Redacted_J&A.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND

RADM WILLIAM A. MOFFET BUILDING

47123 BUSE ROAD, BLDG 2272

PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND 20670.1547

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM) Headquarters

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

IN REPLY REFER TO:

J&A_ l7-0480

This Justification and Approval (J&A) authorizes and approves the issuance of an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract (of up to five years) with firm fixed priced line items to FN Herstal S.A.

(Herstal), Liege, Belgium, for the procurement of GAU-21 Common Defensive Weapon System (COWS) for the CH-530/E, MH-60R/S, CV/MV-22 and the UH-1 Y Navy and Marine Aircraft, as well as Foreign Military Sales (FMS).

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The U.S. Government has a requirement for: (a) approximately 315 GAU-21 COWS and other such quantities as may be authorized and appropriated by Congress to include the related supplies and services necessary for manufacturing, fleet deployment and training; (b) operator and armorer tool kits; and (c) engineering and logistics production support for the operation, maintenance and configuration management of these weapon systems.

Estimated Dollar Value

Table 1

Type FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 Total Funds

APN-5

FMS

Total 19.42M

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

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

In 2001 , the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL), in conjunction with Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-One (MAWTS-1), conducted a qualitative assessment to ascertain the tactical effectiveness of the M3M .50 caliber machine gun on USMC support helicopters. MCWL issued a Request for Information (RFI) in 2001 for a M3M .50 caliber machine gun. There were three respondents:

and Fabrique Nationale Herstal (FNH). Based on the analysis, the only system that met the threshold requirements was FNH M3M .50 cal machine gun. As a result of the analysis, Marine Corps Combat Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM) executed a sole source justification and contract with FNH to modify the M3M .50 cal machine gun, which is the Navy designated GAU-21 .50 cal machine gun, and planned to integrate it on the UH-1 N DAS, CH-53, and CH-46 series aircraft. In December 2002, NAVAIR executed a sole source Justification and Approval (J&A) to contract with FNH under a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) to purse the acquisition of the GAU-21 .50 cal machine gun for USN and USMC helicopters. In August 2006, COWS achieved Full Rate Production authority.

COWS has been integrated to the CH-530/E, MH-60R/S, CV/MV-22 and the UH-1Y Navy and Marine Aircraft. In addition, GAU-21 .50 cal machine guns have been procured through NAVAIR for Air Force and FMS aircraft. The COWS system is in the production and sustainment phase of the acquisition cycle.

Future production impacts will likely come from PMA-261, with the integration effort to qualify COWS on CH-53K, and the United States Air Force to integrate the GAU-21 on the HH-60W helicopter.

The government estimates that qualifying an alternative to the GAU-21 COWS would require at least three years. This estimate is based on the original GAU-21 qualification and the current M134A 1 qualification and certification timelines. Based on this qualification timeline, relying on any alternative to the GAU-21 would result in an unacceptable delay in meeting the Government's requirements. GAU-21 's are installed on new MV-22 aircraft prior to fielding in order to provide the MV-22 with a defensive weapon system.

Meeting the MV-22 fielding schedule requires that the GAU-21 's be procured under the IDIQ begin delivery no later than December annually. Consequently, procuring an alternative to the GAU-21 COWS would result in an unacceptable delay of three years, in providing fielding MV-22's with a defensive weapon system.

The GAU-21 COWS is a variant of the Herstal M3M Mk2 Dual Detent machine gun, which was developed for the commercial market at private expense. Because the M3M was developed exclusively at private expense, the U.S. Government has only Limited Data Rights that are not adequate for a competitive procurement of the GAU-21 COWS. FN Herstal is willing to sell a license for Government Purpose Data Rights to the GAU-21 COWS Technical Data Package at a proposed cost of

. In light of this high cost relative to the total value of the planned GAU-21 COWS procurement, the license rights will not be procured.

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

PMA-242 continues to survey the market and maintains cognizance of industrial capabilities through market research and has not identified any other sources capable of performing the requirements within the schedule and fiscal constraints of the program. This is done through attendance at trade shows and review of trade articles. A Class Waiver of DFARS PGI 206.302-1 request for information I sources sought requirement has been granted on 04 Apr 2018. No responses to the synopsis have been received. As required by FAR 5.201, a synopsis announcing the intent to award a sole source contract to FN Herstal for the GAU-21 COWS was published in the Government point of entry at www.fbo.gov on 02 May 2018.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

In accordance with FAR 15.402, the Contracting Officer shall ensure that all supplies and services provided under this contract are procured at a fair and reasonable price. The contractor shall provide a formal proposal with certified cost and pricing data with sufficient information to support a technical evaluation to establish a fair and reasonable pricing position.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

For the reasons set forth in paragraph 5, there are no plans for any subsequent competitive procurement for future GAU-21 COWS requirements. If another potential source emerges, the Government will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.