SPRBL1-20-R-0026 JA_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SOLICITATION SPRBL1-20-R-0026

DLA Land & Maritime Justification for Other Than Full & Open Competition (May 2018)

[X] ORIGINAL

[ ] ADDENDUM (attach copy of original J&A for add-ons or revisions)

1. The Defense Logistics Agency, DLA Land at Aberdeen, is the contracting activity.

2. This Justification and Approval supports a solicitation using other than full and open competition procedures for a five-year, Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP), Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) supply contract to procure the item identified below using procedures in Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 13.5.

Army Working Capital Funds (AWCF) will be used for this effort.

3. The supplies required to meet the using activity’s needs are described as follows:

NSN BRIEF DESCRIPTION/ P/N QUANTITY EST. VALUE AMSC

5985-01-455-9286 Antenna Group, Part Number:

CTM15/LFH230KIT

47 3D

Total Estimated Value: $1,712,200.00

Identify end item, weapon system, or class of item:

The Government intends to acquire National Stock Number (NSN) 5985-01-455-9286, Part Number CTM15/LFH230KIT. The item is an AN/VRC-100 High Frequency (HF) antenna group that supports the AN/VRC-100(V)1 Advanced high frequency (HF) Ground/Vehicular Communications System. The antenna group are the components of the AN/TSW-A Upgrade Kit. The AN/VRC-100 HF antenna group is a commercial item that is used to transmit and receive Beyond-Line-of-Sight communications information in the 2-30Megahertz (MHz) HF range. This antenna group is required to support Tobyhanna Army Depot RESET Program for the AN/TSW-7A Air Traffic Control Center. The Air Traffic Control Central AN/TSW-7A is a transportable facility that can be deployed at tactical airstrips for airborne and ground control of aircraft. This facility may be also deployed at permanent airfields to replace permanent control towers under emergency conditions. The Central provides the same functions as a stationary air traffic control tower. The AN/TSW-7A provides ground-to-aircraft, aircraft-to-ground, airborne-to-airborne, and surface communications within a designated airport traffic area or airfield. Two-way radio communications to aircraft within radio line-of sight, weather reporting pilot-to-forecaster service, and flight data and military operations message relaying are additional features.

ESTIMATED BASE VALUE:

ESTIMATED TOTAL VALUE (BASE PERIOD NO OPTIONS):

MAXIMUM CONTRACT VALUE:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is:

[X] 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) - Available from only one or a limited number of sources.

Brief narrative supporting the situation and weapon system:

The only approved manufacturer with the comprehensive knowledge and expertise necessary to produce the required item for this action is C&S Antenna, Inc. (CAGE Code 1BZ19). C&S Antenna, Inc., is the developer, sole manufacturer, and configuration manager of the antenna group. The Government does not possess the Technical Data Package (TDP) for the required item. C&S Antenna, Inc. is the only source that possesses the

DLA Land & Maritime Justification for Other Than Full & Open Competition (May 2018) drawings/specifications and complete TDP necessary to manufacture the required item. The Government requires these items to meet critical mission requirements in support of critical worldwide missions. Failure to acquire this item will detrimentally affect Warfighters who utilize the antenna group, and will increase the risk of serious injury and loss of life.

The Army has assigned this NSN an essentiality code of “C” identifying this NSN as essential. This code identifies parts that are essential to the operation of the end item and the failure of these items will render the end item inoperable (unable to move, shoot, and communicate).

[ ] 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(2) - Urgency.

[ ] 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) - _______________________________________________

4. If restricted to the only source(s) of supply, include source(s) and CAGE code:

C&S Antenna, Inc., CAGE Code: 1BZ19

The use of the authority cited below:

[X] AMC 3. Acquire, for the second or subsequent time, directly from the manufacturer.

The use of the authority cited is based on:

[X] AMSC D. The data needed to acquire this part competitively is not physically available, it cannot be obtained economically, nor is it possible to draft adequate specifications or any other adequate, economical description of the material for a competitive solicitation. AMCS 3, 4, or 5 are valid.

5. Efforts to ensure that offers are solicited from as many sources as practicable are:

[X] The acquisition was synopsized on July 9, 2020 (combined synopsis/solicitation).

[ ] Manufacturers of similar products identified in the market research will be solicited.

[ ] Dealers of the manufacturers will be solicited.

