JA_Parachutes_Redacted.pdf

Limited Sources Justification and Approval (J&A)

April 2021 Page 2 of 3April 2021 Page 2 of 3

I. Contracting Activity.

. This will be a sole source effort IAW a mandatory source of Low Profile Parachutes. The PR number is .

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

This action is a new order. The GSA Schedule number for Butler Parachute Systems, Inc. is GS-07F-9649S. The Period of Performance will be a delivery date of approximately 12 weeks ARO. The order will be FFP and will contain one CLIN line item for 25 Low Profile Parachutes.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

This order is for 25 Low Profile Back-Pack Style Parachutes for the AC-130 bed-down and mission sustainment. The quoted price from Butler Parachute Systems, Inc. is per parachute. The total estimated value of the order is

IV. Identification of the justification/rationale for limiting sources and demonstration of the contractor's unique qualifications to provide the required supply/service.

FAR 8.405-6 requires an ordering activity to justify its actions when restricting consideration of schedule contractors to fewer than required in FAR 8.405-1 or 8.405-2.

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), "Only one source is capable of responding due to the unique or specialized nature of the work".

There are specific vendors capable of providing parachutes. As noted on the AF PPP AUL, Butler Parachutes Systems, Inc. is the sole provider of Low Profile Parachutes. Butler Parachutes Systems, Inc. confirmed being the sole provider of these parachutes and have no authorized resellers.

Butler Parachute Systems (BPS) is the exclusive producer without external suppliers. The BA style parachutes are the sole authorized parachutes specified for AC-130 aircraft, according to TO 14-1-1 table 6.1. Upon arrival, AC-130 aircraft will be outfitted with BA-30 parachutes. Any deviation from the use of standardized parachutes may hinder mission success and lead to significant confusion amongst aircrew and AFE technicians. BPS is fully capable and ready to meet all requirements outlined in TO 14-1-1 and AFMAN11-2AC-130JV3 Addenda A. Furthermore, the company will eliminate lack of operation familiarity, procedural inconsistencies, compatibility challenges, logistical hurdles, and communication breakdown by facilitating the uniformity of aircraft equipment across the Kirtland AFB rotary platforms.

V. Determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer that the order represents the best value consistent with

FAR 8.404(d).

Price fair and reasonable pricing will be determined by utilizing historical prices paid on similar requirements. FPDS-NG will be utilized to gather historical prices.

Since there is only one source of these parachutes IAW AF PPL AUL, obtaining quotes from three schedule contractors through GSA Advantage! is not appropriate.

VI. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or explain why market research was not conducted.

Review of the USAF PPP AUL MFR dated 26 May 2023 IAW AFI-10-3503. The Butler Parachute System is on this list.

A search on GSA was conducted using the term "Low Profile Parachute Assembly," yielding 2,155 small business results in total. However, only one appeared truly relevant to this acquisition. This observation was confirmed when the search was refined using the part number provided in the Statement of Need, resulting in a single result. This result was Butler Parachute System, Inc. - the company identified by the customer as being the sole manufacturer and vendor of the

Limited Sources Justification and Approval (J&A)

April 2021 Page 3 of 3April 2021 Page 3 of 3 requested parachutes.

A search was conducted on NASA SEWP using the part number provided, yielding no results.

A Dynamic Small Business Search was conducted using the NAICS 314999 and the keyword "parachute," yielding 17 profiles.

Using the NAICS and the keyword "low profile parachute" yielded no results.

Based on the results of the Market Research, it is recommended that a Notice of Intent be posted to GSA indicating the Government's intent to sole source award to Butler Parachute Systems, Inc. If a different vendor indicates they are capable of fulfilling the requirement, it is recommended that a solicitation be posted on GSA, competed amongst Small Businesses. If there are no responses to the Notice of Intent, it is recommended the Government move forward with a sole source award to Butler Parachute Systems, Inc., a registered Small Business. The parachutes are available on Butler Parachute Systems, Inc's GSA contract, so this would be a sole source GSA award.

VII. Other facts supporting the justification.

The LPP system was issued a Safe to Fly designation on 27 Sept 2013 and Butler Parachute Systems has been fielding the parachute systems across the USAF since 2014. The BA-30 program is managed by the US Air Force Human Systems Division of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

The Low Profile Parachute (LPP) is a configuration-frozen version of a Federal Aviation Administration certified commercial emergency parachute system [Total System (PN: 11090). Twenty-five of these are needed at this time for the mandatory 10% spares for AC-130 aircrafts. These parachutes are not currently available in the supply system and will not be for the next couple years according to CAM.

VIII. Actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services.

The AF PPP AUL will be checked every time to determine if there are multiple sources for products.

IX. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

X. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.