JA REDACTED (T408 Depot Level PSE-Rhinestahl).pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION LAKEHURST

ROUTE 547

JOINT BASE MDL NEW JERSEY 08733

J&A 25-0289

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWC-AD) Lakehurst, NJ

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

This Justification and Approval authorizes and approves a sole source contract with Rhinestahl

Corp (CAGE 5QE71) located in Mason, Ohio, for the procurement of Peculiar Support

Equipment (PSE) end items for the T408-GE-400 engine on the CH-53K aircraft.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

A requirement exists at the CH-53K Depot Level of Maintenance to assemble, disassemble, and repair the T408 engine. This acquisition is for the procurement of the 207 items of PSE identified in ATTACHMENT 1. This PSE includes: build-up stands used in the assembly/disassembly process; PSE used in the process for the balancing of the engine rotor assemblies; PSE used to perform dimensional checks during the assembly/disassembly process; PSE used for the installation and assembly/disassembly of various engine modules or subcomponents. This PSE is all critical for the depot maintenance of the T408-GE-400 engine.

Estimated Dollar Value in Millions

FY25 Total

APN-1-Navy $2M

Total $2M

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition.

10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

The PSE was designed and developed strictly for use on T408-GE-400 engine to perform Depot

Level Maintenance. These items are unique to the T408-GE-400 engine and have no redundant use on any other aircraft due to specific engineering details. GE Aviation (GE) was contracted by Sikorsky, the Aircraft Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), to design and develop the

T408-GE-400 engine and associated articles of Support Equipment, including the PSE identified in Attachment 1. As the OEM of this PSE, GE holds the proprietary data and drawing rights for the required end items. The Government does not have the data or drawing rights to permit full and open competition. GE Aviation has transferred engine tooling manufacture to Rhinestahl

Corp. and directed Rhinestahl Corp. is responsible for all orders for engine tooling. As such, Rhinestahl Corp is the only authorized source with sufficient technical data, drawings, software, and requisite knowledge to supply the items.

This is further substantiated by the assignment of the "3D" for the Acquisition Method Code which identifies direct purchase from the manufacturer due to data not being available. Award to any other source would require the need to reverse engineer the PSE. Based on historical data associated with this PSE, a reverse engineering effort would result in an estimated fifty-two (52) month delay as follows: reverse engineering-eight (8) months; development of a technical drawing package-eight (8) months; prototyping- eighteen (18) months; test & evaluation-eight

(8) months; integrated logistics support development-six (6) months and training -four (4) months. This additional time would present an unacceptable delay in fulfilling fleet requirements for delivery schedule that is not expected to be recovered through competition. The Government has a requirement for depot capability stand-up at Fleet Readiness Center – East by January

2027; failure to meet this date would result in failure to maintain the engine repair throughput at the depot which would lead to downed aircraft and impact readiness. An award to another vendor would result in the Government being unable to meet this requirement.

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

In accordance with FAR Part 10, market research was conducted by the requirements office to determine the most suitable approach for this acquisition. Market research included internet searches conducted by the NAWC-AD CH-53K SE Engineering team to determine whether any other vendor could satisfy the Navy’s requirements. The Federal Procurement Data System, Dynamic Small Business Search, Google, Yahoo, and Bing internet search engines were queried for potential sources. No additional sources other than GE and Rhinestahl Corp were identified further confirming Rhinestahl Corp is the exclusive authorized/ directed source, by GE, for these items of PSE and the only source capable of meeting the requirement.

In accordance with Department of Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS) 206.302-1, and in an effort to identify possible sources for this requirement, NAWC-AD posted a Sources Sought notice/Request for Information (RFI) on the SAM.gov website from 6 June 2025 until 13 June

2025 and one response was received from Begini Howard Private Equity (BHPE) LLC and determined to be unacceptable due to lack of supporting documentation for evaluation.

As required by FAR 5.203, the proposed contract was synopsized on the SAM.gov website from

13 June 2025 until 7 July 2025. No responses were received. Any responses received prior to contract award will be evaluated by the Contracting Officer.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

For the reasons set forth in paragraph 5, NAWC-AD has no plans to compete future contracts for the PSE being procured. If another potential source emerges, NAWC-AD will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance which are included in this

Justification and its supporting acquisition planning documents, except as noted herein are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Technical Cognizance:

ED CERALDE Date

CH-53K Engineering

Requirements Cognizance:

TAHIR SHAH Date

CH-53K SE Program Officer

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW

I have determined this Justification is legally sufficient.

BETHANY HSU Date

NAWCAD Lakehurst Office of General Counsel

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION

I certify that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

ALISON M. GROSCH Date

Procuring Contracting Officer

NAWC-AD Lakehurst Procurement Department

APPROVAL

Upon the basis of the above justification, I hereby approve 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. 3204(a)(1) Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

PATRICK W. SMITH Date

Procuring Activity Competition Advocate (PACA)

NAWC-AD LKE Procurement Department