REDACTED_Justification_and_Approval_FMQ-23_20190620_(002)_Redacted.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition

UNCLASSIFIED

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I. Contracting Activity.

The contracting activity responsible for this Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition is the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Digital Directorate (HB), Aerospace Management Systems Division (HBA), Contracting Branch (HBAK), 75 Vandenberg Drive, Bldg 1630, Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts 01731-2103. The Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO) for this action is Kimberly McPhillips, 781-225-2910, kimberly.mcphillips@us.af.mil.

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

This is an Individual Justification and Approval (J&A) for a new firm-fixed price Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (ID/IQ) contract for production & deployment and Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) for FMQ-23 systems. This contract is planned for a five (5) year ordering period and six (6) year performance period. The contract is also planned to include the FAR clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend of Services, for an additional six (6) months of support if needed. The six (6) month extension will be pre-negotiated and agreed upon prior to contract award and is estimated to cost

, which is included in the cost estimate above. New FMQ-23 systems are required for U.S. Air Force (USAF), U. S. Army (USA), and National Guard locations;

some of these locations also support civil aviation. Contractor Logistics Support is required for the systems already installed, the system planned for installation before CLS performance commences under this contemplated contract, and the additional systems being procured under this contemplated contract.

The ordering period for the current FMQ-23 IDIQ contract (FA8370-12-D-0001) commenced on 7 Oct 11 and ended on 6 Oct 18; the performance period for the Interim Contractor Support (ICS) ends on 31 Aug 19.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

FMQ-23 provides a system that automatically collects sensed weather elements and provides these weather elements in accordance with a defined interface via DoD communications to a local or remote weather forecast system in accordance with a Government managed technical requirements document.

The scalable system provides accurate sampling, measuring and reporting of temperature, wind speed and direction, visibility, cloud base height and amount of coverage, pressure, liquid equivalent precipitation accumulation, day/night, and (where required) ice accretion during freezing precipitation at one or more locations at each aerodrome. The system is capable of using indigenous power sources; multiple sensors groups; has software and firmware for required data processing, display, and storage; and a Remote Maintenance Monitoring capability. The FMQ-23 outdoor structures meet frangibility/durability requirements of Unified Facilities Criteria.

Under the contemplated contract, Mesotech International Inc. (Mesotech) will provide the following supplies and services:

(1) Air Combat Command-directed mission capabilities including the purchase of new FMQ-23 systems including sensor group hardware, operational site activation at Continental United States (CONUS) and Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) locations, site activation training, peculiar support equipment, spares, engineering changes, and data. Preceding

March 2018 UNCLASSIFIED Page 4 of 8 system installation, site survey(s) and site readiness review(s) are performed. Operational site activation includes trenching, cabling, wiring, junction boxes, installing concrete footings or foundations, mounting equipment on concrete footings or foundations, and turnover and acceptance testing. The ordering period of this effort will be from on/about 1 Aug 19 - 31 Jul 24; the period of performance will be from on/about 0 Aug 19 - 31 Jul 25 and 3080 Procurement appropriations will fund this effort. The period of time from a site survey to completion of system installation can range from less than nine (9) months to over three (3) years depending on the allied support (e.g., power and communications to the demarcation point(s) for the system) work required at each base/installation and the unique Government time line to obtain funding and complete allied support at each specific location.

(2) CLS for the currently fielded FMQ-23 systems: labor for troubleshooting and repair of returned equipment; maintenance of the Commercial-Off-The Shelf Airport Weather Advisor (Registered) software; maintenance of Data Collection Platform firmware; Packaging, Handling, and Shipping of serviceable line replaceable units; technical services to weather Fielded Systems Support Cell;

engineering changes; maintenance support and response to maintenance requests referred to the contractors help desk; consumable items for preventive maintenance inspections; technical and engineering support for the FMQ-23 reliability, availability, and maintainability requirements. Help Desk support Monday - Friday (M-F) for 8 hours per day for technical/logistics support; help desk support ("on-call") outside the M-F 8 hours on an as needed basis; e-mail and phone contact information for the weather Fielded Systems Support Cell; responses to messages or help desk tickets per performance time lines; replacement of defective FMQ-23 components via providing the required component from inventory and shipping component directly to the site. CLS also includes management of Government Furnished Property; maintenance of an Organizational Level Technical Manual; spares; and data. The period of performance will be from on/about 1 Sep 19 - on/about 31 Aug 24 and 3400 O&M appropriations will fund this effort. The option for extension of services, if required, could continue performance for up to six (6) months.

IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

Statutory Authority, 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii) and (iii) “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements”

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

(1) The Government has identified the services performed under this contract as vital contractor services in support of mission-essential functions that impact the USAF, USA, and other Department of Defense (DoD) services ground and air missions. Section III, first paragraph provides a description of the FMQ-23 system. Mesotech has produced system systems and deployed systems to date.

Contract FA8370-12-D-0001 was a full and open competition, after exclusion of sources (small business set aside), awarded on 7 October 11. Thus, Mesotech has been the sole supplier and maintainer of FMQ-23 systems for over seven (7) years.

(2) (A): The Government possesses insufficient data rights in Mesotech's proprietary Airport Weather Advisor (AWA) software and the FMQ-23 Data Collection Platform (DCP) to permit competition of the production or sustainment of FMQ-23 systems. Both of these capabilities were developed at

March 2018 UNCLASSIFIED Page 5 of 8 private expense, and they are integral to the functioning of fielded FMQ-23 systems. As stated in Section XI below, the Government plans to replace these proprietary components through the contemplated contract in order to permit future competition.

(B): Mesotech's AWA software is a highly specialized capability which meets World Meteorological Organization (WMO), USAF, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements for sensed weather elements and/or Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) and Aviation Selected Special Weather Report (SPECI) observations. Additionally the concurrent maintenance of both an acceptable performance and security posture for the server with AWA software and AWA performance requires unique qualifications and skills. Further, the capability to provide maintenance for this AWA software based on necessary changes for the interface to the Joint Environmental Toolkit (JET) Sensor Collection Appliance as well as role capabilities and maintenance of these capabilities for the various system users requires unique qualifications and skills. The USAF currently possesses only restricted data rights for the AWA software and these restricted rights are insufficient to permit competition of FMQ-23 sustainment to any party other than Mesotech. Beyond USAF's lack of data rights, Mesotech possesses singularly unique qualifications for the maintenance of this software; both the performance aspects and the security aspects. These singular qualifications include the software programming for data or/and message changes from the Data Collection Platform; analysis and testing of operating system changes based on Microsoft operating system and Security Technical Implementation Guide/ Cyber Tasking Order configuration changes; and concurrent updates to the technical manual for system role-based users driven by these changes.

(C):

(D): The FMQ-23 technical requirement document includes multiple requirements for USAF, USA, and National Guard Bureau aviation operations, resource protection, weather operations, and organizational level maintenance. Several technical requirements exceed those of older systems in the USAF inventory and Mesotech is the only entity which has produced and deployed systems meeting the entirety of these requirements.

(3) The FMQ-23 is a critical system that would need to be supported while a competitor is funded for development of a new system. Even if the Air Force pursued this path, the FMQ-23 systems procured to-date would need ongoing support. The supply portion of this effort, for the production and deployment of additional FMQ-23 systems, is justified by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2(ii) based on the duplication of cost. The service portion of this effort, for the procurement of Contractor Logistic

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Support (CLS), is justified by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii) based on unacceptable delay. As detailed below, this would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Air Force's requirements and substantial duplication of costs to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.

(A): The Government requires continued CLS for the FMQ-23s; lack of CLS severely impairs resource protection of personnel and equipment; weather operations including watches, warnings, and advisories; and the day-to-day military and civil aviation mission for aircraft departures and landings at each installed location. The FMQ-23's measure and transmit the sensed weather elements incorporated into the METARs and SPECIs.

. This includes an assessment of the time to: assess and demonstrate via testing that an alternative vendor's capability meets the weather sensing performance requirements of the technical requirements document; the alternative vendor's capability as documented in a revised technical manual has been verified for the accuracy of the organizational level maintenance procedures; the alternative vendor's capability meets the Risk Management Framework (RMF) process requirements for authorization and approval which includes both vendor and Government testing; and the system meets the role-based system user; reliability, availability, maintainability; and environmental requirements. The costs for contractor logistics support for a capability from another source which would be a different baseline than the FMQ-23 are estimated at approximately

This timeline severely impacts (1) USAF requirements for locations which require fixed weather systems; the lack of fixed weather systems requires deployment of additional personnel and acceptance of additional operational risk to expeditionary forces; (2) locations which require new systems for aviation operations; and (3) continued operation of the existing FMQ-23 systems on the DoD Information Network which require timely changes for continued authority to operate. Part of the estimate is based on an analogy from another US Government (USG) program is in the 8+ year effort already for a service life extension program for a similar weather observing system which is modernizing the processing architecture portion of the fixed weather observing system at over 1,000 locations in the US. This USG program also includes the replacement of COTS software in the processing architecture analogous to the DCP and AWA software.