[ ] A synopsis exception cited in FAR 5.202 applies.

[X] Other. A Sources Sought Announcement was issued on April 16, 2019.

6. I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

As the Contracting Officer, I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable, based on the use of some combination of cost/price analysis, or a comparison of proposed prices with an independent government estimate. In accordance with FAR 15.403-1(c)(3), certified cost or pricing data is not required for commercial items. If appropriate, the Contracting Officer will request other than certified cost or pricing data to support a fair and reasonable price determination.

7. Market Research/Efforts to Obtain Competition:

A Sources Sought Announcement (Reference Number SPRBL1-ZL0199) was published on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website on April 16, 2019 to identify whether any other source could manufacture this specific part. Two responses was received from this announcement. The responses are summarized below:

a. White Wolf Systems, LLC (WWS, LLC) responded to this announcement via email on April 23, 2019, and offered an “alternate” item. WWS, LLC provided a description of their company, a brochure, the setup drawing, layout, and the current users and field user commentary of their proposed antenna. Based upon the technical

DLA Land & Maritime Justification for Other Than Full & Open Competition (May 2018) review, WWS, LLC’s proposed alternate antenna has not been authorized by the Government for use with the AN/VRC-100(V)1. WWC, LLC did not provide test results demonstrating that their proposed antenna is physically and functionally interchangeable with the existing antenna group for the AN/VRC-100(V)1 in the field and interoperable with the AN/VRC-100(V)1. Therefore, the Government technical person responded to this company via email on April 23, 2019 stating that “The Government has requirements to procure the item specified in this market survey as the sustainment spares to support the AN/TSW-7A, Air Traffic Control Central. NSN 5985-01- 455-9286 Part Number CTM15/LFH230KIT is the only antenna group the Government has authorized to use with AN/VRC-100(V)1 advanced high frequency (HF) Ground/Vehicular Communications Systems when it is installed for Air Traffic Control Central AN/TSW-7A. Any equivalents must be evaluated by the Government prior to use.”

The Government technical person also provided the Government Point of Contact (POC) in the email in case they would like to qualify their alternate item. To date, WWC, LLC has not contacted the Government POC to initiate testing and evaluation of their antenna for use in the AN/VRC-100(V)1 system.

b. COMROD, Inc. responded to this announcement via email on April 24, 2019 stating that “I am not sure if you are even considering different antennas, but I thought I would reach out and see if you had any interest in knowing more about the attached HF Base Station Loop Antenna.” Based on this statement, COMROD, Inc. was proposing a different type of antenna to the Government for use within the AN/VRC-100(V)1. COMROD, Inc. provided the specification sheet for their proposed antenna. Based upon the technical review, the proposed antenna is a different type of antenna than the antenna group solicited in this sources sought, and the proposed antenna has not been authorized by the Government for use with the AN/VRC-100(V)1. In addition, COMROD, Inc. has not provided test results demonstrating that their proposed antenna is physically and functionally interchangeable with the existing antenna group for the AN/VRC-100(V)1 and interoperable with the AN/VRC-100(V)1. Therefore, the Government technical person responded to this company via email on April 25, 2019 stating that “The Government has a requirements to procure the item specified in this market survey as the sustainment spares to support the AN/TSW-7A, Air Traffic Control Central. NSN 5985-01-455-9286 Part Number CTM15/LFH230KIT is the only antenna group the Government has authorized to use with AN/VRC-100(V)1 advanced high frequency (HF) Ground/Vehicular Communications Systems when it is installed for Air Traffic Control Central AN/TSW- 7A. Any equivalents must be evaluated by the Government prior to use.” The Government technical person also provided the Government point of contact in the email in case they would like to qualify their proposed alternate item. To date, COMNROD, Inc. has not contacted the Government POC to initiate testing and evaluation of their antenna for use in the AN/VRC-100(V)1 system.

c. Since C&S Antennas, Inc. is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of this item and has previously supplied this item to the Government, the Government contacted C&S Antennas, Inc. via email on February 10, 2020 and inquired whether C&S Antennas, Inc. is interested in supplying this item to the Government. C&S Antennas, Inc. responded via email on February 12, 2020 and expressed interest in supplying this item to the Government.

