Justification.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION LAKEHURST

ROUTE 547

JOINT BASE MDL NEW JERSEY 08733

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 & Approval (J&A) authorizes and approves, on a sole source basis, the issuance of an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with SupplyNet, Inc. for the procurement of SupplyNet, Inc. radio cables and ancillary items.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The NAWCAD Webster Outlying Field (WOLF) Special Communications Mission Solutions (SCMS) Division has been tasked by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to support the Radio Integration System (RIS) Family of Systems (FoS) by providing radio cables and ancillary items in support of upgrades to the communication systems

. The radio cables and ancillary items are components of the RIS family of deployable and scalable transit case-based communications suites that support combatant commanders. The radio cables and ancillary items are required for the radio gateway connections to the fielded radios. The RIS program requires radio cables and ancillary items that meet the requirement for compatibility with the radio gateway hardware of the fielded radios. The Government will be procuring a minimum quantity of 1 radio cable and an estimated maximum quantity of 3,125 radio cables and ancillary items throughout the five-year ordering period of the

IDIQ.

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.

SupplyNet, Inc. is the only source with the requisite knowledge, experience, technical expertise and necessary technical data to continue production of the radio cables and ancillary items. In an effort to increase competition, the SCMS Division inquired as to whether or not SupplyNet, Inc.

would be willing to allow the Government to acquire unrestricted rights to the technical data.

SupplyNet, Inc. replied that the cost of the technical data for the required radio cables which is cost prohibitive to USSOCOM. The prohibitive expense of the data rights is not expected to be recovered through competition.

The SupplyNet, Inc. radio cables and ancillary items are uniquely compatible with the radio gateway hardware of the fielded AN/PRC-163 and AN/PRC-167 radios, allowing universal serial bus functionality in a saturated electromagnetic environment. Additionally, the SupplyNet, Inc.

radio cables have successfully completed User Evaluation, as well as operational testing by the Government

. SupplyNet, Inc. radio cables and ancillary items are the only known cables and ancillary items that can meet this combination of requirements.

Selection of alternate radio cables and ancillary items would result in an unacceptable delay to the Government schedule . This delay includes researching, evaluating, and testing alternate parts; Technical Data Package revisions; updates to the Engineering Change Proposal;

and operational testing.

Failure to field the SupplyNet, Inc. radio cables and ancillary items timely will cause to become inoperable as the system would be unable to execute command and control missions and be unable to communicate situational awareness and other mission critical data. This inoperability of will impact the mission and potentially lead to a loss of life.

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

The NAWCAD WOLF SCMS Division conducted market research via General Services Administration Advantage and the Defense Logistics Agency’s Public Logistics Federal Logistics Information System by the required part numbers, which yielded no results. The Naval Air Systems Command’s Office of Small Business Programs website was searched by NAICS code 334419 and yielded no results. The Dynamic Small Business Search was searched separately by NAICS code 334419 and by the phrase “cable assemblies” and yielded results;

however, only SupplyNet, Inc. can meet the requirements. An internet search via the Google search engine using the phrase “cable assemblies” and yielded results; however, only SupplyNet, Inc. can meet the requirements. SupplyNet, Inc. is the sole manufacturer and distributor of the specific radio cables and ancillary items that meet the program requirements and does not authorize resale.

A Request for Information for radio cables was posted on 25 February 2025. Responses were received from . does not meet the requirements as no information was provided regarding radio types nor communication formats supported. does not meet the requirements as their response provided no mention of the company’s ability to create and manufacture custom radio interface cables, confirmation regarding radio types supported, nor about the types of communication formats supported. These determinations were provided to . via E- Mail . No further response was received from either vendor.

A pre-solicitation synopsis was posted on 25 June 2025. No responses were received.

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, the Government has no plans at this time to compete future contracts for the types of supplies covered by this J&A. The Government will continue to conduct market research to determine if another potential source emerges. If another potential source emerges, the Government will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.