REDACTED_5.4.1_JA_MIL_Bridge_Contract.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION

22473 Millstone Rd. BLDG 505

PATUXENT RIVER, MD 20670-1127

IN REPLY REFER TO

J&A 18-0320

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity:

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWC-AD), Patuxent River, MD

2. Description of the Action Being Approved:

This Justification and Approval (J&A) authorizes and approves issuance of a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) contract on a sole-source basis to The MIL Corporation (MIL Corp) for a six (6) month period of performance with two (2) three-month options beginning 01 July 2018 and ending 30 June 2019. This J&A is for a bridge effort to enable continuity of services currently being satisfied by MIL Corp.

3. Description of Supplies or Service:

This acquisition is for continuation of a full-range of critical & essential support services necessary to support the RDT&E Network infrastructure. The original contract was competitively awarded for one (1) base year and four (4) option years of performance under Seaport–e contract number N00178-14-D-7835 Task Order M801. The contract is for the procurement of management and technical Information Technology (IT) support services for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Infrastructure Division (NAVAIR-5.4.1). This includes critical support of the RDT&E Network Infrastructure, as well as associated System Administration and Information Assurance (IA) functions. The period of performance of the current Seaport-e Task Order, inclusive of all options, plus a six (6) month extension awarded under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, will end 30 June 2018. However, it is anticipated that the available ceiling will be exhausted on 30 June 2018. This bridge contract is necessary to provide continued support until the follow-on contract can be awarded.

The scope of this effort is to provide:

RDT&E Network Engineering & Support

System Administration and Information Assurance (IA) Support to RDT&E Labs

Systems Engineering & Technical Services

Architecture & Engineering standards

See Appendix A for Estimated Dollar Value

4. Statute Authority Permitting other than Full and Open Competition:

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority:

The statutory authority identified above is applicable to this procurement action as MIL Corp is the only source that can provide the highly specialized services described in paragraph 3 above without an unacceptable delay in fulfilling the agency's requirements. The existing Task Order, (M801), was awarded to MIL Corp under SeaPort contract N00178-14-D-7835 and the company has successfully provided the required services for the past ten (10) + years. MIL Corp has fully qualified personnel with the required security clearances and IT Certifications in place and ready to continue program execution through December 2018 (30 June 2019 if all options are exercised). This will allow sufficient time to award the follow-on contract and provide a reasonable transition period. Due to a higher than anticipated volume of contractor support requirements, contract ceilings will be exhausted on 30 June 2018 based on current burn rates of $927,000 per month rather than the $534,000 per month originally anticipated at contract award. Additionally, the follow-on procurement was delayed by a successful NAICS Code Appeal. It is crucial that this sole source contract be awarded by 01 July 2018 to prevent a lapse in support until the competitive follow-on contract is awarded.

A delay in award for even a short period of time would significantly increase the risk of network vulnerabilities without the oversight & implementation of IA mandates, Security Technical Information Guides (STIGs), patching, administering and maintaining critical network resources in support of the Certification & Accreditation (C&A) process. IA functions cannot be adequately performed with in house government personnel, as many do not meet the DOD 8720 IA certification requirements nor the training to administer the most recent technologies to ensure protection of our networks, RDT&E lab devices and other critical components related to the Certification and Accreditation (C&A) process. The criticality of this tasking is a result of the functions of the RDT&E labs it supports. RDT&E labs provide critical test event telemetry data processing support to high-visibility programs/platforms.

The RDT&E network viability exists in its compliance with IA mandates, and remaining vigilant in prevention of intrusions, and daily monitoring. Furthermore, the likelihood of a major RDT&E Network failure is greatly increased resulting in numerous critical project milestone delays, as well as the inability to continuously secure the RDT&E network firewalls, routers and switches to prevent intrusion by unfriendly sources.

Without a viable secure network on which to process, many critical test events would need to be postponed.

Lack of contractual coverage would directly result in significant increase in likelihood of a major RDT&E network failure not only at Pax River, but other NAVAIR locations as well. This would detrimentally effect major T&E programs ongoing and significantly increase risk of not achieving critical milestones.

6. Description of Efforts made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offertory as Practicable:

The proposed follow-on contract action was synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website on 27 March 2018 with an anticipated follow-on contract award date of 06 August 2018 if awarded on initial offers or 10 October 2018 if discussions were required. On 4 April 2018, a NAICS Code Appeal was filed by one of the interested offerors. On 30 April 2018, the Small Business Administration (SBA) granted the appeal and changed the NACIS Code and small business size standard applicable to the procurement. To date, the solicitation is on hold while the acquisition team considers the impacts and options following the SBA decision.

Market research and/or a survey was not conducted a this is a bridge contract to enable continuation of critical services until the competitive contract can be awarded. MIL Corp is the only source that has the necessary skills, organizational knowledge and experience to complete tasking requirements in a timely and cost effective manner for this short time period without the delay of a learning curve. A synopsis, as required by FAR 5.201, was issued on 07 June 2018. Any responses received as a result of the synopsis will be directed to the pending competitive procurement.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost:

In accordance with FAR 15.402, the Contracting Officer shall ensure that all services and supplies provided under this contract are procured at a fair and reasonable price. The contractor will submit a formal price proposal with certified cost and pricing data and sufficient information to support the accuracy and reliability of the cost estimate. The proposal will be reviewed by experienced technical analysts and contract specialists with the aid of field pricing support. The Contracting Officer will utilize cost realism and price analysis as the basis for negotiating a fair and reasonable price.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition:

AIR-5.4.1 and AIR-2.5.1.6 Contracts intend to award the follow-on contract after competition. This bridge is a one-time action is to prevent a gap in services while the ultimate contracting strategy is finalized.

Accordingly, there are no barriers to competition to remove.

Appendix A Estimated Dollar Value