New WCF JA (FINAL APPROVED) Retractions JAC Redactions CS_KO-For PA Review.pdf

CUI

DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 6201

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Nature and/or Description of Action

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) contracting activity proposes to procure, without using full and open competition, an effort entitled "Nuclear Weapon Effects (NWE) Simulator Program.”

2. Description of the Supplies/Services Required

DTRA requires support for the development and application of the Double Eagle (DE), Pithon, Modular Bremsstrahlung Source (MBS), Short-Pulse Gamma (SPG) and the Pulserad 1150 (PR1150) simulators and related equipment and diagnostics. Support will also be needed for newly developed simulators that are being funded by Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) under the X-ray Simulators for Test and Evaluation of Nuclear Survivability (XSTENS) Project, HDTRA1-20-C-0038. These include Quad Eagle and Pithon II. All of these simulators are, or will be, owned by DTRA and are located at the L3 Applied Technologies, Inc. (L3) facility in San Leandro CA, with the exception of the PR1150 which is owned by L3. This support requires familiarity with the DTRA-owned simulators and unique scientific, engineering and technical expertise to assure that the simulators are available for DTRA NWE research and for outside testing and R&D customers. The scope of this requirement includes activities to:

a) Enhance the functionality and assure the availability of the DTRA-owned NWE simulators to perform research, development, test and evaluation to assure that the critical defense systems meet mission nuclear hardening and survivability (NH&S) requirements as mandated by Department of Defense (DoD) Instruction 3150.09 and United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Instruction 501-2. The DTRA-owned simulators will be periodically exercised for R&D experiments to enhance their capabilities and reliability, and to maintain scientific and technical expertise. The contractor will also support critical diagnostics and instrumentation associated with the simulators, and other DTRA-owned Government Furnished Property (GFP).

b) Perform R&D to improve the NWE capabilities of the WCF simulators.

c) Provide engineering and scientific testing support to DTRA and other defense-related programs, which includes test design/planning, simulator and diagnostics operations, and data collection/analysis.

d) Support the disposition of DTRA-owned equipment via dismantlement and/or transfer if required.

Cleared for Public Release

This is a follow-on requirement to the existing NWE Simulator Program under contract HDTRA1- 13-D-0002. It is anticipated a single-award, c-type contract will be awarded to L3, 2700 Merced Street, San Leandro, CA 94577. The period of performance is anticipated to be eight (8) years to account for the estimated time to complete, optimize, and transfer the new simulators under the XSTENS program. The estimated cost for the contract is $75,000,000 (inclusive of all options and a 10.3% cushion in order to provide flexibility for any unanticipated costs), to be funded with Research & Development dollars.

3. Statutory Authority

The statutory authority for this action is 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) 3204(a)(l) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(A) and (B), Only One Responsible Source and no other services will satisfy agency requirements. The services for this follow-on contract are deemed to be available only from the original source for the continued provision of highly specialized services. It is likely that award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements and award to another source would likely result in substantial duplication of cost to the government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.

4. Applicability of Authority

Only one source is capable of performing due to the highly specialized nature of the work. The use of any other source would result in unacceptable delays and substantial duplication of cost to the government, not expected to be recovered through competition, as follows:

For over forty years, L3 has designed and built Nuclear Weapon Effects (NWE) simulators including the machines listed in section 2 above. In the past, DTRA funded parallel simulator facilities at Maxwell Laboratories in San Diego, CA, the Aurora facility at the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, MD, and at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in White Oak, MD. All of these facilities were closed in the 1990’s. The DTRA-owned simulators, built by L3 and located at their San Leandro, CA facility, are the only remaining high-level prompt X-ray and gamma ray NWE testing and R&D capabilities outside of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) nuclear weapons laboratories.

DTRA’s NWE Simulator Program provides the capability for DoD programs to validate and verify survivability of military hardware against a nuclear event; ensure operational capability of military hardware; and deter against nuclear attack. DTRA-owned NWE simulators include Double Eagle (DE), Pithon, MBS, and SPG, all of which are housed at the WCF in San Leandro, CA that is operated by L3. The DE, Pithon, MBS, and PR1150 were fabricated in the L3 facility and placed in government service in the 1960s and 1970s under contract by the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) to build a strong NWE knowledge base. The SPG is the only machine designed to be easily transportable. In addition to the DTRA-owned simulators, this facility also houses the PR1150 simulator that is owned by L3 and is used in conjunction with the DTRA-owned machines to provide the aforementioned services.

