SSJ - Redacted.pdf

This is a Department of the Air Force Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (CUI document) for a sole-source acquisition under 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1).

The contracting activity is AFRL/RIZ located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The acquisition concerns a firm-fixed price purchase order award to Polytec, Inc. for a VibroFlex QTec Fiber Optics Laser Doppler Vibrometer System supporting the Structural Validation Branch on an individual basis. The dollar value is estimated at less than $10 million. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Structural Validation Branch (AFRL/RAVZ) requires a single-point Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) system to measure dynamic response of structural components within thermoacoustic test facilities, critical for hypersonic research and flight test hardware qualification. The system configuration consists of ten (10) VibroFlex QTec single-point sensor heads with fiber-optic lenses interfaced with corresponding VibroFlex Connect Front End controllers and a data output module, with eight (8) sensor channels permanently integrated into the Large Thermoacoustic Test Facility and two (2) channels allocated to the Small Thermoacoustic Test Facility. System configuration, data acquisition, and analysis are managed via Polytec MDE controlling software supporting concurrent integration of up to eight sensors.

The justification establishes that Polytec is the sole source because its proprietary QTec laser technology operates at the required 1550 nm wavelength to bypass destructive optical interference from quartz lamp radiant heating systems and provides the only multi-channel signal processing technology capable of meeting all specified requirements. The Air Force conducted market research confirming no competing systems or small business set-aside opportunities exist, and determined that introducing a non-Polytec system would create major software incompatibilities with existing Polytec hardware already owned by AFRL/RAVZ, require entirely new software licenses and training, and cause project delays.