A01_J A_Signed_12APR16.pdf

For Official Use Only

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. CONTRACTING ACTIVITY: U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), Edgewood Division, ATTN: CCAP-SCE, E4215 Austin Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21010-5401

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION:

Approval is being requested to waive competition to award a new sole source contract pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 – Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, for the continuation of Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RTD&E) efforts supporting the Joint Service Aircrew Mask for Joint Strike Fighter (JSAM-JSF). This action supports efforts for the JSAM-JSF Product Office.

This Justification and Approval is for a new sole-source, Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) contract award. This contract award is for one, two-month period of performance with an estimated value of $283,761 and no Options. This effort shall be funded with Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RTD&E). Anticipated award date is 12 April 2016.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

This effort shall provide continued, uninterrupted support to the JSAM-JSF Product Office for meeting the JSF Force Protection Key Performance Parameter (KPP) for pilot chemical/biological (CB) protection by developing a CB protective respirator. The JSAM- JSF is a lightweight, chemical/biological (CB) protective respirator system that integrates with the JSF airframe (F-35) life support system and pilot flight equipment (PFE) to provide combined CB, hypoxia, and anti-gravity protection to pilots during flight. JSAM- JSF is designed to provide pilot head/eye, respiratory, and percutaneous protection against CB warfare agents. JSAM-JSF will integrate with all F-35 aircraft variants and pilot systems fielded prior to or concurrent with JSAM-JSF including PFE and life support, communication, and helmet systems.

The Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) is for $283,761. The cost and duration was determined by an IGCE conducted by Mr. Ryan Adams dated 07 April 2016, through the examination of expenditures of similar nature (travel, labor rates and labor hours) executed under an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) FA8902-06-D- 0001 Task order 0002 with GENTEX.

FAR clauses 52.237-3 (Continuity of Services) and 52.217-8 (Option to Extend Services) will not be included in this contract.

4. AUTHORITY CITED: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)-- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency.

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED:

The proposed source is Gentex Corporation, 9859 7th Street, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730-5244. Gentex currently supports JSAM-JSF under the IDIQ Task Order (TO) number FA8902-06-D-0001 0002. This TO will expire on 12 April 2016. It was anticipated that the current and follow-on work for JSAM-JSF will be awarded as sole source, single award IDIQ, under an approved Justification and Authority (Control Number: 15-0008) in the amount of $78,960,000. Contract award is anticipated in April/May 2016.

Gentex has the knowledge, experience, resources, and personnel with the required skills and certifications immediately available to continue providing support to JSAM-JSF until the new sole source IDIQ contract can be awarded. The Government has identified Gentex Corporation as the only responsible source to meet JSAM-JSF performance requirements and the USAF and USMC fielding schedules. There are no commercial items that currently meet JSAM-JSF requirements.

As stated in FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii), “Supplies may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of a follow-on contract for the continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, including major components thereof, when it is likely that award to any other sources would result in, (A) Substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or (B) Unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.”

The JSAM-JSF Mask is a follow-on to the JSAM FW and Top Owl variant. This action will continue the production of JSAM-JSF assets for the F-35 aircraft. The Government does possess limited rights to some of the JSAM technical data, however Gentex is the only source possessing critical system knowledge and proprietary data required to provide spare part, support equipment, special fit orders, product support and the specialized JSAM-JSF mask . The following reasons support procurement by Other than Full and Open Competition as authorized by FAR 6.302-1:

a. Platform Compatibility. JSAM-JSF produced by Gentex is the only CB respirator that has been designed to integrate with the unique JSF PFE, CBPIC, helmet mounted display (HMD) and F-35 cockpit. The HMD in particular is a custom fit helmet that requires precise integration to permit proper alignment with the visor display and helmet stability while preventing hotspots during wear, particularly when flying at high levels of acceleration force (G). Gentex has gained unique knowledge over the past five (5) years working with the current JSF PFE and HMD as all the products were being developed.

This concurrent development allowed for optimization across products so they are designed to integrate completely with each other. The pilot mounted filter is a prime example where fielded filters were unable to integrate within the F-35 cockpit, therefore a developmental filter, JAFP, that Gentex provided was required. Gentex possesses the intellectual property and experience that is critical and necessary to produce the JSAM- JSF. Market research has shown that the technical knowledge in understanding the design, integration, etc., which are essential to the successful production and procurement of the JSAM-JSF mask, do not exist elsewhere.

b. Alternative Respirators. There are multiple, alternative fielded and developmental CB respirators; however, each have issues meeting JSAM-JSF requirements and schedule.

