JA_AIR_H-1 Link-16_Approved_redact.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND

RADM WILLIAM A. MOFFET BUILDING

47123 BUSE ROAD, BLDG 2272

PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND 20670-1547

IN REPLY REFER TO:

20-0399

CLASS JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Headquarters.

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

This Class Justification and Approval (CJ&A) authorizes and approves award of contract actions on a sole source basis in support of the H-1 Link-16 requirement to Northrop Grumman Corporation, 21240 Burbank

Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA 91367-6675. Authority to act under this class justification expires 30

August 2025.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

This CJ&A will permit award of efforts to include procurement of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) kits, production kits, initial spares, installation, non-recurring engineering (NRE), failure analysis, qualification, validation and verification, associated licensing, and support. Additionally, efforts will include program management, training, logistics analysis, logistics management and documentation, configuration management, and technical, administrative and financial data requirements. Specifically, the Government intends to procure approximately 258 kits and installs between FY21 and FY25 with options to include production and spares, or any additional quantities as appropriated by Congress.

The estimated total value of the contracting efforts covered by this CJ&A. The funding profile is shown below.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition. 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), One source or limited sources.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

Pursuant to FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(B), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) is the only source capable of manufacturing, assembling, delivering and installing the Link-16 hardware and associated integration software that meet the fleet user and the Marine Corps operational requirements while not causing an unacceptable delay. The efforts contemplated by this CJ&A are follow-on efforts for production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, including major components thereof to Contract N68936- 15-D-

0013. This contract was awarded to NGC on a sole source basis. As indicated within the 2019

Commandants Planning Guidance and requirements directed from Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC), the Link-16 capability is required to field by December 2021. The Government estimates that executing a competitive procurement for the Link-16 system will take approximately 12-18 months. If NGC is not the successful offeror, an additional 24-36 months will be required for design, non-recurring engineering and software and hardware development. These estimates are based on historical data. The delays mentioned above will prevent the Government from fulfilling the USMC requirement of fielding by December 2021.

Additionally, the Government has invested approximately $31.3M overall into the NGC Link-16 system to include Advanced Data Transfer System (ADTS) development, Tech Refresh Mission Computer (TRMC) software development and implementation, FlightScene upgrades, system hardware designs and drawings, acquisition of multiple system hardware components, and related non-recurring engineering. The

Government does not expect to recover these costs through a competitive award to a source other than

NGC. Based on the foregoing, NGC is the only responsible source capable of satisfying the Government’s requirement without resulting in unacceptable delays and duplication of costs.

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

In accordance with DFARS PGI 206.302-1(d), a Request for Information (RFI) notice was posted on the

Beta.SAM website on 18 May 2020. The Government received two responses; one from Science

Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and one from Bell Textron, Inc. (Bell).

After review of SAIC’s capability package, it was determined that SAIC would not be able to fully meet the requirements as listed in the posted RFI. The Government’s specific rationale and determination was provided to SAIC via email 17 June 2020; a summary is provided herein. SAIC proposed a software only solution when the effort covered by this CJ&A requires a hardware/software integrated solution. Software alone cannot meet the data transfer requirements; hardware is required to physically transfer data from the pre-mission planning spaces to the aircraft. Furthermore, the Joint Range Extension (JRE) software solution that SAIC proposed is not National Security Agency certified as a cross domain solution, and therefore cannot meet the requirements to separate classified and unclassified data. In addition, the JRE software solution is not certified for aircraft navigational displays and therefore cannot meet the requirement to replace the existing moving map display. SAIC confirmed receipt of email on 22 June 2020 and indicated they had no further comments at that time. For these reasons, the Government did not consider SAIC to possess the necessary capabilities to successfully complete the tasks denoted in the RFI.

Bell submitted a letter to the Contracting Officer on June 17, 2020 stating that it had the capability to perform the efforts described in paragraph 2 as the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of the H-1 type/model/series of aircraft; and therefore, possesses the knowledge required to perform the Link-16 requirement. However, Bell then stated that it planned to provide their OEM expertise for the subject procurement via a subcontract arrangement with NGC. The Government responded to Bell’s letter on June

25, 2020 acknowledging Bell’s expertise and stating that NGC was considered the only source in accordance with FAR 6.302- 1(a)(2)(ii)(B). This FAR Citation specifically states that “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 unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.” In the Government’s response, an opportunity was offered for Bell to submit a capability statement, should Bell determine it was capable of providing the supplies/services in paragraph 2 within the timeframe specified. The letter allowed one week for Bell to submit a capability statement; the time period ended on 2 July 2020. To date, Bell has not submitted a capability statement.

Pursuant to FAR 5.201(b), a Presolicitation Notice was publicized on the Beta.SAM website on 25 June

2020 stating the Government’s intent to award a sole source contract to NGC. To date, no responses have been received. No additional market research was conducted because it is not practicable, for the reasons discussed in paragraph 5 above, for any company other than NGC to provide the required supplies and services.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

In accordance with FAR 15.402(a), the Contracting Officer shall ensure that all supplies and services provided under this contract are procured at a fair and reasonable price. An analysis of proposals will be performed by technical analysts and contract specialists, with the assistance of Defense Contract

Management Agency (DCMA) analysts and Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) auditors as needed.

The Contracting Officer will analyze the various cost elements that are presented in the proposals as well as review the actual cost elements from previous procurements, if applicable. The Contracting Officer will use

Government expertise, including DCMA, DCAA, the Program Office (PMA-276), and other Government resources, to evaluate the proposal's material, labor and subcontract positions. A detailed report developed as part of the Government evaluation will be utilized to establish a fair and reasonable position. As discussed in this paragraph, the Contracting Officer will use cost and price analysis as the basis of negotiating a fair and reasonable price for the supplies and services covered by this CJ&A.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

The Government will receive a technical data package being delivered under contract N68936-15-D0013 in

April 2022. However, the technical data package will not be delivered to the Government in time to meet the fielding requirements as discussed in paragraph 5. It is anticipated that the subject technical data package will support competition for future acquisitions of the same or similar items.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

SENIOR PROCUREMENT EXECUTIVE APPROVAL

Upon the basis of the above justification, I hereby approve, as Senior Procurement Executive of the Navy, the solicitation of the proposed procurement(s) described herein using other than full and open competition, pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

James F. Geurts Date

Assistant Secretary of the Navy

(Research, Development, and Acquisition)