W9113M-16-C-0004 SimCtr JA_Redacted.pdf

Control Number: CAB-B-J&A21-0676

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Version – June 2019 2

FAR PART 6 JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity: Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA), Directorate B, is the contracting agency responsible for the USASMDC SimCtr W9113M-16-C-0004 contract.

2. Description of Action: USASMDC requests approval to issue a contract modification to extend the SimCtr contract, W9113M-16-C-0004, on a Cost-Plus Fixed-Fee and Cost- Reimbursement basis with DigiFlight Corporation, 7047 Madison Pike, Huntsville, AL 35806, CAGE code . The Government projects award for this action in March 2021.

The current SimCtr contract is a competitively awarded 8(a) contract valued at , and is considered in the Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) Program. The contract will be extended by six-months from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021 with an additional six-month option period available from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 to allow time to complete the re-compete source selection process which will also be a competitive 8(a) action. The initial six-month extension will be incorporated via contract modification and exercised at a later date under FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract. If the second six-month extension becomes necessary due to further delays in the source selection process for the re-compete action, or in the event of a protest of the new contract, it will be exercised under FAR 52.217-8, Extension of Services, incrementally, but not to exceed a six-month period.

The vast majority of program funding for this action will continue to come from the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) using Research, Development, Test & Evaluation funds, with USASMDC as the Executing Agent. Changes in MDAs requirements and the nature of COVID restrictions on the workforce require additional time to work the re-compete action and this is the reason for the first extension requested.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The SimCtr is a high-performance supercomputing center and serves as one of USASMDC's primary research and development (R&D) facilities for space, missile defense, and high altitude research, design, and analysis with state-of-the-art computational and modeling and simulation (M&S) resources, integration, demonstration, and performance verification and visualization capabilities. The SimCtr is a consolidated Government Owned/Contractor Operated (GO/CO) facility located on Redstone Arsenal, Alabama that supports USASMDC and MDA mission essential modeling and simulation, analyses, test and evaluation, and experimentation requirements. Additionally, multiple individual research and development laboratories are housed in the SimCtr, which are connected to several geographically dispersed locations. The SimCtr provides users within MDA, USASMDC, and High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) authorized contractors, as well as Other Governmental Agencies (OGAs) a centralized resource for classified and unclassified high performance computing processing, parallel processing, data visualization, M&S, networked communications, software development, testbed, and technical and administrative support services.

The SimCtr contract currently has one 16-month base period and four 12-month option periods as follows:

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Base Period: 01 December 2015 – 31 March 2017 Option Period 1: 01 April 2017 – 31 March 2018 Option Period 2 01 April 2018 – 31 March 2019 Option Period 3: 01 April 2019 – 31 March 2020 Option Period 4: 01 April 2020 – 31 March 2021

While the source selection process is scheduled to begin for the re-compete action, it has been delayed due to challenges resulting from COVID-19 and a change in the source selection team.

The contract will initially be extended by six-months from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021 under FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract, with an additional six-month option period available from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 under FAR 52.217-8, Extension of Services, to allow time to complete the re-compete source selection. The total Period of Performance, if all options are exercised, will be 76 months. The base and all options value for contract W9113M-16-C-0004 is currently . The estimated total value of both proposed six-month extensions is . The total contract value, with both additional six-month extensions, will be .

4. Authority Cited: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). For the purposes of applying this subsection, refer to 10 U.S.C. 2304 (d)(1)(B)(ii) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B) “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.”

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The follow-on contract’s source selection process is expected to begin on 12 March 2021. The process has been delayed due to COVID-19 and an unforeseen transfer of the source selection team from the Colorado Springs office to Redstone Arsenal. Furthermore, due to the resignation of the original Contracting Officer and the personnel limitations that exist within the Colorado Springs contracting office, the source selection for the follow-on effort was transferred to the contracting team at Redstone Arsenal, Directorate A, in September 2020. The transfer of responsibilities resulted in additional delays as the new contracting team became familiar with the requirement.

The anticipated milestones for the re-compete action (subject to internal review/approval processes and procedures) for accomplishing the follow-on acquisition are stated below:

Event Estimated Completion Date Issue RFP 10 February 2021 Receive Proposals 12 March 2021 Initial Evaluations Complete 07 April 2021 Conduct Discussions 15 June 2021 Receive Final Proposal Revisions (FPR) 01 July 2021 Final Evaluations Complete 13 July 2021 Contract Review Board Complete 27 August 2021 Contract Award Effective Date 01 October 2021

The current SimCtr contract is due to expire on 31 March 2021. Failing to extend the current contract in order to provide sufficient time for the follow-on source selection process to commence will result in a gap in critical SimCtr support. Such a gap would result in unacceptable, significant delays and disruptions in fulfilling the command’s space, missile defense, and high altitude mission requirements. The continuation of these highly specialized

Version – June 2019 4 services is essential in order to provide continued customer support for military exercises and other analytical services. A break in support would be detrimental to SimCtr customers, including but not limited to, the MDA, and OGAs who rely on SimCtr support to meet their mission requirements.

Additionally, awarding this effort to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements. Transitioning to another contractor for this bridge effort would not be considered value-added because of the additional administrative burden for both the contracting team and the requiring activity. The source selection process for the follow-on contract will continue to be worked aggressively and concurrently with the extension of the current contract. The contractor, DigiFlight Corporation, has been performing this contract, with exceptional past performance ratings, has the expertise, and corporate knowledge to perform the effort during the proposed extension. Furthermore, DigiFlight Corporation is the only source with the expertise, knowledge, and personnel able to perform the effort for the proposed extension without a break in service.