Aircrew Eye Respiratory Protection (AERP; MBU-19/P) is an USAF legacy respirator that is out of production and no longer sustainable. The A/P22P-14A produced by Cam Lock is the USN legacy CB respirator, which is closest to meeting JSAM-JSF requirements, but there are significant development risks to integrate with the F-35 platform and PFE as well as significant cost and schedule risks as detailed below. There are a variety of other respirators for rotary and strategic aircraft applications that are fielded (M48, M45, MPU-

6) and in development (MPU-5, JSAM for Strategic Aircraft (JSAM for SA, MM53)), however the immediate issue is they cannot support the pressure breathing for gravity (PBG) KPP requirement. Additional information is supplied in the Market Research section.

c. Technical Data Package (TDP). The Government does not own a complete TDP sufficient for full and open competition. The JSAM-JSF is currently being developed under a performance specification and the Government will not acquire the TDP until after the Physical Configuration Audit (PCA) conducted on the first production delivery.

While the Government does possess limited rights to some of the JSAM technical data, Gentex possesses critical system knowledge and proprietary data required to provide the specialized JSAM-JSF mask.

The existing JSAM-JSF Performance Specification is not a sufficient means to compete on a full and open competition basis and ensure identical production of the JSAM-JSF.

In fact, since the Government does not have rights to key portions of the TDP, full and open competition could not result in the identical design except for the same product being submitted by Gentex. Any changes to the design would require a repeat of the testing and the corresponding schedule delays as stated above. Individual repair and replacement parts where Gentex does not hold rights against will be considered for competitive acquisition.

d. Duplication of Cost. As of September 2014, the JSAM-JSF program office has spent upwards of $21.1M towards the development of Gentex’s JSAM-JSF respirator to include development, testing, logistic products and program team support. This amount does not account for the considerable efforts also provided by the JSF PO and contractors that have invested an estimated $7.2M and 8 years to test integrating components with JSAM- JSF. That estimate does not account for the development costs and time of the integrating components that occurred concurrently with JSAM-JSF development. The products’ designs and performance are impacted by all integrating components so the concurrent development has optimized the integration of JSAM-JSF with the integrating systems. This combined $28.3M sunk cost has resulted in a product developed and tested against JSAM-JSF requirements and also built up the subject matter expertise that is described in Section 5.a.

The program estimates the cost to develop and test competitive CB respirators and establish a production line for the selected product at an additional $20.7M. This cost, which includes an initial down-selection of multiple submitted candidates before identifying one for the complete evaluation, would not be expected to be recouped through competition. There are no commercial items that currently meet JSAM-JSF requirements therefore some development work will be required prior to significant testing. Developmental and safety of flight testing would need to be completed on any new product with some of the most costly events being CB live agent and simulant testing , escape events (sled, Meteor, windblast, catapult), man-rating (centrifuge and altitude), Hawk trainer flights and F-35 ground integration and flight trials. The JSFPO would be required to modify and fund the JSF’s prime systems integrator’s (PSI) contract for them to support and conduct certain events that were already completed. There would be logistic costs to develop logistic support products (technical manual data, training documents, provisioning data, etc.) that would need to be integrated into the JSF Automated Logistic Information System (ALIS). Support equipment development would be required for updates, adaptors and/or replacement equipment required to integrate with a new CB respirator. Also, there will be added program team costs for both the JPEO-CBD and JSFPO to cover additional labor and travel due to the additional program activities and extended program timeline.

The estimated cost breakdown for open competition is detailed below in Table 1.

Table 1: Estimated Cost of Open Competition

These estimates account for three (3) manufacturers going through an initial Phase-I test period based on a selection of the top three (3) proposals. Phase I concludes with a down selection to one (1) manufacturer prior to a development period to address minor Phase I issues, final asset build and test completion in Phase II. Labor estimates cover a five

(5) year period from the start of contracting activities through initial production support.

These costs are not anticipated to be recovered through competition.

e. Schedule. Full and open competition will not meet the Services’ JSF IOC and first deployment dates. The USAF’s IOC is scheduled for August 2016. The USMC will deploy the F-35 in January 2017 and requires JSAM-JSF for CB capability. For JSAM-JSF to support the Services’ schedules, a production contract and order of assets must be awarded by January 2016. It would take a program an estimated five (5) years minimum for contract actions and to develop, test and evaluate a competitive CB respirator and establish a production line. This timeline would not support the initial USAF IOC or USMC deployment leaving the F-35 without CB capability which is a KPP. Therefore, initiating a full and open competition would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agencies’ requirements.

