Department of the Air Force: Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition

CUI

April 2026 CUI Page 2 of 4April 2026 CUI Page 2 of 4

I. Agency and Contracting Activity (RFO 6.104-1(a)(1)):

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Civil Engineering Contract Support Branch

AFLCMC/PZICB

2000 Allbrook Dr, Bldg 2 Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-5344

II. Nature and/or description of the action being approved (RFO 6.104-1(a)(2)):

This Class Justification authorizes a ceiling increase for the six (6) incumbent Contractors on the base-wide Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Architectural and Engineering Contracts (A&E). The current A&E IDIQ Contracts have a five-year Period of Performance (PoP) (30 August 2023 - 30 Aug 2028). Each of the six (6) individual IDIQ contracts currently carries a ceiling of $4.9M, representing a cumulative baseline ceiling of $29.4M across the entire program.

This instant class action is necessary to prevent a gap in critical Architect-Engineer (A&E) services supporting the 88th Civil Engineering Group (88 CEG) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). To maintain service continuity, this effort will modify six (6) existing A&E IDIQ contracts by increasing each individual contract ceiling by $2.0M. This modification will result in an increase to each contract's individual ceiling from $4.9M to $6.9M, resulting in a cumulative program ceiling increase of $12.0M (from $29.4M to $41.4M across all six contracts).

Acquisition Planning and Market Research for the follow-on A&E contracts will begin in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26), with award anticipated in FY28.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs (RFO 6.104-1(a)(3)):

This requirement is for A&E Services, from FY23 - FY28, for multi-discipline projects at WPAFB Ohio. The scope of the projects include performing site visits and field investigations, and preparing: planning studies, design and economic analysis, construction drawings and specifications, building code and fire protection engineer analysis, hazardous material facility surveys including sampling, testing and abatement design, detailed cost estimates, cost benefit analysis, life cycle cost analysis, and a bidding schedule for each project. This ceiling increase continues the above scope for the six (6) incumbent A&E Contractors and will ensure these ongoing and emergent requirements continue to be met without interruption.

This requirement was competed as full and open competition with five (5) large business and one (1) small business receiving award. The following six (6) incumbent Contractors are the current holders of the A&E IDIQ and will receive the ceiling increase authorized by this justification: FA8601-23-D-0001 AECOM Technical Services; FA8601-23-D-0002 Barge/ Emersion Joint Venture; FA8601-23-D-0003 Burgess & Niple/Heapy LLC; FA8601-23-D-0004 Levin Porter Associates (Small Business); FA8601-23-D-0005 Tetra Tech Inc.; FA8601-23-D-0006 Woolpert Inc.

IV. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition (RFO 6.104-1(a)(4)):

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

V. Rationale for Use of Authority (RFO 6.104-1(a)(5)):

The six (6) active A&E IDIQ contracts are rapidly approaching their established $4.9M ceilings. This modification is urgently required to accommodate an anticipated 30% increase in FY27 Facilities Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization (FSRM) funding, enacted via the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) and authorized in conjunction with the FY26 NDAA. This projected influx of FSRM funding will directly support critical 88 CEG infrastructure projects that exceed the capacity of the current contract ceilings. This increase will provide the capacity required to continue executing critical Task Orders against these established vehicles through the remainder of their active ordering period (FY28), at which time it is anticipated a

April 2026 CUI Page 3 of 4April 2026 CUI Page 3 of 4 follow-on source selection will be awarded.

The six (6) incumbent A&E Contractors are the existing holders of the current six (6) A&E IDIQ contracts. A competitive source selection for a new A&E IDIQ contract will begin in FY26 and is expected to be awarded in FY28. These six (6) Contractors possess unique qualifications and deep familiarity with WPAFB infrastructure, safety protocols, and operational procedures. They have established management plans, security-cleared personnel, and proven subcontractor relationships necessary to execute the mission. Sourcing this interim requirement to any other vendors would result in an unacceptable and lengthy ramp-up period to acquire site-specific knowledge, which would interrupt critical infrastructure projects and pose a risk to the mission. Since the existing A&E IDIQ vehicles are already established and active through FY28, increasing the maximum ceiling is the most practical approach. This avoids the significant lead times and administrative burdens associated with soliciting, evaluating, and awarding new contracts.

