YPG JA 2020_58_Redacted Updated - Copy_Redacted.pdf

Control No: 2020-58 Contractor: Cibola Information Systems

Program/Equipment: GPINS

Version – September 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FAR Part 6 Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) – Yuma Proving Ground, 301 C Street, Bldg. 2100, Yuma Proving Ground, AZ 85365-9498

2. Description of Action: The U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (USAYPG) Instrumentation Division requests to award a five year (base and four one-year options to include FAR 52.217-8 option) noncompetitive Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) contract with Cibola Information Systems (CIS), 11694 E. Calle Gaudi, Yuma, Arizona 85367.

The Government projects award for September 2020 using Fiscal Year 2020 Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) funds.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The Global Positioning Integration and Navigation System (GPINS) services requirement is necessary to obtain the expertise and performance to support the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) test mission with the development, maintenance, and expansion of Global Positioning System (GPS) instrumentation; the development of new advancements in the Improved Vehicle Tracking System (IVTS) and WindPack systems; and the customization/ integration of GPS instrumentation for individual test programs to include but not limited to electronic warfare systems, ground combat systems, and ammunition systems located at USAYPG. Over the years, the USAYPG mission and specialty as the only air delivery developmental tester in the U.S. Army has made the GPINS services requirement critical due to the uniqueness of mission scenarios and USAYPG at the cutting edge of air delivery instrumentation and data collection technology. The services requirement includes executing and conducting research necessary to remain on the leading edge of GPS instrumentation and its application to range instrumentation or operational navigation systems with integrated mission equipment packages and state-of-the-art technology to capture guidance, navigation, timing, and control data and may include the application of GPS radio frequency countermeasure applications. Work may be performed at several locations simultaneously within the United States and at various locations outside the Contiguous United States in response to the diverse needs of the developmental testing community in providing guidance, navigation, and timing solutions.

The anticipated total dollar value of this acquisition is $9.3 million as follows:

Base Period: 01 NOV 2020 to 31 OCT 2021 Value: $1,615,669 Option Period 1: 01 NOV 2021 to 31 OCT 2022 Value: $1,647,982 Option Period 2: 01 NOV 2022 to 31 OCT 2023 Value: $1,680,942 Option Period 3: 01 NOV 2023 to 31 OCT 2024 Value: $1,714,560 Option Period 4: 01 NOV 2024 to 31 OCT 2025 Value: $1,748,852 FAR 52.217-8 Opt: 01 NOV 2025 to 30 APR 2026 Value: $874,426

Program/Equipment: GPINS

Version – September 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Total: $9,282,431

4. Authority Cited: 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.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: As described at FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), when the supplies or services required by the agency are available only from one responsible source, or for DoD, NASA and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other types of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for. CIS is the only responsible vendor that can satisfy the Army’s requirement.

a. Background:

1) The GPINS services requirement has been part of the mission at USAYPG since the late 1990s. CIS was awarded the initial contract with the specification to begin development of the IVTS with GPINS as a component system. Subsequent contracts with CIS for the continuation of GPINS services added the development of the WindPack systems. Since the inception of the requirement, it has undergone multiple development upgrades. In addition to the IVTS and WindPack systems, the technology relies on ground stations that provide differential GPS corrections and are specific to the CIS developed technology.

2) The Government has made a significant investment in the GPINS technology and capability through contracts with CIS who owns the rights and proprietary hardware and software associated with the systems. In the more than 20 years of GPINS services that USAYPG has been using IVTS on air delivery missions, CIS has built and maintained 215 IVTS variants at a hardware cost of $1.2 million. The WindPack system has undergone five major upgrades at a hardware cost of $125 thousand. Challenges specific to air delivery instrumentation include operating at high altitude, functioning in a high static electricity environment, and being subjected to high-gravitational forces as parachutes deploy. In addition, range instrumentation systems used in the execution of the USAYPG test mission often utilize GPINS GPS technology with differential corrections for more precise positioning and/or timing. GPS and navigation systems technology expertise, system development, customized manufacturing, and system integration in extreme environments are all required.

3) USAYPG has three ongoing GPINS development efforts involving IVTS and WindPack systems under contract W9124R-15-C-0006, which will enhance mission capability. An ongoing significant design challenge associated with GPINS services requirements is the operation in an extreme airdrop environment and high likelihood of destruction through the mission test process; therefore the systems must be readily designed, replicated, and available at a cost point within budgetary constraints.