Based on the Market Research report dated 10 November 2014, only Gentex has the proprietary technical knowledge and experience to build and integrate the current JSAM- JSF design. The current JSAM-JSF was designed specifically to integrate with the JSF PFE, HMD and aircraft. The technical knowledge of the F-35 interfacing systems and their effect on the CB respirator performance do not exist elsewhere. Gentex produces the only CB respirator that has been tested against, and met, JSAM-JSF PSpec requirements including testing with current F-35 interfacing systems. Technical data that would allow the Government to obtain competition on the current design is not available. The Government will not acquire the Technical Data Package until after the Physical Configuration Audit (PCA) conducted on the first production delivery. Therefore, efforts to obtain competition would result in unacceptable delays to the USMC deployment and USAF IOC and a substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.

In summary, this contractual requirement to support development efforts to continue RDT&E activities for JSAM-JSF is an interim solution to avoid a break in service while waiting for the sole source contract to finalize negotiations and be awarded.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION:

Gentex has the proprietary technical knowledge and experience required to build and integrate the current JSAM-JSF design. Competition for this action is not feasible.

7. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION:

The Gentex contract (FA8902-06-D-0001) was awarded 13 April 2006 after full and open competition. Gentex was selected out of multiple offers as the best value for the Government. The JSAM-JSF delivery order (FA8902-06-D-001 0002) was awarded from this contract.

The Government will continue to monitor and consider alternate materiel solutions supporting the military aviation community which provide CB protection during operation in high performance, fixed wing aircraft for their applicability in the F-35. Any future materiel solutions will be evaluated to determine whether competition would be economically feasible and in the best interest of the Government.

8. MARKET RESEARCH:

The JSAM-JSF Program Office completed a market research study in November 2014 to determine availability of masks with the potential of meeting the JSAM-JSF PSpec requirements. Market research of fielded and developmental mask products and literature was conducted via internet search. In addition, ACC-APG released a Request for Information to assess the technical maturity and availability of CB respirators within industry. Research resulted in the identification of eight (8) masks from seven (7) different vendors, depicted within Table 2 below. An “X” indicates the product is likely to meet the requirement based on the Program Office’s assessment of the manufacturer claims and evidence provided. In many cases, the Program Office’s assessment is based on something other than test data of the respective item in the JSF environment since no other manufacturer had tested with the representative JSF systems. The Program Office made an educated assessment of how the available data would translate to the JSF environment and interfacing equipment. Additional and potentially significant work would remain to verify a product’s performance for JSF. A blank box indicates they are unlikely to meet the requirement or insufficient data was provided to support meeting the requirement.

Table 2: Market Research Summary

AVOX

(MPU-5)

AVOX

(MPU-6)

Gentex

(JSAM-

JSF)

Cobham (Phantom)

Cam Lock

(A/P22- 14A)

AVON

(MM53)

Immediate Response

Technologies

(CBRN

C420)

Biana S.A.

(COBRA)

Chemical Agent Protection* X X X X X

Biological Agent Protection* X X X X X

CB Filtration* X X X X X X

PBG Capable* X X

Decompression Performance X

Ejection Survival X

Critical Viewing Area X X X X

F-35 Integration X

Mist/Frost Prevention X

* JSAM-JSF Key Performance Parameter (KPP)

Market research revealed that industry products meet some of the requirements, such as chemical and biological agent protection as well as CB filtration in several products, as indicated by the “X” within the table. However, decompression performance and F-35 integration can only be provided by Gentex. Cam Lock’s respirator appears to be the only other product potentially able to support the JSAM-JSF requirements. However, Cam Lock would require some development work to integrate with the F-35 and pilot flight equipment and there would be a significant amount of safety of flight and chemical/biological testing to assess performance against the requirements. None of the other candidates were found to currently meet the JSAM-JSF requirements identified, to include PBG capability, decompression, ejection survivability, platform integration, and mist/frost prevention.

Given the extremely stringent JSAM technical and performance requirements, and without having designed a mask specifically geared for this platform, it’s very unlikely any item other than the one developed by Gentex will meet government requirements.

