N00024_22569.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL SEA SYSTEMS COMMAND

1333 ISAAC HULL AVE SE

WASHINGTON NAVY YARD DC 20376-0001 IN REPLY REFER TO

CJ&A No. 22,569

CLASS JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity

The Naval Sea Systems Command, Shipbuilding Contracts Division (SEA 022).

2. Description of the Action Being Approved

Modification to Contract No. N00024-25-C-2414 with Damen Naval (Damen), De Willem Ruysstraat 99, 4381 NK, Vlissingen, The Netherlands, to increase the scope of work to include engineering support for the Medium Landing Ship (LSM) Program and award of a directed subcontract by the Navy’s Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) for engineering and design agent support for the future LSM Block 1 procurements. Both the Navy and the Navy’s Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) have authority to act under this CJ&A. This authority expires on 30 September 2031.

3. Description of Supplies/Services

The proposed class of contract actions will procure engineering and design agent support from Damen as needed for all LSM Program acquisition efforts. Such efforts include special studies and engineering changes conducted under Contract No. N00024-25-C-2414 and the Navy’s VCM contract, which will direct the VCM to subcontract with Damen as the Design and Configuration Agent for the construction subcontracts awarded by the VCM.

The scope of services to be provided by Damen under this CJ&A includes, but is not limited to:

Design Baseline Management: Establishing and maintaining the authoritative Allocated Baseline for the McClung-class LSM. This includes managing the Technical Data Package (TDP) acquired by the Navy and ensuring all design documentation is current and accurate.

Configuration Control: Serving as the central authority for managing and controlling the LSM configuration. This involves evaluating, documenting, and approving all engineering changes, modifications, and deviations from the baseline design to ensure interoperability and consistency across all vessels built by various U.S. shipyards.

Engineering and Technical Support: Providing subject matter expertise to NAVSEA, the VCM, and contracted shipyards on all aspects of the LST 100 design. This support is critical for integrating U.S.-specific command, control, communications, computer, and combat systems, as well as other government-furnished equipment, into the baseline design while maintaining the vessel's performance characteristics.

Support to Production: Assisting U.S. shipbuilders in interpreting the LST 100 design, resolving technical issues, and ensuring that construction methods adhere to the design's specifications and quality standards.

The total estimated value in the table below includes cost of royalty fees for 15 ships, the cost for the increased scope under Contract No. N00024-25-C-2414 for Damen to perform special studies and engineering changes, and the effort to be performed by Damen as the directed Design and Configuration Agent for the construction subcontracts awarded by the VCM. The Navy’s minimum needs have been verified by certifying technical and requirements personnel.

Estimated Dollar Value ($M)

FY 25 – 31

Total

Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy (SCN) Total

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

The Navy has determined that only Damen can provide the required engineering support for the LST 100 design because it is the original source of the design, and an award to any other company would result in both a substantial duplication of the cost to the Government and unacceptable delays in construction of LSM vessels based on the LST 100 design. 10 U.S.C. § 3204(a)(1), as implemented through FAR 6.302-1, authorizes a defense agency to use other than full and open competition procedures when the supplies or services required by the agency are only available from one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy the agency’s requirements. Per FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii), supplies may be deemed available only from the original source for follow-on contracts for the continued development or production of a major system when it is likely that award to any other source would result in “[s]ubstantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition” or “[u]nacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.” Use of this authority is appropriate when “[t]he existence of limited rights in data, patent rights, copyrights, or secret processes; the control of basic raw material; or similar circumstances, make the supplies and services available from only one source.” FAR 6.302- 1(b)(2).

The acquisition strategy for the LSM Block 1 requires a commercial/non-developmental item (CNDI) design to significantly reduce the risk of cost and schedule growth associated with design immaturity typically found in new shipbuilding programs. Accordingly, the Navy conducted extensive market research to identify potential sources for a CDNI design and assess U.S. shipyard capacity to produce vessels from an “as-designed” configuration. Through this market research, the Navy identified two viable CNDI vessel designs that would meet the Top- Level Requirements (TLRs) for LSM Block 1: (1) Non-Development Logistics Support Vessel

(NDLSV) (Ref J&A No. 22,216), designed by Bollinger Shipyards Lockport, L.L.C. (Bollinger), and (2) Damen’s LST 100 (Ref J&A No. 22,217). To determine which design should serve as the official design basis for the LSM Block 1, the Navy procured the TDPs for both designs (Ref Contract Nos. N00024-25-C-2413 and N00024-25-C-2414, respectively). Subsequently, on 19 November 2025, the Under Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition (ASN (RD&A) selected the LST 100 design as the official design basis for the LSM Block 1 to enable rapid fielding of a critical warfighting asset and enhance the Navy’s littoral maneuver and logistics support capabilities.