The WCF has provided test support to numerous weapon and satellite system customers to include the Air Force Military Strategic and Tactical Relay (MILSTAR), Small Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), B1 Bomber, Minuteman III, Army Pershing Missile and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), the Navy Trident Program, the Air Force Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) and Space Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) satellites, Navy/Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Trident Life Extension, Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and SNL Stockpile Stewardship Programs. In addition to providing test environments for survivability testing, DTRA simulators have been used to validate a substantial number of NWE models and associated codes.

These computer models are an integral part of the survivability validation process and provide the system developer with a cost effective way of designing survivability into their system before hardware fabrication has started. Some of the phenomenologies that DTRA simulators have been used to validate response codes for include Internal Electromagnetic Pulse (IEMP), Circuit Response, Photocurrents, Thermal Structural Response, System Generated EMP (SGEMP), Combined Thermal Loading, Device Physics, Transient Radiation Electronic Effects (TREE), Material and Thermostructural Response (TSR), and Space and Ground System Effects and Assessment.

L3 has maintained and operated the DTRA-owned simulators, while providing a wide spectrum of radiation sources and diagnostics for effects testing by numerous government acquisition programs. L3 is the designer and developer of the NWE simulators at their facility. L3 is also the developer of the radiation sources that will be operated and upgraded under the proposed contract.

Furthermore, the upgraded DTRA-owned simulators must remain in-place as the expertise, infrastructure, and business models needed to assure their continued availability to mission critical systems under development are fully established at the existing L3 facility. L3 has made significant capital investment in specialized processes and equipment that is estimated to cost the government at least $7M to develop at a new location. This is based on the known historical costs to develop these capabilities at L3 and assumes skilled staff would already be in place to execute the development elsewhere. The simulators are spread throughout the facility and are fully integrated into the facility. In addition to the simulators themselves, there is a Data Acquisition System for capturing simulator and test article responses, data retrieval and storage equipment, diagnostics, and specialized machining and handling equipment.

An extensive analysis of alternatives (AoA) was conducted on other courses of action for the sustainment of the critical capabilities at the L3 facility. The conclusion was that the continued operation of the DTRA-owned simulators at their present location and the continued operation of the Pulserad 1150 is (and remains) the best value to the DoD and is in the best interest of the NWE Simulator Program. This conclusion is based on the following:

a) A new contractor would be required to duplicate L3’s unique knowledge and expertise, which is estimated to take a minimum of two years of overlapping contractor support, and require resources (estimated at upwards of $6M) to transfer the expertise needed to operate and maintain the simulators. This is based on the typical time it takes to train a new person to be able to execute the necessary tasks without significant oversight and accounting for the many different roles necessary to support a simulator.

b) Even if trained, having an outside contractor operate the DTRA-owned simulators in the facility leased by L3 would limit access to shared resources needed to support machine operations. L3 has indicated that it could not allow another contractor to operate independently within its facility without raising significant issues of training, liability and safety.

c) The Pithon and Double Eagle are unique NWE simulators and their supporting equipment are approximately forty years old and cannot readily be moved to another location. Relocating the Pithon and Double Eagle machines to another facility has been determined in both the most recent AoA and two prior feasibility studies for the consolidation of DoD test capabilities to be prohibitively expensive at approximately $6M and take three and a half years to remove the hardware from the facility and reassemble the applicable components at another location in order to make them usable to the test community. This is based on the estimated labor necessary to disassemble and reassemble a simulator, leveraging historical simulator construction times, as well as the necessary transportation. It assumes no major damage to the simulators during relocation. Also due to the size and complexity of the simulators, moving the hardware for relocation and reassembly would be technically risky as this is a critical time during the Nuclear Modernization, posing a risk to services being able to meet test and evaluation requirements.

d) Developing a modern simulator, to replace the capabilities of the Double Eagle and Pithon simulators, operated under another contractor (at a location other than the L3 facility) is also prohibitive. The costs to develop, establish, and conduct start-up operations for a new simulator replacement was estimated to be over $22M and take an estimated 5 years to complete based on historical knowledge from the existing XSTENS program. This simulator replacement would require on-going sustainment funding above the base cost.

e) Relying on NNSA/Department of Energy (DOE) capabilities is not in the best interest of DoD and the government. NNSA values its collaborative efforts with DTRA, but has stated that DTRA should not rely solely on their labs for DoD NWE test and R&Dcapabilities.