Efforts to Obtain Competition: Due to the nature of this effort and the need for continuity of services, it would be ineffective to consider other contractors’ for the extension of the contract.

However, during the original award, efforts to obtain competition were made. The contract was originally synopsized on 17 September 2014 as a special notice with a solicitation number of W9113M14R0007. However, it is recognized that a special notice to industry is both important and required for the extension of the current contract. Therefore, a special notice was issued to industry through the beta.SAM.gov website on 12 January 2021.

Actions to Increase Competition: As stated above, it is ineffective to consider other contractors’ on the extension of the current contract and any attempts to seek competition for this particular action would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the command’s space, missile defense, and high altitude mission requirements. This extension will be made under the terms of the existing contract. Therefore, no actions were taken to obtain competition for this specific bridge action. However, it is noted that the synopsis issued on 17 September 2014 acted as an action to increase competition, for the current effort, during that time.

Market Research: In accordance with FAR Part 10, market research was conducted and approved for the original contract by the competition advocate on 31 January 2014. However, since market research has not been formally conducted within a year of this bridge effort, the Contracting Officer relied on the market research that was conducted for the follow-on contract.

The decision to utilize the current market research document, approved in June 2020, saves time and administrative costs to the Government. Therefore, the Government will reference the information provided to satisfy the market research requirement for adding the extension to this bridge effort under contract W9113M-16-C-0004.

type.

Discussion with those with personal knowledge in procuring supplies/services of this

Contact with knowledgeable persons in Government and industry regarding the commercial nature of this requirement and standard industry practices in this area of supplies/services.

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3) Review result of recent market research results for similar or identical supplies/services.

4) Review of Government and commercial databases for relevant information.

5) Interchange meetings or pre-solicitation conferences with potential offerors.

Based on the results of the market research, potential sources were identified by accessing the Dynamic Small Business Administration website which captured 129 8(a) companies with a NAICS Code of 541715, Exception C. Even though the results of the market research are adequate for the follow-on effort’s competition goals, it is understood that the Contracting Officer will not utilize the information for this bridge effort. As previously mentioned, a transition to another vendor in such a short timeframe would not be feasible and would cause service gaps for the SimCtr as well as unacceptable delays to the ongoing effort of the current contract. It is in the best interest of the Government to extend the current contract, at this time; therefore, the Contracting Officer will not seek out the 129 8(a) sources identified as potential offerors for the bridge effort under contract W9113M-16-C-0004. Furthermore, the current contractor, DigiFlight Corporation with the CAGE code , is the only source capable of providing the required services during the recommended 6-month extension of contract W9113M-16-C-0004 with the option to extend another 6-months after that.

In accordance with DFARS PGI 206.302-1(d), a sources sought notice or request for information (RFI) must be posted and the results should be annotated. However, a request to waive the requirement to issue a sources sought notice or RFI was submitted. The waiver was submitted to the Compliance Review Liaison on 21 January 2021 and is expected to be approved by the ACC Senior Contracting Official, , by 29 January 2021. Therefore, the Contracting Officer will not submit a sources sought notice or RFI nor will the results of such actions be annotated.

9. Interested Sources: Additional research (e.g., sources sought) was deemed unnecessary since extending the existing contract is considered the best course of action. Identifying other potential offerors would cause a delay which would not be justified by any potential benefits, considering the timing and cost/benefit tradeoffs.

10. Other Facts: This bridge action will be carried out via contract modification which will be issued to the current contractor, DigiFlight Corporation, 7047 Madison Pike, Huntsville, AL 35806, CAGE code . DigiFlight Corporation has been performing this effort for the past

4.5 years with exceptional performance ratings. Based on their past performance, the current contractor will be able to provide the required services during this extension. The contractor will incur costs during the six-month extension and the potential additional six-month extension of services under FAR 52.217-8. The original price analysis clearly demonstrates that the contractor’s submission of estimated costs that will be incurred was found reasonable and realistic in comparison with prices that resulted from previous adequate price competition for the same services as well as Independent Government Estimate (IGE). The contractor has not experienced cost overruns over the life of the contract. The contractor’s accounting system that was used to establish and negotiate prices for the current contract has been determined to be adequate for performing cost type contracts.

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Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve this extension on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B)--Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, subject to the availability of funds, and provided the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

The SimCtr serves as one of USASMDC's major R&D facilities for space, missile defense, and high altitude research, design, and analysis of missile defense systems with state-of-the- art computational and M&S resources, integration, demonstration, and performance verification and visualization capabilities. The SimCtr is a high performance supercomputing center that provides users within MDA, USASMDC, HPCMP, authorized contractors, and OGAs a centralized resource for classified and unclassified high performance computing processing, parallel processing, data visualization, modeling and simulation, networked communications, software development, testbed, and technical and administrative support services.

The base and all options value for contract W9113M-16-C-0004 is currently .

The estimated value of both six-month extensions is . The total contract value, with both additional six-month extensions will be . As a result of this action, the incumbent contractor DigiFlight Corporation, 7047 Madison Pike, Huntsville, AL 35806, CAGE Code , will continue performance under contract W9113M-16-C-0004. The initial six-month extension will be incorporated via contract modification and exercised at a later date under FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract. If the second six-month extension becomes necessary due to further delays in the source selection process for the re-compete action, or in the event of a protest of the new contract, it will be exercised under FAR 52.217-8, Extension of Services, incrementally but not to exceed a six-month period.

Date: _________________ __________________________________ Virginia A. Rosacia Advocate for Competition

1/27/2021

ROSACIA.VIRGIN

IA.A.1230065108

Digitally signed by

ROSACIA.VIRGINIA.A.1230065108

Date: 2021 01.27 17 20:44 -06'00'