DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

PROGRAM EXECUTIVE OFFICER

TACTICAL AIRCRAFT PROGRAMS

47123 BUSE ROAD BLDG 2272

PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND 20670-1547

CJ&A 26-0163

CLASS JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Headquarters.

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

This Class Justification and Approval (CJ&A) authorizes and approves a class of actions on a sole source basis to The Boeing Company (Boeing) of St. Louis, Missouri, utilizing a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) for the procurement of F/A-18 E/F Advanced Electronic Warfare (ADVEW) Flight Test Integration (FTI) including Non-recurring Engineering (NRE), integration, and design for Lots 26-42A Service Life Modification (SLM) Block III aircraft. These orders and modifications will be in support of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) requirements.

Authority to act under this CJ&A expires 30 September 2029.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The services and supplies under this CJ&A include Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) activities for design, fabrication, test and delivery of an estimated quantity of eight Flight Test Kits.

The total estimated value of the requirement is which will be funded with Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDTE) appropriations as follows:

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

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 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.

In accordance with FAR 6.103-1(c)(2)(ii), the Government has deemed the requirements listed above for the continued development and production of Flight Test Kits and platform integration to be available only through Boeing, the platform OEM, and award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Navy’s requirements.

Only Boeing, as the sole designer, developer, weapons systems integrator, and producer of the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G aircraft, and its subsystems, can successfully update the integration documents within the required schedule constraints.

Based on an estimate derived from the time required to develop the current models within the F/A- 18 E/F Technical Data Package (TDP) for ADVEW integration it would likely require a minimum of two years for the Navy to transition to another contractor, provide a sufficient TDP, licensing agreements, and build a baseline level of knowledge (at both the prime contractor and supplier level) of the technical data and supporting data systems used to sustain the F/A-18 E/F ADVEW program requirements listed in Paragraph 3. Another contractor would then also require an additional two years to attain engineering expertise with the F/A-18 E/F ADVEW system necessary to provide the engineering support required by this effort. The Navy would also have to train contractor engineers in specific F/A-18 E/F methods, tools, and processes. This would cause an unacceptable delay to the program's Initial Operational Capability (IOC), Q3FY30, impacting the procurement of program requirements and the necessary support for fleet operations.

Therefore, NAVAIR has determined Boeing is the only responsible source capable of meeting the Navy’s requirements.

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

In accordance with DFARS PGI 206.103-170, an original Sources Sought notice for the ADVEW Block III Modification was posted on 30 July 2025. A total of two responses were received. One response was submitted by Begini Howard Private Equity LLC. This response did not meet the requirements of the Sources Sought, specifically by not providing a capability statement, and therefore their capabilities could not be assessed. The Government provided a response letter to BHPE LLC with rationale informing them of the inability to be assessed due to the incomplete submission. The other response received was submitted by Tactical Labs. This response did not meet the requirements of the Sources Sought, specifically by failing to mention direct knowledge of the F/A-18 E/F Aircraft which is necessary to complete the requirement. Tactical Labs also neglected to provide an example of a full platform A-Kit design, with only examples of a system re-design. There was no backing information for Interface Control Document (ICD) development and there was no data provided on the ability to integrate fully into a carrier-based Navy aircraft with unique airworthiness considerations for landing on a carrier. The Government provided a response letter to Tactical Labs with the rational informing them of the lack of capability to complete the work requested.

In accordance with FAR 5.101, a pre-solicitation notice for ADVEW FTI was synopsized on the SAM.Gov website on 09 December 2024; No responses were received. ADVEW Block III was synopsized on the SAM.Gov website on 12 September 2025; No responses were received.

On 20 March 2026, the Sources Sought and Synopsis were reposted for the FTI Modification and Block III Modification due to the lapse in time between the initial posting and routing of this CJ&A. One response has been received for each Sources Sought provided by BHPE LLC as submitted previously. The Government provided a response letter to BHPE LLC with rationale informing them of the inability to be assessed due to their incomplete response.

For reasons set forth in Paragraph 5, no other vendors were deemed capable. No additional market research was conducted because it is not practicable for any company other than Raytheon to provide the subject supplies and services.

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 CJ&A will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

For the reasons set forth in Paragraph 5, NAVAIR has no plans at this time to compete future contacts for the types of supplies/services covered by this document. If another potential source emerges, NAVAIR will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible. As this is a follow-on for supplies and services previously awarded on a non-competitive basis, in accordance with DFARS PGI 206.104-71, prior CJ&A 21-0113 was provided to the approval authority for review. Approval of this CJ&A signifies the approval authority has made the determination required by DFARS PGI 206.104-72.