The continued operation and upgrade of the simulators at the L3 facility in San Leandro, CA, is currently the most efficient means of meeting DoD test support needs. Until NWE test support requirements increase to the point that the L3 facility cannot meet the test scheduling needs, it is not cost effective for DoD to develop or sponsor other contractor facilities.

5. Effort to Solicit Potential Sources

For this requirement, DTRA issued a Sources Sought Announcement (ACRRDNTS212095) on 20 April 2021 for sustainment of government-owned equipment and provision of R&D and Testing and Engineering Services for the DTRA-owned NWE simulators located at the Pulse Sciences Building in San Leandro, CA. The purpose of the announcement was to identify firms capable of providing the required services. Two companies responded: L3 in San Leandro, CA and Verus Research in Albuquerque, NM.

A synopsis of the proposed action will be published on SAM.gov as required by FAR 5.2.

6. Fair and Reasonable Costs

The anticipated cost/price of the contract will be determined to be fair and reasonable based on inputs and evaluations from the DTRA Program Office, analysis of cost and pricing data, field pricing support from the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and/or Defense Contract

Management Agency (DCMA), and historical data. The contractor will be required to submit certified cost or pricing data in accordance with FAR 15.403-4.

7. Market Research

The market research concluded that L3 is the only responsible source that can meet the requirements of this effort. The project manager used the following techniques to conduct market research:

Historical acquisition information: A thorough review of recent market research results for prior contracts for the operation of the DTRA-owned simulators was conducted for contracts DTRA01-02-D-0005 and HDTRA2-08-C-0002. HDTRA2-08-C-0002 is the no-cost contract L3 was working under that allowed them to operate the machines for customer fees. DTRA01- 02-D-0005 was the previous contract that allowed L3 to operate the DTRA-owned simulators from 2002 to 2007. HDTRA1-13-D-0002 is the existing contract with L3 to operate and conduct research on the DTRA-owned simulators. It was initiated in December 2012 and the period of performance will end in December 2022.

Review of Databases for Relevant Information: DTRA maintains a summary of all NWE simulator capabilities titled “Guide to Nuclear Weapons Effects Simulation Facilities and Techniques” that was consulted and used as a basis for comparing weapons effects simulator capabilities across the government. The guide describes all known U.S. Nuclear Weapons Effects facilities that are active and in standby mode and provides a summary of techniques for simulating nuclear weapons effects. This guide was updated in 2020 and ongoing updates are being tracked. There have been no significant changes in the x-ray simulation capabilities relevant to this acquisition. The DTRA-owned simulators operated by L3 represent unique assets.

A broad Internet search for pulsed power as well as a search on specific companies resulted in no companies possessing all of the capabilities needed to perform the required work and no indication the companies can store, operate, and maintain DTRA’s NWE simulators in their own facilities, with the exception of the incumbent, L3.

Publication of a Sources Sought Announcement on SAM.gov on 20 April, 2021 with North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 541715 – Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology), for the purposes of assessing the commercial marketplace to identify firms capable of providing the required services and to obtain data that provides information to support the development of acquisition strategies and requirements. Two companies responded: the incumbent, L3, San Leandro, CA (large business) as well as Verus Research, Albuquerque, NM (small business). Only the incumbent, L3, provided a response demonstrating that they possess all of the capabilities needed to perform the required work as well as store, operate, and maintain DTRA’s NWE simulators in their own facilities.

Personnel in the DTRA RD-NT/NTS branch and its predecessors have been supporting the DoD NWE simulation community for over 30 years and are very familiar with the capabilities in both the government and contractor facilities. The current DTRA PM for the West Coast Facility noted L3 has been successfully managing the DTRA-owned simulators at the West Coast Facility under a customer fee based business model that has seen steady growth over the past several years. Additionally, L3 has been developing advanced pulsed power systems being used to bring new state-of-the-art pulsed power simulators online as well as developing advanced radiation sources to be fielded on these simulators. Lastly, the PM noted that one small business is capable of providing SME expertise related to the R&D environments and testing support; this company is one of the foremost NWE X-ray testers and have provided extensive support to DTRA in the development of toolkits that leverage both the simulators and the test data. However, the company’s expertise is limited to test and SME support and they do not possess the capabilities to store, operate, nor maintain any of the DTRA-owned NWE simulators. The PM’s personal knowledge comes from the time at DTRA leading the Experimentation and Capabilities Portfolio since 2016, which oversee the NWE Simulator Program and related R&D.

