JA (MET DESS) 27 Jan 25_SPE Signed_Redacted 26jun2025.pdf

J&A Control No: JA-24-B-880

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Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition.

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JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION – FAR Part 6

1. Contracting Activity: Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), Division B, Branch G, 6515 Integrity Court, Building 4310, Aberdeen Proving Ground. MD 21005.

2. Description of Action: Product Manager Wideband Enterprise Satellite Systems (PdM WESS) and Project Manager Integrated Enterprise Network (PM IEN) requests approval of a J&A to award a sole source follow-on contract to L3Harris Technologies Inc., 2400 Palm Bay Road NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905-3377. The proposed follow-on contract is for the continued depot and sustainment requirements of the highly specialized Modernization of Enterprise Terminals (MET) Depot and Engineering Services Support (DESS) in support of the Department of Defense (DoD) Wideband Global Satellite (WGS), Defense Satellite Communications (SATCOM) System (DSCS), and commercial satellite constellations. The contract type is Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) with cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF), cost reimbursable (CR), and firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract line item numbers. The ordering period is five (5) years and the . Award is planned for no later than 22 April 2025.

The requirement is unique and highly specialized, and L3Harris Technologies is the only source that has the capabilities and necessary technical expertise to perform this contract. Fiscal Year 2025 Other Procurement, Army (OPA), Operations and Maintenance, Army (O&M) and Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) funds will be used to fund the initial base period efforts. This action is a follow-on to contract , which was not competed under the authority of FAR 6.302-1. The previous contract’s procurement history is addressed in Section 10.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The MET DESS contract is intended to continue providing essential sustainment services necessary to meet the DoD mandate of reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) of 99.9%, 99.95% and 99.98% respectively of the terminal systems in accordance with (IAW) the Capability Production Document (CPD) for the Enterprise Wideband SATCOM Terminal System (EWSTS), 28 March 2006, and other Defense Information Systems Agency Circulars (DISAC). This contract will provide sustainment for the 73 METs that include the high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) systems installed worldwide, as well as engineering support for obsolescence and insertion of new technology. This contract will also provide installation support for the remaining 20 of 93 MET systems, procured on the 2009 MET production contract, that still require installation, as well as sustainment services support for those 20 MET systems over the next five years, and sustainment services for 15 legacy AN/GSC-52 Modernization (52 Mod) systems.

PdM WESS manages the acquisition, development, sustainment, and modernization of enterprise SATCOM terminals and baseband systems. Over 100 Enterprise terminals

*Represents the cost to replace the system with a new vendor in today dollars plus the 30-40% increase in life cycle cost.

** Represents the cost to relocate the Standard Transportable Terminals (SST) and the Large Fixed Terminal (LFT) located at a

L3Harris facility.

*** To date, L3Harris has not been willing to sell the data rights.

In summary, without a full data package only L3Harris can provide the services required to achieve and maintain full operation of the MET depot and engineering services over the next five years. Any other alternative acquisition strategy would require development of a new system which is estimated to take up to 10 years at a cost of up to . This delay and cost in achieving full depot operation and engineering support services, while still needing to support and maintain the METs and 52 Mod systems during the transition, is not acceptable. This would impact the required 99.95% MET availability which would, in turn, adversely affect the DoD Information Network (DODIN) in which MET systems are critical backbone components. The DODIN provides critical support to the NCA, the Department of State, Combatant Commanders, and other high-level Government agencies as well as providing required essential warfighter reach back communication capabilities. Therefore, the failure to adequately maintain these terminals would not only endanger the mission and safety of the warfighter but will also severely limit the capability of the NCA and other Government Agencies to perform their vital missions.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: The Contracting Officer shall publish the notices required by FAR Subpart 5.2. IAW Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 205.205-71, DFARS 206.302-1(d), and DFARS Procedures, Guidance, and Information 206.302-1(d), a Request for Information (RFI) was posted to SAM.gov on 24 April 2024 for 23 days. The RFI received two responses, from L3Harris and

Market research discussed in paragraph 8 of this document details the RFI responses and activities performed to identify potential competitors for this contract.

a. Effective competition: Because this is a sole source action, effective competition is not applicable.

b. Subcontracting competition: The Government will achieve subcontracting competition by incorporating FAR clause 52.244-5, Competition in

b. Other Facts:

The Government did not compete the requirement prior to this action, under the authority of FAR 6.302-1, as supported by approved Justification and Approval (J&A) 19-113. That J&A’s paragraph 7, Actions to Increase Competition, stated:

To increase competition and avoid transition issues, the Government began acquisition planning well in advance of expiration of current contract. The planning has allowed sufficient time to perform market research, develop Government to industry collaboration, release Request for Information and draft Request for Proposal (RFP) via the FedBizOpps website, form Integrated Product Teams, and allow for strategic planning by the program management team. These actions helped to provide information across all industry in order to help the Government fully understand the available marketplace for the MET sustainment requirement. However, current market research shows an ever-shrinking pool of vendors, with L3Harris Technologies as the only viable option. Also, the complex nature of the program requires three years of on-the-job experience to get to full performance for any new vendor. Finally, the duplication of costs and engineering services for another vendor to take over operations is substantial. Therefore, it is conceivable that a sole source contract will be necessary upon completion of the current sustainment contract. All attempts will be made to competitively solicit future MET requirements as what is currently being done for the sustainment requirement, but the state of the industry and the specifics of this requirement may demand a sole source award in the future.

The above actions have, to a degree, reduced the exclusive position of L3Harris Technologies in MET Depot support. However, does not have the capacity to install all remaining MET terminals by themselves within the required Installation Schedule. They are currently performing MET installations in addition to L3Harris Technologies. is also responding as an additional resource to L3Harris Technologies to technical assistance requests and they are providing on-site depot level periodic maintenance to MET sites. As becomes more technically proficient, more support services will be transitioned from L3Harris Technologies to .

Since the Government fulfilled its actions to increase competition, this J&A will not require one-level above approval authority elevation in accordance with DFARS

206.304 and PGI 206.304 for a failure to complete planned actions.

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11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on the cost/price analysis. Certified cost and pricing data will be required as the estimated dollar value of the effort is above the Truth In Negotiations Act (TINA) threshold of

14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.