Although the Navy has already procured the “as-designed” LST 100 TDP and the licensing agreements necessary to construct vessels based on the design, the TDP will require updates prior to and throughout the construction process. Accordingly, the Navy requires additional engineering support to identify elements of the "as-designed" LST 100 design that pose a material sourcing risk to the build strategy or that are not in compliance with American regulatory and/or statutory requirements to ensure that the design is as close to production ready as possible to support the construction of LSMs in American shipyards. Additionally, the Navy anticipates that the next block of LSM vessels will need design changes to support the Navy and Marine Corps’ long-term littoral maneuver and logistics support capability requirements, and therefore, the Navy requires special studies and engineering support to evaluate and update the LST 100 design for future LSM procurements. Furthermore, because the Navy anticipates that multiple shipyards will be constructing LSMs concurrently, the design will need continuous configuration management to reflect the yard-to-yard variations inherent to multi-yard vessel construction in addition to incorporating standard “as-built” production data. Timely execution of these engineering services is directly linked to upcoming production readiness activities, VCM subcontract awards, and initial ship construction milestones. Any delay in design agent support would have a cascading impact on material procurement, production sequencing, and shipyard readiness across multiple yards, thereby delaying first ship delivery and degrading the Navy’s ability to field LSM capability within required operational timelines.

The proposed class of contract actions will provide the necessary expert services to establish, maintain, and control the LSM's design and configuration baseline throughout the program's lifecycle. The ultimate deliverable is a stable, mature, and fully documented LSM Block 1 design, enabling multiple U.S. shipyards to proceed with efficient, low-risk production. These services are essential for the successful execution of the Navy's VCM and multi-shipyard production strategy.

As the originator, owner, and design agent for the LST 100, Damen is best suited to analyze, update, and modify the design quickly, both during the production of the LSM Block 1 vessels and for future LSM procurements. However, the Navy conducted additional market research to assess whether other companies could provide the required engineering support without substantial cost duplication or unacceptable delays. Based on this market research, the Navy determined that using any other design agent would substantially delay the LSM Block 1 construction schedule and cost vastly more than acquiring the engineering support directly from Damen. Because Damen originated and built the LST 100, the current design is configured for the software and processes used in-house by Damen. Any other company would need to become familiar with and adapt the design to its own software and processes before beginning the required engineering support work thereby creating substantial delay to the LSM Block 1 and duplicative costs for the additional work necessary to adapt the design.

For these reasons, the Navy has decided to award the required engineering support work to Damen under the authority provided in § 3204(a)(1) to provide the capabilities of the LSM Block1 to the Fleet as quickly as possible to support the Marine Corps’ operational requirements without incurring the substantially duplicative costs and unacceptable delays associated with awarding this work to any other source.

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

The Navy conducted extensive market research to identify potential sources for a non-developmental landing ship design and assess U.S. shipyard capacity to produce vessels from an “as-built” configuration. In support of its market research, the Navy released an industry-wide RFI on 7 January 2025, seeking information on commercially available designs and shipyard capabilities. The Navy received 14 responses, 13 of which included production recommendations using nine distinct landing ship designs. However, only two of those identified designs, the Bollinger’s ND-LSV and Damen’s LST 100 are mature designs that meet the LSM Block 1 TLRs and have already been successfully constructed.

On 19 November 2025, the Under Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition selected the LST 100 design as the official design basis for the Medium Landing Ship (LSM) Block 1 to enable rapid fielding of a critical warfighting asset and enhance the Navy’s littoral maneuver and logistics support capabilities. The Navy conducted further market research into companies that could provide engineering support needed through analysis and production of the LST 100 design. As described in Section 5, the Navy determined that contracting these services outside of Damen would delay the construction schedule and cost vastly more than the services provided directly from Damen. The amount of time any other companies would need to become familiar with the design and software used to make any updates would further delay the LSM Block 1 construction.

Additionally, in accordance with FAR 5.203(a), the Navy posted a pre-solicitation synopsis for the proposed efforts addressed by this Class J&A on SAM.gov on 5 December 2025. No responses from potential sources have been received to date and none are anticipated.

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 Section 5, the Navy has no plans at this time to compete future contract actions for the supplies/services covered by this CJ&A. If another potential source emerges, the Navy will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

CRISTINA M. COVALT Date Director, Fleet Support Contracts Division

COVALT.CRISTINA.M.1285620151

Digitally signed by

COVALT.CRISTINA.M.1285620151

Date: 2026.02.17 13:11:39 -05'00'

2/17/26