N00174_FY24-JUL16-18.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER INDIAN HEAD

3767 STRAUSS AVENUE

SUITE 201

INDIAN HEAD, MD 20640-5150

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

J&A No. FY24-JUL16-18 Code: 022

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

The Naval Sea Systems Command, NSWC Indian Head Division, (NSWC IHD) Contracts Office Code 022.

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

This action will award a contract to Energetics Technology Center, Inc. (ETC). ETC will deliver technology prototypes for MEMS (Micro- Electromechanical Systems) fuzes.

The contractor for this effort is:

Energetics Technology Center, Inc.

4185 Indian Head Highway Indian Head, MD 20640

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The scope of this requirement includes both labor and materials to support three (3) primary tasks:

2) Weapons Fuzing Analysis

3) Ordnance Technology Development

The Government’s minimum needs have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel.

Estimated Dollar Value

FY25 – 29

Total $4M

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open

Competition.

10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 - Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

Under historical contract N0017421C0041, ETC supported development of a novel technology being implemented in the CDM MOD 2 fuze program.

Deep understanding of the CDM system and the safety standards must be maintained as this program moves towards qualification. Experience with interacting with the Fuze and Initiation Systems Technical Review Panel (FISTRP) and the Weapons Systems Explosive Safety Review Board (WSESRB) and incorporation of the feedback is needed for this program. CDM MOD 2 fuze is moving into design verification testing for FY25 and qualification in FY26.

If NSWC IHD is required to hire a different contractor, undue burden is placed on the CDM MOD2 program and will result in substantial risk to cost and schedule, which is not anticipated to be recouped if it were to be competed. The replacement contractor may not have the knowledge required to provide adequate input to the design. Cost risk is incurred if design safety considerations are not incorporated, and redesign is needed. Redesign during the qualification phase is extraordinarily costly due to the number of assets required for the testing. Schedule risk is incurred if redesign is needed, delaying qualification and eventual fielding of the CDM MOD2 fuze.

Under historical contract N0017421C0041, ETC developed the six degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) model

If NSWC IHD is required to hire a different contractor, undue burden is placed on the HRCM program and will result in substantial risk to quality and schedule. The replacement contractor may not have the knowledge needed to adequately utilize model or verify the model results. If the model cannot adequately predict the trajectory of the design issues may not be preemptively identified. This leads to the costs and schedule burdens of a redesign effort or the weapon failing to meet performance requirements resulting in unacceptable delays in filling the Government’s requirement.

IAW FAR 6.303-2(b)(9)(ii), it is currently estimated to take a total of 360 hours of training to transfer the knowledge set from ETC to an NSWC IHD employee. That amount of hours is the estimated time to train a person to fabricate, assemble, inspect, and test MEMS devices.

Training would include instruction on the equipment and chemical processes required to perform these tasks. At the current Band III stabilized labor rate of total labor to train two employees would cost (Labor x 2) with an additional estimated in materials. Total estimated cost to conduct knowledge transfer from an NSWC IHD employee to a new contractor will be and hours, thus it benefits the Government to retain ETC as a logical follow on contractor.

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

A Sources Sought notice was posted on 12 January 2024 to the System for Award Management (SAM) website to satisfy the requirement of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 206.302-1(d). No responses were received.

The proposed contract was synopsized on the Sam.gov website on July 1, 2024. There were no expressions of interest.

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.

At this time, NSWC IHD has no plans to compete the types of services/supplies covered under this document. If another potential source emerges, NSWC IHD will assess whether competition of future requirements would be feasible. As this is a follow-on for supplies and services previously awarded on a non-competitive basis, in accordance with DFARS PGI 206.304(a)(S-70)(i), the prior J&A was provided to the approval authority for review. Approval of this J&A signifies the approval authority has made the determination required by DFARS PGI 206.304(a)(S-70)(ii). ETC has unique capabilities as detailed in paragraph 5.