JA RALT 9-21-2026 Signed_Redacted.pdf

NEGOTIATION SENSITIVE

than one fiscal year. If other qualified or approved sources become known during the life of this contract, full and open competition will be considered and utilized to the maximum extent practicable.

IV. STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), as implemented by RFO 6.103-1(c)(2)

V. DEMONSTRATION THAT THE CONTRACTOR'S UNIQUE

QUALIFICATIONS OR NATURE OF THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES THE

USE OF THE AUTHORITY CITED ABOVE (APPLICABILITY OF

AUTHORITY)

This anticipated contract will be for the repair of the B-2 Receiver Transmitter, NSN 5841-01-319-1380.

This item is acquired/repaired for a subsequent time, directly from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Honeywell, Inc. Due to the complexity and criticality of this component, market research revealed there is only one qualified source, Honeywell. The B-2 Receiver/Transmitter is a critical application item and functions as a radar altimeter for the B-2 weapon system.

Honeywell, Inc. is the only known source that has the necessary detailed process data and parts necessary to repair the receiver/ transmitter. The repair data and acceptance test criteria needed to foster additional competition for the repair is not available to the Government. Furthermore, it is not possible for the government to draft adequate specifications for the repair because of the specialized nature of the item as described above. Therefore, this acquisition will be for a new multi-year contract for the performance of a highly specialized service.

424th Supply Chain Management Squadron (SCMS) believes that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of costs to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Air Force’s requirements. These costs are estimated to be based on evaluation of items of similar complexity that have been reverse engineered by the Air Force in the past five years. The development of an additional source to produce these items would take at least four years. Delays in new procurement have the potential for disrupting availability of the B-2 Receiver/Transmitter, leaving the Air Force unable to fulfill critical mission requirements. This would also result in technical issues, as described above, which would lack the overall cost and performance benefits in the difficult (if at all possible) attempts to overcome.

Honeywell, Inc. has been the OEM and repair contractor for this item under previous contracts and is the only known, qualified contractor that has the data/repair data, parts, expertise, tools, facility, firmware, software, test equipment, and repair processes necessary to perform this highly specialized repair service sufficiently to meet the Government’s needs. Efforts by the Government to secure the necessary data rights from Honeywell have been unsuccessful. A Request for Information (RFI) was made to Honeywell by the Engineer as recently as 25 June 2020 requesting a price quote to provide the necessary license rights. Honeywell responded that it would not be in their best interest to quote. Honeywell has been the only approved source since 21 November 2019.

The Government has established Qualifications Requirements (QRs) for the B-2 Receive/Transmitter.

Prospective sources must meet these requirements prior to being identified as an approved source. This item requires engineering source approval in order to maintain its quality and technical baseline. The 424th SCMS has determined that Honeywell, Inc. is the only source that has met the defined QRs at this time, and thus has been listed as the only approved source. Accordingly, Honeywell Inc. is the only firm capable of providing the repairs described in Section III above without the U.S. Air Force experiencing substantial duplication of cost that could not be expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirement. Only Honeywell International Inc. possesses the data, parts, test equipment, and test facilities to address the repair of these NSNs. See additional information in Section IX.

VI. DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS MADE TO ENSURE THAT OFFERS ARE SOLICITED

FROM AS MANY POTENTIAL SOURCES AS PRACTICABLE

A Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) was posted to Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps), under solicitation number FA8119-19-03014, 9 Oct 2019, with a closing date of 12 Nov 19, in an effort to solicit interested sources. The SSS received zero responses and to date, no Source Approval Request (SAR) packages have been submitted for consideration. Government defined pre-award QRs of potential sources apply to these items, although potential sources will be required to obtain the necessary data independently or otherwise provide proof demonstrating capability via the SAR process. All SAR package submissions submitted prior to contract award will be evaluated in a timely manner to ensure the highest level of competitive possible. The QRs were synopsized on FedBizOpps 22 June 2017 and can be found by searching for the keyword “RQR-848”.