Further, any item other than the one developed by Gentex would still have to undergo extensive testing. No offeror other than Gentex has provided data supporting those capabilities.

9. INTERESTED SOURCES:

A Request for Information notice was published via the Army Single Face to Industry (ASFI) and transmitted to the Government Point of Entry (GPE), FedBizOpps website on 08 April 2016 under W911SR-16-C-0022. Responses were requested by 11 April 2016.

No companies responded.

10. OTHER FACTS:

a. History with JSAM Fixed Wing (JSAM FW). After full and open competition, Contract FA8902-06-D-0001 was awarded to Gentex Corporation on 13 April 2006 for the acquisition of the Joint Service Aircrew Mask (JSAM) Fixed Wing (FW) and Top Owl mask variants. The initial award was for the contractor to develop, manufacture, field, and sustain JSAM FW capable of operations in a chemical/biological environment. The contract was awarded as an IDIQ type contract with Fixed-Price Incentive, successive target CLINs for the SDD effort and production option period. The basic contract also contains other SDD efforts set forth and included Fixed-Price CLINs for purchase of spares. The period of performance is currently through April 2016.

The F-35 was one of many platforms intended to be covered by JSAM FW. Initial integration testing early in the program determined that the F-35 aircraft and pilot flight equipment (PFE) were unique and required specific changes that the other platforms would not require. Particular concerns were integrating with the custom fit helmet mounted display (HMD) and the life support system including the CB Pilot Interface Connector (CBPIC). Therefore JSAM-JSF variant was initiated as Delivery Order 0002 to support the JSF program with a dedicated variant to meet their unique integration requirements.

b. JSAM-JSF Development History. The JSAM-JSF was formally initiated on 29 June 2009 with the issuance of Delivery Order 0002 on the JSAM FW base contract with Gentex Corporation. This award established JSAM-JSF as a separate respirator from JSAM FW. This delivery order established a different JSAM-JSF variant requirements to design, develop, test, produce associated documentation and deliver the JSAM-JSF variant.

The initial JSAM-JSF variant leveraged a JSAM FW developmental design and incorporated modifications that were unique to the F-35 and JSF pilot flight equipment.

The JSAM-JSF Preliminary Design Review (PDR) was conducted in December 2009.

Contractor Engineering Test and Evaluation and Design Verification Testing were conducted through January 2014. Also in this time period, there were several Government led events conducted with the JSFPO to include escape events (windblast, sled, Meteor), F-35 integration and lighting evaluations and Hawk Trainer flights. The Critical Design Review (CDR) was conducted in January 2014 and the CDR decision was approved in March 2014. Ongoing Developmental Testing and Evaluation in coordination with the JSF Program Office is projected to complete in fourth quarter FY16. The JPEO- CBD approved readiness for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) in first quarter FY16 pending a viable contract vehicle.

c. Procurement History:

Below is a brief description of JSAM-JSF related contract and delivery order awards.

These include JSAM FW actions originally since F-35 was included within the original platforms for JSAM FW. JSAM-JSF was split out separately in June 2009.

Contract: FA8902-06-D-0001 Contractor: Gentex Corporation Award Date: 13 Apr 2006 Competitive Status: Full and Open Competition Contract Ceiling: $162,227,815 Other: This contract is the basic IDIQ contract with Gentex for JSAM fixed wing (FW).

Contract: FA8902-06-D0001, Delivery Orders 0001 and 0006 Contractor: Gentex Corporation Award Date: 13 Apr 2006 Competitive Status: Task orders under IDIQ contract Contract Value: $10,448,594.45 Other: Development of the initial JSAM FW generations. JSAM-JSF did not split out until June 2009. The first three years of the JSF mask development were leveraged, where applicable, by JSAM-JSF once the separate delivery order was awarded. Leveraged data included in part material selection, initial design concepts and preliminary test data.

Contract: FA8902-06-D0001, Delivery Order 0002 Contractor: Gentex Corporation Award Date: 29 June 2009 Competitive Status: Task order under IDIQ contract sherri.snow Typewritten Text 12 April 2016 sherri.snow Typewritten Text 12 April 2016 sherri.snow Typewritten Text

APPROVAL

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of JSAM-JSF 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, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services will Satisfy Agency Requirements, subject to the availability of fund, and provided that the services and property described herein have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

SIGNATURE- CONTRACTING

OFFICER

NAME SNOW.SHARON.L.1104380006

DATE Tuesday, 12 April, 2016