d. The Government does not possess the technical data for this antenna group and does not control the configuration baseline for this antenna group. The antenna group from C&S Antennas, Inc. (Part Number CTM15/LFH230KIT) has been evaluated and approved by the Government (Program Management Office) for use with the AN/VRC-100(V)1 system for the Air Traffic Control Central AN/TSW-7A. The antenna group is procured as spares to support the AN/VRC-100(V)1 system and will have to procure from the source of supply that the Government has previously adapted for the use with the AN/VRC-100(V)1 system. Any equivalents must be evaluated and approved by the Government prior to use in the AN/VRC-100(V)1 system. The antenna group was adapted at the program level during the inception of the AN/VRC-100(V)1 system. Since the Government does not possess the technical data, the interested parties were provided the Government point of contact in the event that

DLA Land & Maritime Justification for Other Than Full & Open Competition (May 2018) they are interested in qualifying their antennas. If the interested parties alternate items are evaluated and determined compatible and functional in the AN/VRC-100(V)1 system, future acquisitions will be competitive..

The Government’s technical expert reviewed the procurement history for the required item. This research revealed that only C & S Antennas, Inc., the OEM of this item, has previously supplied this item to the Government.

Because of this market research, it was determined that only C & S Antennas, Inc. can meet the Government’s requirements.

The Contract Specialist performed additional research by querying I2Log, Haystack, General Services Administration (GSA) Advantage (gsaadvantage.gov), Thomas.Net and WebFLIS for more information. C&S Antenna, Inc. is the only approved source for this part. No other manufacturer is an approved source of this antenna group besides C&S Antenna, Inc. The Contract Specialist contacted C&S Antenna, Inc. to determine if C&S Antenna, Inc. was the sole source provider for this item and, if so, did it have any distributors or resellers for this part. C&S Antenna, Inc. stated that they are the sole source provider, and will respond directly to the Government.

Market Survey [10 U.S.C. 2304(f)(3)(D)]:

[X] A market survey was conducted on/during: April 16, 2019.

Total number of vendors contacted: This was posted through the Government Point of Entry (GPE).

Names of vendors contacted and responding: As discussed above, three vendors expressed interest.

Techniques used to conduct survey: Posted through the GPE.

Types of information requested: The Contracting Officer requested information about the company, past performance information, qualifications/experience, and capabilities (in developing TDPs, managing obsolescence, and re-designing existing hardware components).

Summary of information received: Three companies expressed interest to this acquisition.

Information received regarding the commerciality of the item(s): When the Contract Specialist reached out to C&S Antenna, Inc., they confirmed the commerciality of this item. A commerciality determination was signed for this acquisition on July 15, 2020.

[ ] A market survey was not conducted due to the unusual and compelling urgency of the requirement.

[ ] A market survey was not conducted due to:

8. Additional facts supporting other than full and open competition are:

[ ] Based upon the technical certification on file in DLA Land and Maritime – VEP technical data is not available and cannot be developed to permit full and open competition. The data presently available reflects the minimum needs of the Government.

[ ] As stated in the attached certification by the requiring activity, the Military Services will be seriously injured in contract award is delayed. The extent and nature of harm are detailed in the attached certification, or provide a narrative Impact Statement below:

[ ] When FAR 6.302-1 is cited for follow-on acquisitions as described in 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii), an estimate of the cost to the Government that would be duplicated and how the estimate was derived.

[X] Other:

The procurement history for the antenna group is listed below.

Contract Number Award Date Contractor Competitive/Sole Source

DLA Land & Maritime Justification for Other Than Full & Open Competition (May 2018)

W15P7T-09-D-H006 July 9, 2009 C&S Antenna Inc. Sole Source

10. A listing of sources, if any, indicating an interest in the acquisition is:

White Wolf Systems, LLC (CAGE Code 5APY9) COMROD, Inc. (CAGE Code A137N) C & S Antennas, Inc. (CAGE Code 1BZ19)

11. The following actions are being taken to identify additional sources:

[X] Solicitation contains DLA Procurement Note, L04 Offers for Part Numbered Items [X] Solicitation contains DLA Procurement Note, M06 Evaluation of Offers for Part Numbered Items [ ] VE Bailment Program [ ] Source Development Review [ ] Reverse Engineering [X] Other (Explain): Market research was conducted to determine if any changes occurred from the previous buy that would support competition. The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if changes occur in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be competed.