The Government does not have the data needed to adequately define the repair process in order to develop a competitive procurement package. Interested vendors would need to submit a SAR package for consideration/approval. See Section X for company information.

This requirement will be synopsized on beta.sam.gov as a notice of proposed contract action IAW RFO

5.101 with an expected publication date of 25 JUL 2021. Consideration shall be given to potential sources, prior to award.

VII. DETERMINATION BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER THAT THE ANTICIPATED

COST TO THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE

The Contracting Officer will ensure that the items described herein are negotiated at a fair and reasonable price to the Government. The contractor will be required to provide other than certified cost or pricing data. A detailed price analysis will be accomplished. The Defense Contract Management Agency and/or Defense Contract Audit Agency may assist with the analysis and may assist with inputs throughout the life of the contract.

VIII. DESCRIPTION OF THE MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED AND THE RESULTS,

OR A STATEMENT OF THE REASONS MARKET RESEARCH WAS NOT

CONDUCTED

Market research, IAW RFO 10.0001, was conducted by the Multi-Functional Team consisting of the Logistics Management Specialist, Engineer, Production Management Specialist, and Procuring Contracting Officer. This research included inquires by a SSS (see Section VI) and searches into Internet sites including Google secure components, the Thomas Register, Haystack FedBizOpps, DSBS, SAM, and FPDS were queried for potential sources. Searches included part number, nomenclature, and like items. This market research, which began on 8 Oct 2019 and concluded on 12 Nov 2019, has revealed that there are currently no other sources with the ability to repair these assets. Other sources provide similar repair services but none have been identified as being approved to meet the requirement described in Section III. Further these requirements can neither be modified nor satisfied with commercial or modified commercial items. The receiver-transmitter is used in military applications and no commercial or non-developmental substitutes are available. There are no applicable industry standards, regulations, trade journals, or process guides that apply to the repair the receiver-transmitter.

IX. ANY OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

The government realizes that it has unlimited rights to form, fit, and function data (including source qualification data) as well as data related to operation, maintenance, installation, and training. However, such rights are insufficient to satisfy the current need. Access to repair data is necessary to accomplish the tasks. Efforts by the government to acquire a license from the OEM have been unsuccessful. The most recent attempt by the government to acquire the data or rights to the data occurred 25 June 2020 when the Engineer emailed the OEM requesting depot repair data. The OEM responded stating they would not provide data rights for Government use only due to Honeywell proprietary concerns.

X. LIST OF SOURCES, IF ANY, THAT EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THE

ACQUISITION

See Section VI for more details. This SSS posting yielded no interested vendors.

XI. A STATEMENT OF THE ACTIONS, IF ANY, THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO

REMOVE OR OVERCOME ANY BARRIERS TO COMPETITION BEFORE

MAKING SUBSEQUENT ACQUISTIONS FOR THE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES

REQUIRED

As a result of continued refusal by the Sole Source contractor to provide or license data as well as the unacceptable delay of developing additional sources per Sections V and IX, there are no known additional actions which can be taken to remove barriers to competition and therefore, specific actions and milestones cannot be established. The Government will continue to synopsize future requirements IAW RFO 5.101, rescreen the item, an attempt to acquire the data necessary to qualify additional sources. Two years prior to contract expiration the 424th SCMS will engage with Honeywell requesting the sale/licensing of proprietary data, rescreen the items and monitor the market place by posting a sources sought notice to beta.sam.gov.

Per Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI) 206.304(a)(S-70)- As indicated by signature on the Coordination and Approval Document, the previous Approval Document, Sole Source Justification (SSJ), has been reviewed and the Approval Authority determines that all stated actions to remove barriers to competition were attempted without success.

XII. CERTIFICATION BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER

The contracting officer's signature on the Coordination and Approval Document evidences that he/she has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of the his/her knowledge and belief.

XIII. CERTIFICATION BY THE TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS PERSONNEL

By their signatures on the Coordination and Approval Document, the technical and/or requirements personnel have certified as accurate and complete all supporting data, which is their responsibility, contained herein IAW RFO 6.103-1(c)(2).