Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition

This document is a Justification and Approval Form (AVN Form S53) for a sole source acquisition filed by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Aviation Ogden for the procurement of steering units.

The acquisition seeks 55 steering units (NSN 1620-01-139-6672) for an estimated value that exceeds $750,000 but does not exceed $15,000,000. This is a firm fixed-price contract with no options. The justification is filed under FAR Part 15 and is based on 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), which permits other than full and open competition when supplies are available from only one or limited number of sources. The authorized activity is OO-DLA-AUB, with solicitation number SPRHA1-25-R-0244.

The sole source determination is supported by multiple factors: a sources sought notice/RFI was posted on Contract Opportunities on 6 February 2025, which resulted in no industry responses; a market survey conducted on 18 March 2024 documented that only Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Northrop Grumman Technical Services, and Circor Aerospace, Inc. have the technical capability and proprietary data necessary to manufacture the subject steering units; technical data is unavailable and cannot be competitively developed; reverse engineering costs are estimated to exceed $100 million with a break-even timeline exceeding 102 years; and the contractor is unwilling to license proprietary rights to the government. The Contracting Officer, Competition Advocate, and DLA Counsel Aviation have approved this justification, which is valued over $750,000 but under $15,000,000, requiring Competition Advocate signature authority.