VI. Integrated Market Analysis and Efforts to Solicit Competition (RFO 6.104-1(a)(6), (8), and (10)):

Market Research and Acquisition Planning for the upcoming competitive A&E IDIQ will begin in FY26 with an anticipated award in FY28. While alternative acquisition vehicles, such as A-E NEXT, were evaluated, transitioning to them was determined to be impractical to the Government. Utilizing these external vehicles would introduce unacceptable delays to critical project schedules. Furthermore, it would result in a substantial increase in overall costs, as the Contractors on those vehicles lack an established local presence and would incur significant travel, mobilization, and logistical expenses compared to our current local A&E firms.

The current six (6) incumbent Contractors were also previously awarded their contracts based on Full and Open Competition, which included Market Research at that time. For this ceiling increase, Market Research confirms that while other Contractors in the market may be capable of performing these services, only the incumbent Contractors can provide the required services without causing an unacceptable delay and a break in service. Soliciting from other sources would result in a duplication of costs that would not be recovered through competition, as any other Contractor would require a significant ramp-up period to become operational at WPAFB.

VII. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost (RFO 6.104-1(a)(7)):

The Contracting Officer is responsible for evaluating, determining, and documenting the anticipated contract cost/price is fair and reasonable in accordance with RFO Subpart 15.4, Contract Pricing.

VIII. Any Other Facts Supporting the Justification (RFO 6.104-1(a)(9)):

The existing A&E contracts were established during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the implementation of the Return to Work Executive Order, there was a significant increase in project volume. Furthermore, a 30% increase in FSRM funding has caused contract ceilings to be met more rapidly than initially projected. If the current contracts reach their ceilings, the Government will be unable to award new Task Orders, creating a lapse in A&E support that would halt essential architectural, engineering, and design services. Because design is the critical first step in facility maintenance, an inability to place these requirements on contract creates an immediate bottleneck, severely delaying the subsequent construction and repair phases. This would stall critical projects at a large, complex installation supporting over 110 tenant organizations with diverse missions, many directly supporting the warfighter. These include, but are not limited to: Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL), Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), 445th Air Base Wing (ABW), Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF), as well as the 88th ABW's facilities required to operate the base. Increasing the ceiling limit is the only viable method to ensure uninterrupted design services while the Government completes its due diligence for the FY28 follow-on awards.

Without this ceiling increase, the team would be required to either solicit individual, standalone contracts for each upcoming design requirement or turn to external agencies such as A-E NEXT, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC), or the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Soliciting separate, standalone contracts is a highly administrative and costly process that

April 2026 CUI Page 4 of 4April 2026 CUI Page 4 of 4 would cause unacceptable procurement delays, failing to support mission requirements in a timely manner. Furthermore, this approach is goes directly against current Federal acquisition policy and Executive Orders, which promote using existing contracts to leverage buying power. Alternatively, turning to external agencies introduces significant schedule delays and financial burdens. A-E Next, for example, presents an average award timeline of 179 days (Compared to 45 days), and based on a recent project analysis, CE estimates costs to be 20-25% higher than our existing A&E contracts, primarily due to contractor location. Furthermore, using other agencies like AFCEC and USACE would also require transferring additional funds to cover their overhead and service fees. Ultimately, either alternative would result in an unrecoverable duplication of costs and introduce severe schedule delays, making it impossible to effectively support the time-sensitive missions of WPAFB's 110 tenants.

IX. Actions to Overcome Barriers to Competition (RFO 6.104-1(a)(11):

The agency is actively developing a new competitive A&E IDIQ vehicle. Acquisition Planning and Market Research are scheduled to begin in FY26, with a targeted award date in FY28.

In the interim, this justification is solely to request a $2M ceiling increase for each of the six (6) active A&E IDIQ contracts. This action is strictly intended to ensure the continuity of critical A&E services at WPAFB. The requested $2M per-contract increase has been specifically calculated to accommodate the anticipated influx of FSRM funding from 88 CEG, providing sufficient contract capacity to execute mission-essential design requirements until the new vehicles are awarded.