RQ4 and U2 Justification and Approval (Redacted).pdf

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

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

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I. Agency and Contracting Activity.

Agency: U.S. Air Force Contracting Activity:

HQ ACC AMIC/PKB

300 Exploration Way Hampton, VA 23666

Requiring Activity:

HQ ACC TRSS/ACQ

205 Dodd Boulevard, Suite 121 Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA 23665-2788

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

The purpose of this justification is to authorize and approve a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) modification to contract FA4890-18- C-0002, RQ-4 & U-2 CONTRACT AIRCREW TRAINING AND COURSEWARE DEVELOPMENT. The need for continued support must be issued as a sole source, two-month bridge contract modification to meet mission requirements while the follow-on contract is awarded. Due to a pre-award protest that occurred, the multi-functional team (MFT) is unable to award the contract prior to the current contract expiring. The two-month bridge will be accomplished by extending the current contract for an additional two-month performance period (1 Aug 23 - 30 Sep 23). The bridge will begin 1 August 2022 and continue through 30 Sep 23 for a total of two-months extended performance.

The action being approved is a two-month contract extension to contract FA4890-18-C-0002. All six months of the extension of services provided under FAR 52.217-8 is not sufficient to have the incumbent continue services, to include a two-month phase in period, before the follow-on contract's base year begins and will have been fully exhausted by 31 July 2023. P00021 extended the current contract six months allowed under FAR 52.217-8; however, these six months have been determined to be an insufficient amount of time to award the new contract and still include a two-month phase-in period. The two-month phase in period has been determined to be essential in allowing the turnover of incumbent staff without any mission impact. The additional six-month extension being approved will allow adequate time for the follow-on acquisition to be awarded and transition to the new awardee while maintaining continuity in the services for RQ-4/U-2/T-38 CAT/CWD without interruptions.

The current effort is to provide non-personal services for the follow-on RQ-4 and U-2 contract in which the contractor shall furnish all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and all other items and services that are required to perform RQ-4 “Global Hawk”, U-2 “Dragon Lady”, and U-2 T-38 Companion Trainer Program (CTP) Contract Aircrew Training (CAT) and Courseware Development (CWD) in support of operations at Beale AFB, CA and Grand Forks AFB, ND. The contract was solicited through FBO as a commercial, Firm Fixed Priced, 100% set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.

The PSC code of U009 (Education/Training) and NAICS code 611512 (Flight Training with a corresponding size standard of $27.5M) was assigned. The source selection procedures utilized was Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA). The awarded amount was $14,042,408 and the current contract value is $24,541,257.79. The difference between awarded amount and current amount is based on workload increases and price adjustments from CBA-required wage increases. The original period of performance was 1 Dec 2017 - 31 Jan 2023 (two-month phase in, a base year, and four twelve-month option years).

The Contract period of performance for Option Year 4 ended 31 January 2023. On 1 February 2023, modification P00021 extended the services under FAR Clause 52.217-8 for six-months (1 Feb 2023 - 31 Jul 2023) due to changes and delays in the acquisition strategy for the follow-on contract.

The Requirement Approval Document for the current source selection was approved 21 October 2022 by , Director Deputy of Operations, ACC/A3, for the same services provided for under the current contract. The Independent Government Estimate (IGE) for the follow-on contract is and the estimated price for this modification action is

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

The contractor is to furnish all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and all other items and services that are required to perform RQ-4 and U-2 CAT/CWD. The contractor shall provide training to RQ-4 aircrew and U-2 pilot instruction in

March 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 3 of 4March 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 3 of 4 support of formal course syllabi, training plans, event instructor guides and Continuation Training (CT). The purpose of this contract is to provide contract support for the aircrew training and courseware development for RQ-4 and U-2 pilots. Due to an agency-wide shortage in pilots, contractors are the best option for providing training to pilots.

Below is the proposed contract line item structure for the two-month additional contract extension:

6001 - RQ-4 CAT - (

6002 - RQ-4 CWD -

6003 - U-2 CAT - (

6004 - U-2 CWD -

6007 - RQ-4 Wage Adj - ( ) 6008 - RQ-4 Contract Fly - ( ) 6010 - EGB Mod - ( )

6XXX CLINs will be used for the period of performance from 1 August 2023 - 30 September 2023. The CLIN structure for this modification may change upon negotiation/discussion with the contractor. CLINs 6007, 6008, and/or 6010 may be incorporated into their respective RQ-4/U-2 CAT/CWD CLINs depending on the outcome of the discussion with the contractor.

IV. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited above.

TRG is the incumbent and currently performing the required services outlined in Section III on contract FA489018C0002. The contract was solicited as a 100% Small Business concern requirement, utilizing the Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable (LPTA) source selection process. The contract was awarded on 12 Jan 2017. The period of performance consisted of a two-month transition period, a twleve-month base period and four one-year option periods.

The contract includes FAR Clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services. The current contract extension under this clause will end on 31 Jul 2023. It is unfeasible to make a competitive acquisition before the current contract expires with no loss of continuity, efficiency, or negative effects on the mission. The incumbent contractor may continue to provide uninterrupted services in accordance with the PWS for the additional time. As a result, TRG is the only supplier able to carry out the services outlined in Section III above without endangering the mission or incurring additional costs.

The current source selection is near end with announcement of award originally scheduled for the end of May 2023. However, due to a pre-award protest received after pre-award debriefs were conducted when the competitive range was established, the new award date is now scheduled for 4 August 2023. Award to any other source for the additional months needed to finalize award of the follow-on contract would result in substantial duplication of costs to the government (that will not be recouped through any further type of competition), and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Air Force's requirements. We also believe award to any other source at this time would result in substantial startup costs to potential vendors for proposal preparation and recruitment/staffing.

The sole contractor prepared to support the government's mission requirements throughout the transitional time is TRG. No other contractor can meet the government's needs over the next ~180 days because they already have the required resources and individuals who are fully trained and qualified. There are no Air Force personnel available to conduct this essential type of training. To guarantee that the crucial training needs of the RQ-4/U-2/T-38 program are met, contractual support is necessary.

Any attempt to award an interim competitive contract would cause more delay and possibly result in the program's complete shutdown, which would make it harder for the warfighter to carry out their mission.

V. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under

FAR 5.202 applies.

This justification and approval document will be publicized within 14 days after contract award as required by FAR 5.203 and 6.305 via the government-wide point of entry (GPE).

Based upon the rationale in Section IV above, it is not practicable to solicit additional sources for this immediate requirement.

The follow-on requirement was solicited through SAM.gov under NAICS Code of 541990 and expected to be awarded NLT 1

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August 2023. As discussed above, the purpose of the modification is to allow for the ongoing source selection to finalize the awardee and facilitate transition of the new contract.

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

The anticipated cost for this modification will be determined fair and reasonable after comparing the proposed prices for the contract modification to the original competed prices. Collective Bargaining Agreements containing labor rates effective for fiscal year 2023/2024 are in effect and will also be used to compare pricing. No changes to staffing are expected during the 18 month extended period of performance.

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

Market research was conducted for the follow-on re-compete that is underway; therefore, this market research was leveraged when informing the decision on this justification.

On 3 August 2022, a request for information (RFI) was posted to SAM.gov. Ten businesses submitted capabilities material by the closing date of 19 August 2022, indicating their experience with CAT/CWD. All ten businesses stated they intend to bid on the solicitation. Out of the ten respondents, six companies indicated that they were a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), two were Woman Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), one SBA 8(a), and one ANC.

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

None.

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

See Section VII above.

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

There are no known barriers to competition. Both the current contract and the follow-on are awarded competitively.

XI. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

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