0611-01_(124-H11)-Espy_BPA-Draft_Class_J&A_(redacted_Copy)_(2).pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER

DAHLGREN DIVISION

6149 WELSH ROAD, SUITE 203

DAHLGREN, VIRGINIA 22448-5130

IN REPLY REFER TO

CJ&A DL# 14057

Code 026 N00178-19-A-####

CLASS JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity

The Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), Contracts Division, Code 02.

2. Description of the Action Being Approved

Award of a five year blanket purchase agreement (BPA) on a sole source basis to The ESPY Corporation, 13033 Trautwein Road, Austin, TX 78737-9364. The BPA will enable NSWCDD to establish calls to satisfy recurring deployment requirements that cannot be accurately predicted. Authority to act under this Class J&A (CJ&A) expires five (5) years after award.

3. Description of Supplies/Services

The proposed BPA will provide for procurement teamSENTINEL systems, equipment, spares, and services utilized by the Weapons Control and Integration Department (H), Asymmetric Systems Division (H10). Calls under the BPA will be Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and shall not exceed $250,000 per call.

The BPA will provide for a flexible and timely approach by providing an immediate solution to satisfy NSWCDD deployment requirements. It is expected that calls will be within simplified acquisition thresholds. Delivery dates will vary and will be identified in each individual call. The estimated cost for the total proposed contract action, including all calls, will not exceed $600,000.

Although ceilings are not established for individual BPAs, the following projected costs are expected based on historical and current requirements:

Estimated Dollar Value FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 Totals

RDT&EN $100K $100K $100K $100K $100K $500K

OM&N $20K $20K $20K $20K $20K $100K

Total $120K $120K $120K $120K $120K $600K

The Government’s minimum needs have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel. Authority to act under this class J&A expires five years after signing of the agreements.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy the agency requirement.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority

H11 has been tasked to provide technical support including system evaluation, integration, maintenance and repair, enhancements, and training for the Scout Master Program. The project schedules are driven by platform deployments and this information is classified and unpredictable. Additionally, NSWCDD collaborates with other government agencies on this mission requirement. The ESPY Corporation equipment and services play a crucial function in meeting mission and operational requirements. NSWCDD procured two ESPY Wideband Radio Frequency (RF) collection units named teamSENTINEL Dual-Band Sensor Radios (Sentinel Radios) in 2011 (N0017-11-C-3022) for $421,468.76 from The ESPY Corporation.

Recently, NSWCDD purchased additional ESPY Corporation equipment, spare parts and services to expand the system in support of the FY16/FY17 requirements (N00178-16-C-2017) for $711,001.40.

NSWCDD also has the responsibility to support teamSENTINEL equipment procured by other Government agencies.

ESPY Corporation products are required for uniformity and compatibility with equipment and systems presently installed on platforms and in our laboratories in order to expand systems, troubleshoot and resolve issues, when needed. Equipment must be replaced once they become aged, end of life or become defective and fail, rendering them unfit for use. New equipment will need to be procured to enhance and replace existing equipment. The systems and equipment may not reach its estimated life expectancy if it is not serviced on a regular basis. For operational purposes, it is crucial to ensure the systems and equipment are functioning properly and provide continuous support. Therefore, preventive maintenance and on-call technical support may be required. Due to the size, complexity, and delicate nature of these systems and equipment, the preventive maintenance and on-call technical support must be performed onboard the platforms and in our laboratories. The schedule and location of the platforms is unpredictable and only known on short notice, so it is difficult to plan for these services in advance. ESPY Corporation is the only vendor qualified and capable of providing the needed preventative maintenance and on-call technical support. Current warranties for ESPY Corporation’s systems and equipment will be void should another vendor attempt to repair or maintain this proprietary equipment. Training is required to ensure proper use of the systems and equipment by the operators and to extend our capabilities. H11 requires operator training covering the operation of the teamSENTINEL servers, workstations, and systems administration for hardware and software maintenance.

ESPY Corporation is the only vendor qualified and capable of providing the needed training.

Without approval of this action, the system security solution will not be able to be employed on a classified mission critical system leaving it vulnerable to adversaries. This effort is required to prevent and/or delay exploitation of critical technologies in a classified U.S. weapon system. Additionally, if this is approved, it will provide the flexibility to NSWCDD to enhance U.S. and coalition warfighting capability and interoperability by enabling additional exports of state-of-the-art U.S. weapon systems and extend the effective operational life of U.S. and coalition warfighting capabilities.

Failure to have fully operating systems and equipment, during or prior to the deployment of platforms will impact the ability to communicate with other DoD supporting activities. Additionally, the safety of the warfighter and other personnel will potentially be impacted. Full and open competition is not feasible because the proprietary nature of this requirement. All systems and equipment must integrate and be fully compatible with existing teamSENTINEL equipment and software currently fielded; all systems and equipment must be fully operational and at peak performance; and all operators must be trained to fully understand the system and proper use of the system.

The Government has invested over $10M for these systems, equipment and capabilities. The Government would not recoup these costs if this requirement is competed, and in excess of 13 years of research, development, and testing would be lost. After much research and testing, it has been determined that only these systems and equipment meet the field strength measurements and sensitivity levels required for data collection and detection onboard the platform.

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

No alternatives were reviewed. Additional market research was not performed because the requirement is inherently noncompetitive.

The ESPY Corporation holds the proprietary rights to these systems, equipment, integrated software and services; therefore, they are the only company that can provide compatible equipment, spares and services for the existing systems. There are no authorized resellers for this equipment.

The proposed contract is being synopsized on FBO website as at Federal Business Opportunities (FEDBIZOPS) website as an intent to sole source to ESPY Corporation, 13033 Trautwein Road, Austin, TX 78737-9364. Interested vendors are to confirm that the OEM was the sole source provider for the required equipment, spare parts and services. No additional market research was conducted because it is not practicable, for the reasons discussed in paragraph 5 above, for any company other than EPSY to provide the required parts.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Costs

The Contracting Officer for each acquisition will determine that the price to the Government is fair and reasonable using price analysis before each BPA Call is awarded.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Competition

For the reasons set forth in Paragraph 5, NSWCDD has no plans at this time to compete future contracts for the types of supplies/services covered by this document. If a future requirement should arise, reappraisal will take place to determine whether competition is feasible. If another potential source emerges, NSWCDD will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION (FAR 6.303-2(b))

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification and its supporting acquisition planning data except as noted herein, are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

COMBINED TECHNICAL & REQUIREMENTS COGNIZANCE:

David Richardson, Engineer, H11, Phone No. Date

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW (NMCARS 5206.303(90))

I have determined this justification is legally sufficient.

Brian K. Kau, Legal Counsel, 00L Phone No. Date

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION (FAR 6.303-2(a)(12))

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Angela Bowling, Contracting Officer, 026 Phone No. Date

The Government’s minimum needs have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel. Authority to act under this class J&A expires five years after signing of the agreements.