Justification and Approval (redacted).pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION LAKEHURST

ROUTE 547

JOINT BASE MDL NEW JERSEY 08733

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JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst, NJ

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

This Justification and Approval (J&A) authorizes and approves the issuance of a sole source Firm-Fixed-Price contract for the procurement of XX MastSystem INT’L OY (MastSystem) mast systems and XXX accessories to MastSystem’s only U.S. distributor, Tim Price, Inc. (doing business as Contact Corporation). MastSystem does not sell directly to the Government. The delivery schedule is anticipated to be XXX days after contract award.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The NAWCAD Webster Outlying Field Special Communications Mission Solutions Division has been tasked by the XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX to provide mast systems and accessories in support of the XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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requires mast systems and accessories in order to mount existing fielded antennas. The

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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Capability Roadmap provides for the modernization of this family of systems and will be programmed into phased updates through XXXXXXXXXXX

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XXXXX requires mast systems that meet requirements for height; mounted antenna proximity;

compatibility with fielded antennas; and wind, rain, and sand resistance.

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XXX

XXXXX

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XXXXX XXXX

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

X

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.

Only the MastSystem mast systems and accessories have passed operational testing and can meet the XXXXXX requirements for height; mounted antenna proximity; compatibility with fielded antennas; and wind, rain, and sand resistance. The MastSystem mast systems and accessories were previously procured for qualification testing under service contract XXXXXXXXXXX.

The modernization prototype, including MastSystem mast systems and accessories, passed qualification testing on XXXXXXXXXX resulting in the approved baseline system. The XXXXX completed XXXXXX acceptance testing in XXXXXXX demonstration testing in XXX XXXXX and operational testing was completed in XXXXXXX

Alternating vendor, technology, make, or model would result in duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. Changing mast systems and accessories would require re-engineering, redesign, retesting, and documentation updates to the entire XXXXX system. Current estimates to perform these additional duplicative efforts are approximately XXXX and include costs to perform engineering and design XXXXX qualification testing, acceptance testing, environmental testing, and demonstration testing XXXXXand updating technical documentation to include the training packages, technical manuals, and drawing packages XXXXXXXX would also experience a XXXXXX delay in fielding the modernized XXXXX which would include delays of XXXXXX for engineering and design, XXXXXX for qualification testing, and XXXXXX for environmental testing.

The XXXXXXX delay would include redesign to the XXXXX that supports critical XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX The XXXXX is currently fielded with an end of life backbone that will have to be sustained until the modernization is completed. Any delay in the modernization of XXXXX will cause the inability to repair or replace damaged or broken XXXXX and diminish communication capabilities that could create a XXX disruption or denied environment, gravely impacting the ability of the XXXXX to communicate among critical air and ground forces, endangering the lives of the forces.

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

Market research was conducted via General Services Administration (GSA) Advantage and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA’s) Public Logistics (PUB LOG) Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS) for the mast systems and accessories. Searches of GSA Advantage and DLA’s PUB LOG FLIS yielded no results. The Dynamic Small Business Search was also searched, and there was one result for Contact Corporation.

Additional research was conducted to identify available mast systems and accessories. A Request for Information was posted on 07 February 2023. Responses were received from XXX XXXXXXXXXXand Contact Corporation. XXXXXXXXXX does not meet the requirements as additional engineering would be required to make the proposed solution work for the purpose of the XXXXX Adaptations would be required in order to incorporate an antenna adapter on top of

X the mast for the required Technical Appliance Corporation quad line of sight antenna, an antenna adapter for mid-mount very high frequency antennas, a lightning suppression assembly, a ground rod and ground cable, and a grounding harness. Additionally, the associated manufacturer drawings, training package, technical manuals, and packout cards would require updates.

Contact Corporation can meet the requirements. Responses were provided to XXXXXXXXXX via email on 24 May 2023. The Government received no further correspondence.

Multiple solutions were identified and reviewed to determine each solution’s ability to meet the requirements of the XXXXX Of the manufacturers identified in the market research, only MastSystem mast systems and accessories meet the requirements. MastSystem does not sell directly to the Government and Contact Corporation is the only U.S. distributor of the MastSystem mast systems and accessories.

A pre-solicitation synopsis was posted on 27 April 2023 and closed on 12 May 2023XXXXXX

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7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

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

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

For the reasons stated in Paragraph 5, only MastSystem mast systems and accessories can meet the requirements for XXXXX Contact Corporation is the sole U.S. distributor of the MastSystem mast systems and accessories. The Government will continue to evaluate other technologies that would allow for future competition by conducting market research to determine if there are any future vendors that have the capability to meet this requirement.