Program/Equipment: GPINS

Version – September 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

a) The WindPack is a small parachute system used on airdrops to measure wind speed and direction. The current development effort is adding pressure and temperature data recording to enhance its mission capability.

b) The ground-up development of a Six Degree of Freedom Vehicle Tracking System (6DVTS) which combines a six-degrees-of-freedom Inertial Navigation Unit (INU) with IVTS has been in progress for five years and, although nearing completion, is not yet fully deployed. The 6DVTS will be a revolutionary capability for USAYPG, providing payload attitude data from the point it leaves the aircraft to when the parachute deploys and includes a built-in integration for post-mission data processing.

There is a technical gap in GPS positional data where the payload receives data inside the aircraft from a GPS rebroadcast system, but loses the GPS signal as it leaves the aircraft. Once outside the aircraft the payload reacquires GPS through satellites. This transition is violent as payload velocity is dramatically reduced and encounters changes in altitude. The 6DVTS will bridge this technical gap and ensure complete understanding of the dynamics of payloads. This capability does not exist anywhere else in the world; CIS expertise with parachute air delivery instrumentation is critical to the technology’s success.

c) The latest development for the IVTS is an effort to miniaturize the legacy IVTS for use on small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). CIS is using the extensive knowledge acquired through the development of IVTS to develop a miniaturized version.

b. Alternatives:

1) Suspension of Contract Support. The GPINS services are ongoing and critical to mission accomplishment. Suspension of the services would cause major, if not critical delay in the development of state-of-the-art GPS instrumentation for range instrumentation or operational navigation systems and disrupt all scheduled tests.

Therefore, this alternative is not viable.

2) Use of In-House Resources. USAYPG lacks sufficient manpower, technical expertise, and resources to perform the required services. Acquiring adequately trained personnel within the Government is not contemplated by the U.S. Army in the foreseeable future. Attempting to initiate actions to increase Government workforce to accomplish this mission would take years and result in mission failure during the time required to adequately recruit and staff a trained workforce. This alternative is not viable.

3) Conduct a Competitive Acquisition. As stated in paragraph 5.a. above, the GPINS services requirement which includes the development, maintenance, and expansion for IVTS and WindPack relies on ground stations that provide differential GPS corrections and all of which is specific to CIS through the contracts for GPINS services. Another contractor would have to establish practices, developmental

Program/Equipment: GPINS

Version – September 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY techniques, and reengineer the technology, to meet the requirements of the GPINS services needed, and consequently increasing the cost substantially. Additionally, waiting for another company to develop the technology to meet the compatibility requirement would result in a significant delay to the Army’s testing program. Although this requirement has attempted competition in the past, as discussed in Paragraph 10 below, it has failed to garner meaningful responses or interest, especially in consideration that an incoming contractor other than CIS must consider the replacement of the entire system in use at USAYPG for compatibility reasons. Moreover, the recent sources sought, as discussed in paragraph 6 below, has underlined the lack of competition available. As a result, this alternative is not viable.

4) Establish a Noncompetitive Contract. The only feasible alternative is to establish a noncompetitive contract with CIS to provide for the on-going requirement for GPINS services. This alternative is principally beneficial to the Government as it provides continuity of operations and support without jeopardizing the ongoing development, testing, and mission schedules while ensuring there will be no degradation of services in this highly technical requirement. Further, while some of the older historical procurements have used a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) arrangement, it was not flexible or responsive in the varied and unpredictable mission testing requirements.

For that reason, the contract changed to a CPFF contract arrangement to ensure the flexibility for the adaptation, integration, management of the different test operations and this arrangement will continue with this action.

c. Justification: CIS has the institutional knowledge, management, and capability to meet this challenge due to the long investments in the GPINS service requirement. CIS has proprietary rights to IVTS and WindPack systems, including ground stations that are not available or interchangeable with other vendors. As discussed above, attempting to compete this requirement would result in unreasonable delays for other vendors to develop compatibility with the highly specialized technology and the previous two competitions have not generated interest from industry.

d. Impact if Not Approved: Disapproval of a noncompetitive contract would create barriers to efficient processes and the risk of impacting the outcomes and data collected from various test missions in support of other test programs. Further, if a competitive solicitation resulted in a contractor other than CIS, the delays caused by the development of comparable products would cause mission failure for USAYPG due to the lack of services for GPINS instrumentation.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: The procurement history in paragraph 10, below, describes the attempt and failure at competition for this requirement. Additionally, as discussed in paragraph 5, above, GPINS technology functionality is dependent on the linking of IVTS and WindPack systems to the ground stations which is proprietary to CIS. If the GPINS services requirement were to shift to entirely new technology, that requirement could be procured though a competitive solicitation. Although after the

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