(B): Substantial duplication of cost would be accrued for the following production and deployment items: procurement cost for an additional system; site preparation cost for the additional system;

development of technical manual; development of training materials; contractor data for the additional system; contractor testing; Government system performance and Cyber Security Assessment testing;

Government verification and evaluation of new data items. This cost is estimated at approximately based on existing (FA8370-12-D-0001) and similar (FA8370-18-D-0013) contracts.

Substantial duplication of cost would also be accrued for the following CLS items to obtain a similar capability (via modification from another source): packaging, handling, shipping, and transportation for Government Furnished Property; Government evaluation of ECPs for modified capability;

modification kit and installation costs for altered configuration across the inventory of installed and planned systems; contractor testing; Government system performance and Cyber Security Assessment testing; Government verification and evaluation of revised data items. This cost is estimated at approximately based on the same contracts. These collective duplicated costs are not expected to be recovered through competition and are outlined in an attachment to this J&A.

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(4) Accordingly, Mesotech is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above without the USAF experiencing unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements and substantial duplication of costs that will not be recovered through competition.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable.

A Notice of Contract Action (NOCA) was published on FBO.gov on 17 Jan 19 with a closing date of 31 Jan 19. There were no responses from potential companies.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The proposal will be evaluated based on the following criteria. The FMQ-23 contractor will be required to submit certified cost or pricing data in accordance with FAR Part 15.403-4, as none of the exceptions in FAR 15.403-1(b) apply. The price will be evaluated against the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE); historical pricing data from previous production & deployment and ICS on the current FMQ-23 contract; and historical cost and pricing data from the Fixed Base Weather Sustainment (FBWS) contract FA8370-18-D-0013. A technical evaluation of the proposed hours, labor categories, materials, and risk assessment will be performed by the FMQ-23 PMO to support negotiations. The final contract prices will be evaluated and negotiated by the PCO in accordance with FAR Part 15 to ensure the price paid by the Government is fair and reasonable.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

A SSS advertisement for this action was posted to FBO.gov on 13 Jul 18; responses were to be received by AFLCMC/HBAK by 23 Jul 18. Two (2) responses were received; a response was received from Mesotech and a response was received from

Mesotech's SSS response described that the current contract was similar to the SSS advertisement for equipment, scope, size, duration, and worldwide deployment. Mesotech also provided two (2) other examples of contracts with similar scope. Mesotech described that the logistics support provided in the three (3) contracts was of similar performance requirements as described in the SSS section 1.c.

Mesotech described that their company had developed the AWA software, sustain the application and develop improvements; they characterized AWA as Mesotech's flagship product. Mesotech also described relevant experience with interfacing with weather sensors and data loggers. Mesotech responded to all aspects of the SSS advertisement.

submitted a response to the SSS which included an acknowledgment that the AWA software is an integral component of the FMQ-23 system and that AWA is manufactured and supported by Mesotech. response also stated familiarity with the proprietary restrictions of the AWA software and the restricted rights which Mesotech places on the use of the AWA software.

Due to the integral nature of the AWA software and inability to support this software and DCP firmware, was deemed as Not a Responsible Source for the contemplated contract.

Additionally, a NOCA was published on FBO.gov on 17 Jan 19 with a closing date of 31 Jan 19.

There were no responses from potential companies.

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IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

N/A

X. List of any sources that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

See Section VIII above.

XI. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required.

To remove barriers to competition, the agency is considering the option to acquire appropriate technical data rights for a form, fit, and function replacement for the existing DCP. Additionally, the agency is considering the option to remove the system server and the associated AWA software (for which the USAF only has restricted software rights). These actions are expected to permit competition of future CLS contracts.

The Request for Proposal will request option prices to field a system modification to remove the server and AWA software. These option CLINs are planned to be exercise for award in Fiscal Years 2020 (DCP) and 2021 (Server and AWA software removal), subject to the availability of funding.

Performance on these activities is expected to continue into Fiscal Year 2022. The estimated costs for these activities are included estimated contract costs (Section 1) in this J&A. Based on the location-unique Government timelines to obtain funding and work performance for allied support (e.g., multiple years in some cases), Section III provided the rationale for an approval of more than one (1) year.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.