JA_SPRDL125C0029_Redacted.pdf

SPRDL1-23-R-0183 (JA-00713)

Previous J&A: Not available wheel. Axle assembly components furnished with this item include brake chamber, brake cylinder, brake disk, brake drum, plate flange, carrier, hub, prop shaft flange and yoke, spindle, stud mounting, and tie rod.

The Government does not have the pertinent technical data to enable competitive re-procurement. The Government does not own the necessary intellectual property data rights to the pertinent technical data to enable competitive re-procurement.

There are no known funding efforts currently in progress to acquire the commercially owned and controlled data necessary to make NSN 2520-01-572-2713 fully competitive.

Further, because this is a major system component of the HEMTT, the time, cost, and schedule impact associated with a competitive action on every single axle assembly purchase would result in a full qualification test for each awarded vendor to validate form, fit and function for this assembly. This would add unnecessary cost and schedule time to the acquisition of each axle assembly of the HEMTT, which is a program that is currently in sustainment.

If the Government attempted a fully competitive procurement for the axle assembly, the Government would have three choices to obtain the necessary information to enable full competition: Research and Development of our own axle assembly design, Reverse Engineering of the existing system or simply ask the vendor in this case Oshkosh Defense, for a price to purchase the full Technical Data Package (TDP) and rights to use the item competitively.

This axle assembly is a critical component to the entire HEMTT fleet. With this axle, the power generated by the powertrain goes through the differential and is ultimately distributed to the wheels, propelling the vehicle either forward or backwards. The axle acts as the mounting point for the wheels and differential and without it, the power generated by the powertrain unit would not reach the wheels. Unlike other axles that could be procured commercially, this axle assembly has been specifically designed to mount to the HEMTT chassis and the wheels. In addition, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Oshkosh Defense, performs modifications to the base axle to specifically configure it for this vehicle.

The OEM for the HEMTT M984A4 Wrecker is Oshkosh Defense. Although Oshkosh purchases a commercial axle to use for this vehicle, it then performs modifications to make it a complete assembly. These modifications are unknown, so while there are other axle manufacturers who can produce similar axles (load rating, size, wheel configuration), these manufacturers do not know the exact modifications made by Oshkosh, and therefore cannot supply the part. This axle was designed, configured, and integrated for this specific vehicle, and the risk associated with using an improper axle is too great. This procurement must be made for the Oshkosh Defense axle assembly designed for the HEMTT.

The Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) Heavy Tactical Vehicle Sustainment Team has estimated that Reverse Engineering the HEMTT axle assembly would cost a minimum of $3.85 million with a lead time of no less than 60 months for:

SPRDL1-23-R-0183 (JA-00713)

Previous J&A: Not available

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

a. Effective competition: Due to the reasons cited in section 5 above, the Government is not pursuing competition for this item.

b. Subcontracting competition: Unless the contract is awarded to a small business, the solicitation and resulting contract will include FAR clauses 52.219-8, "Utilization of Small Business Concerns"; 52.244-5, "Competition in Subcontracting"; 52.219-16, "Liquidated Damages--Subcontracting Plan";" and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.219-7003, "Small Business Subcontracting Plan (DoD Contracts)," to maximize small business opportunities and utilization.

SOLE SOURCE: Notices required by FAR 5.201 will be posted.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: There are no plans to increase competition for future procurements due to the reasons cited above. There are no contractors currently in the process of being qualified as an alternate source of supply for this item. Currently, there are no planned efforts to qualify additional sources due to the fact that the Government does not possess a fully defined and validated TDP for this item. The source of supply, Oshkosh Defense (CAGE 75Q65), owns the detailed TDP for this item. Any vendor that believes they can provide this NSN for a lower cost while meeting the same requirements as the existing item should seek qualification as a secondary source through the Competition Management Office Source Approval Program at their own expense.

8. Market Research: A Sources Sought Notice was posted to SAM.gov on 26 September 2023, and was open for 15 days. No responses were received.

Market Research efforts included:

A Sources Sought/Request for Information was posted on the SAM.gov website on September 26, 2023:

Notice: SPRDL1-23-R-0183 Noun: Axle Assembly, Automotive, Driving

NSN: 2520-01-572-2713

Part Number: 3824090 (Oshkosh Defense, (CAGE 75Q65) Base Quantity: Nine each Option Quantity: Nine each End Item: M984A4 HEMTT Wrecker

To date, no responses to the Sources Sought/Request for Information have been received.

Internet searches were performed as described below:

Computer-based market research was conducted by the GVSC Project Engineer during January of 2020. Axle assemblies offered by AxleTech, Meritor, Dana, and Hendrickson