate the Government's sole means of conducting mandatory combination lock testing required for GSA approval. No alternative source possesses equivalent technical expertise or institutional knowledge necessary to maintain continuity of this essential national security function.

Awarding this contract to SwRI ensures the preservation of vital Super Dialer research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) capabilities, maintains uninterrupted testing services for Federal agencies and NATO allies, and serves the overriding interest of national security by protecting the integrity of classified information protection systems.

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

For the follow-on IDIQ contract for services currently being satisfied under contract N3943021C2206, significant efforts have been made to solicit offerors as practicable. To ensure compliance, the Government conducted market research in accordance with FAR Part 10 by reviewing the qualifications of various entities. Qualifications reviewed were knowledge of electronic hardware and software expertise to meet the Government requirements for designing, developing, fabricating, testing, validating, and providing long term life-cycle support of the Super Dialer system, including procuring, analyzing, upgrading, and modifying commercial off-the shelf (COTS) equipment, and developing electronic hardware and software from design concept to prototype fabrication. Knowledge skills and abilities to integrate commercially available, state-of-the-art technology and custom design components to offer the best possible solution to the Government’s requirements. In addition, the requisite ability and experience to support technical areas such as digital signal processing, field programmable gate array (FPGA) development, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) design, data acquisition systems, computer applications, audio and video systems, and embedded microprocessor systems. The market research determined that there were no other nonprofit companies capable of meeting the specific requirements and possessing the unique capabilities necessary to successfully complete the work. The synopsis of the proposed procurement was not published on SAM.gov due to the conditions described under FAR 6.302-3, making advance notice not appropriate or reasonable, in accordance with FAR 5.202(a)(10).

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer will determine that cost to the Government of the services covered by this Justification will be fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR Part 15. The government will also use historical information from the previous contract. It is anticipated that all future task orders will be reviewed to determine that costs are fair and reasonable based on price and/or cost analysis in accordance with FAR 15.404, Proposal Analysis, and similar task orders that were awarded against this contract.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

The Government is committed to removing barriers to future competition by continually evaluating production for competitive opportunities and conducting regular market research to stay informed of developments that could facilitate full and open competition. Southwest Research Institute has spent considerable efforts developing the expertise and competencies necessary to fulfill these requirements, and the Government has invested significant time and resources with this contractor that cannot be recovered if awarded to another company. The engineering services related to this project will further develop a prototype intended to advance the state-of-the-art Super Dialer System using only COTS components in order to cycle test locking systems protecting NSI and Arms, Ammunition, and Explosives (AA&E) or all of DoD, Federal Agencies, and NATO allies which require testing under Federal Specifications FF-L- 2740, FF-L2938 and FF-L-2937. Future competition for production will be evaluated when applicable and the Government will continue to conduct market research to determine if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be competed using full and open competition.

(Signatures supporting this J&A appear on the following page)

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance which are included in this Justification and its supporting acquisition planning documents, except as noted herein are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer's Representative Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW

I have determined this Justification is legally sufficient.

Legal Counsel Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION

I certify that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer CON77

COMPETITION ADVOCATE

Upon the basis of the above Justification, I hereby recommend the approval of the proposed procurement described herein using other than full and open competition, pursuant to authority of 10

U.S.C. 3204(a)(l) ..

Executive Officer (Acting Commanding Officer)