8. Other Facts

While a full and open competitive acquisition may offer certain advantages, it was determined that this approach was not best suited to the circumstances of this effort nor was it consistent with the need to fulfill the Government’s requirement effectively. As discussed above, market research conducted for this effort revealed that while there are companies with nuclear weapons effects experience, there is only one company, L3, which can fully satisfy the Government’s requirement to operate the DTRA simulators in their present location. An evaluation of the market research concluded that the state of other contractor’s abilities is deficient in one or more areas of the Government’s minimum requirements and that relocating the existing GFP and retraining personnel from other contractors would not be cost effective. If a contractor other than the incumbent were to be awarded the follow-on effort, it is estimated that it would take a minimum of two years of overlapping contractor support to transfer the expertise needed to operate and maintain the DTRA-owned simulators. This could easily run upwards of $6M, taking into account the number of full time equivalents with separate skill sets needed to run the facility and execute the R&D. Additionally, relocating the Pithon and Double Eagle machines to another facility has been determined in both the most recent AoA and two prior feasibility studies for the consolidation of DoD test capabilities to be prohibitively expensive and technically risky. It would also take these simulators out of commission for upwards of 3.5 years to relocate and re-assemble. This is a critical time during the Nuclear Modernization and this would pose a risk to services being able to meet their T&E requirements.

9. Interested Sources

Besides L3, Verus Research expressed written interest to the sources sought for this requirement.

The overall response from L3 demonstrates that they possess all of the capabilities needed to perform the required work while the response from Verus Research does not demonstrate they possess all of the required capabilities to include the ability to store, operate, and maintain DTRA’s NWE simulators in their own facilities. Additionally, Verus Research does not have physical access to the DTRA-owned simulators. It is concluded that it is not in the Government’s best interest to pursue a full and open competition.

10. Subsequent Actions

As long as nuclear weapons remain as threats to the U.S., critical military systems must be certified to be survivable to the environments they could produce. Both U.S. military and commercial sectors rely heavily on space assets, whose mission capabilities can be jeopardized by damage from prompt nuclear radiation. This need to support the certification of DoD systems adds urgency and importance to fulfilling this requirement in the most effective and expedient manner possible.

Based on numerous studies and projections of requirements for the level of NWE test capabilities embodied at the L3 facility, it was determined that their facility could meet the needs of the DoD survivability community. Until NWE requirements increase to the point that the L3 facility cannot meet the test scheduling needs, it is not cost effective for DoD to fund the development of alternative or new simulator capabilities in addition to L3. However, with the simulator replacement of Double Eagle and Pithon, under the XSTENS contract HDTRA1-20-C-0038, these machines will be built in a modular way which can be more easily dismantled and transported to other locations that will help facilitate future competition.

Additionally, DTRA will continue to conduct market surveys in order to assess emerging market conditions and determine whether or not viable contractors have entered the market place for potential competition. As this is a small industry niche, small businesses in this field rapidly change, however, because of this small depth, these changes in industry are often readily visible to DTRA and others in the DoD who heavily rely on their immediate services and expertise.

Technical Certification

I certify that the data and information forming the basis for this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Digitally signed by JILES.HEATHER.L.1362844530 Date: 2022.02.09 16:44:26 -05'00'

Heather Jiles Date Contracting Officer’s Representative

Contracting Officer Certification

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

Digitally signed by

CHANG.DAISY.M.1264301919 CHANG.DAISY.M.1264301919

Date: 2022.02.09 14:43:42 -05'00'

Daisy M. Chang Date Contracting Officer

General Counsel Coordination

This justification is legally sufficient.

Judith L. Richardson Date General Counsel

Competition Advocate Coordination

Based on the above justification, I hereby concur with accomplishment of this acquisition based on other than full and open competition.

Elizabeth R. Braxton Date Competition Advocate

JILES.HEATHER.L.1362844530

Approval

Based on the above justification, I hereby approve accomplishment of this acquisition by means other than using full and open competition.

David E. Miller Date Head of the Contracting Activity