Summary: Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition

This document is a Justification and Approval (J&A) submitted by the United States Air Force (AFSC/PZA) at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma for a sole-source contract award under the authority of 10 USC 3204(a)(1). The acquisition is for repair services of Liquid Quantity Indicators (LQI) installed on C-130 aircraft used by the Air Force. The estimated contract value is $2,108,976.00 for a one-year basic period with four one-year options, extending through July 8, 2026. This is a follow-on acquisition to replace the previous contract FA8117-21-D-0026 with Simmonds Precision Products Inc., which expires on July 8, 2026. The acquisition is for commercial, firm-fixed price requirements-type services and is classified as a Class J&A. The contracting activity involves multiple line items for repair services related to four National Stock Numbers (NSNs) for LQI components, with each line item including basic year and option year pricing, quantities (18-22 units annually), and performance dates from July 9, 2026 through July 31, 2031.

The justification documents that Simmonds Precision Products Inc. is the only known source capable of providing the required repair services due to the highly specialized nature of these indicators and the contractor's exclusive possession of repair procedures, parts, expertise, tools, test equipment, acceptance test procedures, theory of operation, assembly/disassembly procedures, material provisioning criteria, fault diagnostics, shop practices, and personnel training specific to LQI repair. The Government conducted market research through a Sources Sought Synopsis posted September 9, 2024 (FA8117-24-SS-0022), which resulted in no competing vendor responses. Additional market research included review of Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA), Haystack web searches, and consideration of reverse engineering, all of which proved unsuccessful. The Government attempted to acquire intellectual property rights and data from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) without success. The document notes that the 422 SCMS determined that award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling USAF requirements, potentially impacting critical C-130 mission capability and generating Mission Incapable Awaiting Parts (MICAP) backlogs. The Competition Advocate approved this sole-source award on April 22, 2025.