Redacted Justification and Approval 25F2268.pdf

J&A 24-0208

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition.

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

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

Development and delivery of improvements to its ASW mission-planning tool ASPECT for the P-8A platform will be procured by other than full and open competition under 10 United States Code 3204(a)(1), only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(A). L3 Harris is sole designer, developer, and manufacturer of the ASPECT mission planning tool. This requirement was originally awarded as part of a competitive Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phases I, II and III contract under SBIR topic N02-152, Environmental Mission Planner-The Total Solution. Two proposals were selected for Phase I award. Based upon their performance in Phase I, one offeror (Adaptive Methods, Inc.) was selected to receive a Phase II SBIR contract. This requirement is for continued development and delivery of the mission planning tool.

Adaptive Methods, Inc. was acquired by L3 Technologies on September 8, 2017. L3 Harris Technologies completed merger of Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies on June 28, 2019.

L3 Harris is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of ASPECT and as such has the technical expertise, access to specialized facilities and knowledge that no other entity (Organic or Vendor) can provide because the Government does not possess the Level III Technical Data Package (TDP) which is necessary to integrate multiple products to compete this requirement. L3 Harris indicated they will not sell such a package to the Navy as of 15 May 2024. L3 Harris expertise is required for the further ASPECT mission planning tool development and continued support to the fielded software. The support to be provided under this contract includes improvements to ASPECT and integration into the P-8A platform. These requirements cannot be completed by another contractor without significant duplication of costs equivalent, at a minimum, to the value of recent and current development/integration contracts/delivery orders (completed to date), which totals approximately based on historical costs/actuals. Therefore, the efforts herein cannot be performed by a source other than L3 Harris without substantial duplication of cost to the Government which is not expected to be recovered through competition.

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

In accordance with DFARS PGI 206.302-1, NAVAIR posted an initial sources-sought notice to the Systems for Award Management (SAM.gov) website on 22 June 2023; the notice closed 07 July 2023. L3 Harris was the only response received expressing interest in the requirement. A more recent sources-sought was posted on 25 April 2024; six (6) responses were received. The companies that responded were

The Program Office assessed the capability of these respondents and determined that L3 Harris was the only company capable of fulfilling requirements. The other respondents were notified via a letter from the Contracting Officer that they were incapable of fulfilling requirements due to a lack of experience with technical requirements and/or capability statements were not submitted as requested.

In accordance with FAR 5.201(b), a synopsis was posted to the SAM.gov website on 15 December 2023 and closed 22 January 2024; no responses were received. Parties interested in subcontracting opportunities will be referred to L3 Harris, to maximize competition in subcontracted efforts.

J&A 24-0208

In accordance with FAR 5.201, a Pre-Solicitation notice for each task or delivery order will be individually posted to SAM.gov. Responses from interested sources will be evaluated by the Contracting Officer prior to contract award.

Additionally, parties interested in subcontracting opportunities will be referred to L3 Technologies to maximize competition in subcontracted efforts.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies/services covered by the J&A will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions Taken to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

As this is a follow-on for supplies and services previously awarded on a non-competitive basis, the prior J&A (J&A_19- 0311) 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).

For the reasons set forth in paragraphs 5 and 6, NAVAIR has no plans at this time to compete future contracts for these types of supplies/services covered by this document. If another potential source emerges, NAVAIR will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.