JA SRPDL1-24-R-0193-REDACTED.pdf

SPRDL1-24-R-0193 (JA-00896)

Previous J&A: SPRDL1-17-R-0245 is available

FAR 6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: This transmission is found on the FMTV A1R/A1P2 and HIMARS platforms. Transmissions are a critical component of the vehicle's drive train assembly. The transmission contains several sets of gears at variable gear ratios and is responsible for maintaining relative engine torque and revolutions per minute to keep the engine from operating at dangerous levels while under varying loads.

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

The Transmission is only manufactured by Allison Transmissions Inc. who owns all the data rights. The dressed transmission assembly is defined by the Government-owned Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) drawing 12414438, which consists of the transmission (Part Number 12423733-001) and the shipping container (Part Number 12414256). The Government-owned echnical ata ackage (TDP) does not include any technical data for the transmission, which is why this item cannot be procured competitively. Only Allison Transmissions Inc. has the specific technical expertise and proper facilities to manufacture and dress the transmission. Additionally, Allison Transmissions Inc. has the history of building transmission assemblies that allow the FMTV A1R / A1P2 to perform its mission. Allison Transmissions Inc. has manufactured transmissions that have successfully operated in the field and have met all mobility requirements outlined in the Army Technical Purchase Description. The Government conducted developmental and operational testing during the vehicle’s design and initial production phases, which proved that Allison Transmissions Inc. could manufacture a transmission that meets the Government’s performance and reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) requirements. If the Government were to purchase transmissions that have not undergone proper verification, mission failures and potential loss of mission-critical functions to the vehicle could occur. Without this proper verification, it is likely that the transmission would not fit or function properly, which could result in failure, jeopardizing mission capability and fleet mobility. Based on this, Allison Transmissions Inc. must be considered the controlled source of supply capable of providing the transmission for the FMTV A1R/A1P2 and HIMARS.

Due to the lack of technical data available for the transmission, reverse engineering is the only recourse for the Government to increase competition through development of a competitive build-to-print TDP. The Ground Vehicle Systems Center Medium Tactical Trucks and Trailers Sustainment Team has estimated the effort that would be required to reverse engineer this transmission based on conversations with Subject Matter Experts in Reverse Engineering, Test & Evaluation, and Quality Engineering. The reverse engineering process consists of procuring samples of the current part, tearing down the samples to understand and characterize the assembly’s components, dimensions, and materials, and designing the reverse engineered part. Several prototypes would need to be fabricated. The process to reverse engineer the part and

SPRDL1-24-R-0193 (JA-00896)

Previous J&A: SPRDL1-17-R-0245 is available

Efforts to Obtain Competition:

Effective competition: Due to the reasons cited in ection 5 above, the Government is not pursuing competition for this item. Notices required by FAR

5.201 will be posted.

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.

Actions to Increase Competition: For the reasons set forth above, there are no plans to increase competition for future procurements.

Due to the limited technical data available on the Transfer Transmission Assembly, reverse engineering is the only recourse for the Government to increase competition through development of a competitive build-to-print TDP.

8. Market Research: A Sources Sought Notice was posted to SAM.gov on 9 September 2024 and was open for 15 days. No responses were received.

In August 2024, Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) Engineering conducted a computer-based online search of known Transmission Assembly suppliers looking for published material on a new built Transfer Transmission Assembly.

Keyword(s): Transmission; FMTV Transmission; Allision Transmission 3700SP.

Links used to conduct market research are listed below:

https://www.allisontransmission.com/en-gb/transmissions/models/3000-series https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/products/transmissions/commercial-vehicle-transmissions.html https://www.caterpillar.com

Findings: The results of this search did not produce any new companies that would provide a direct replacement transmission assembly that is 100% new and could be installed in the FMTV A1R without considerable time and effort to adapt the new components. Additionally, internet searches did not yield any products that meet the exact performance specifications of the existing transmission transfer assembly due to the lack of detailed technical data.