SOF Tactical Communications Next Generation Handheld

Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (J&A)

Authority:  (10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(c))

Project/Program Name: Special Operation Forces (SOF) Tactical Communications (STC)        

Component/PEO/Other: Program Executive Office, Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (PEO-C4)

Estimated Contract Cost (including options): XXXXX in Year 7 & 8 ($0.00 maximum IDIQ contract ceiling value)

Type J&A:  (Individual)

J&A No.

21-2014

1. Agency and Contracting Activity:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(1))

United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Directorate of Procurement, Headquarters Procurement Division, 7701 Tampa Point Blvd, MacDill Air Force Base, FL  33621-5323.
 

      2. Description of Action:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(2))  Bridge Action (No)

Approval of this justification will authorize the incorporation (via contract modification) of two additional ordering periods (OP) to current Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, H92222-15-D-0031, for STC Next Generation Handheld (NGHH) Radios with L3 Harris Technologies Inc., 1680 University Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610

This contract is currently set to expire on 23 September 2021, and due to significant production delays, USSOCOM was not able to begin replacing legacy HH radios until XXXXX as originally planned. Given the delays and the current budget, it would not be feasible to conduct a full Capital Equipment Replacement Program (CERP) by the current contract expiration date.  Therefore, it is necessary to increase the original 6-year OP by 2 years for a new total of 8 OPs in order to execute the CERP of the legacy HH radios.

The current contract was competitively awarded with a total IDIQ contract maximum ceiling value of $390M. This modification will not require an increase to the IDIQ contract maximum ceiling value, however the Government estimates approximately XXXXX will be obligated during OPs 7 and 8. This contract shall remain primarily Firm Fixed Price (FFP) with funding obligated at the delivery/task order levels using XXXXX Operations and Maintenance (O&M) and/or Procurement funding as appropriate. 

     3. Description of Supplies/Services:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(3))

This IDIQ contract is for the production and delivery of the NGHH Radios and associated ancillaries. This includes, the support requirements needed to conduct a CERP to replace the legacy HH radios such as, Program Management and Configuration Management and Control, Systems Engineering to include possible software design/development, testing and production, Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) Requirements, Operational and Depot Level Maintenance, Technical Data and Reporting, Training, and Field Service Representative (FSR) Services as outlined in the Statement of Work (SOW).

     4. Authority Cited:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(4))

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

     5. Reason for Authority Cited:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(5))

FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii) states; 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 source 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.

L3Harris was competitively selected to produce the SOF NGHH Radio, PRC-163, in September 2015.  They are the sole manufacture of this radio and all associated ancillaries. As such, the system hardware, software, and associated technical data necessary for production and to provide the related training and sustainment services are proprietary to L3Harris. 

Acquiring a new HH radio at this time would cause substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition and would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements.

To date, USSOCOM has purchased XXXXX NGHH Radios under this IDIQ, valued at approximately XXXXX. That investment does not include the Program Management Office (PMO) costs incurred since the initial competition beginning in 2014, which would be duplicative costs not expected to be recovered through competition. The L3Harris NGHH radio has been qualified for unique SOF missions. The qualification process entails extensive XXXXX.

Further, the Government has invested significant additional resources due to the production delays. The reasonable to assume that they are significant given all the additional test events/exercise involvement, travel costs, multiple funding reprogramming events, and increased PMO oversight, involvement, reviews, etc. required as a result for over an additional 22+ months.

To conduct a new full and open competition and then qualify a new HH radio is at least a 36-month effort to complete. To do so at this time, would cause substantial duplication of program costs, increased schedule risk, and above all, result in unacceptable delays in meeting SOF mission requirements. Moreover, the cost of recreating these efforts with another contractor would greatly outweigh any potential cost savings or capability enhancements that could potentially result from competition. XXXXX

     6. Efforts/Actions to Increase Competition:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) & (11))

A pre-solicitation notice was publicized as required by FAR 5.2. The notice was posted to beta.SAM.gov website along with a draft copy of this J&A on 8 March 2021 informing Industry that USSOCOM intends to issue a modification to add 2 additional 1-year OPs.

As stated previously, this contract was competitively awarded in 2015 to L3Harris, and the XXXXX. Therefore, a complete replacement of all legacy radios will not be completed until the XXXXX. Given the 5-year warranty associated with these HH radios, there are currently no plans to purchase a new HH radio capability until FY27 or later barring any substantial new capabilities becoming available within Industry that would justify the associated costs with replacing over XXXXX radios.

That said, there are on-going efforts which may result in future competitive acquisitions potentially beginning some time in FY22 to acquire one or more smaller form factor radios in much lower quantities, that can be tailored to specific missions. These radios are not intended to replace the PRC-163, but rather be, in addition to and fielded only to specific SOF units.

     7. Market Research:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(8)).

A Request for Information (RFI) notice was posted to the beta.SAM.gov website from 19 February 2021 through 1 March 2021 DFARS PGI 206.302-1 (d). When the notice closed, there was only one interested source that responded requesting additional details regarding the specifications.

Responses received as well as additional on-going market research revealed that there is currently no other HH radio available in the marketplace that has all the capabilities of the L3Harris PRC-163 within one device, is both NSA and JITC certified, and meets all SOF required threshold capabilities as defined in the contract.  However, PEO-C4 continually tests and evaluates new hardware and software enhancements and product improvements to improve responsiveness to user requirements.

As mentioned previously in Section 6, these efforts currently include potentially increasing the Tactical Communications Program’s portfolio by including more than a single material solution in an effort to achieve more flexibility for a subset of users and tailored to specific missions.

Moreover, PEO-C4 also continually utilizes a variety of other market research techniques to include technical team attendance at trade shows such as the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC), briefings submitted to the Technical Industrial Liaison Office (TILO), site visits, and discussions with various Industry partners, as well as other Government agencies. The TILO database was also reviewed as part of market research, however, the results did not impact the need for this justification for the reasons outlined in Sections 5 and 6.

     8. Other Authorities/Factors:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(9))

XXXXX

     9. Interested Sources:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(10))

XXXXX

NOTICE 1

Prior to approval, J&A will be screened to identify proprietary data and information exempted from disclosure by 5 U.S.C. 552, Freedom of Information Act, so that the final J&A may be prepared for required posting to BETA.sam IAW Section 844 of NDAA 2009 as implemented via DPAP Memo, Public Disclosure of Justification and Approval Documents for Noncompetitive Contracts, dated 13 February 2009.  J&As shall be posted to BETA.SAM within 14 days unless 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(2), Unusual and Compelling Urgency is cited.  In that particular case the J&A will be posted within 30 days.  XXXXX.

     10. Technical and Requirements Certification:  (FAR 6.303-2(c))

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief:

NAME: XXXXX                                    TITLE:  Acquisition Program Manager

SIGNATURE:  _______________________________    DATE:  ____________

     11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(7))

I I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action are fair and reasonable.  The fair and reasonable determination was based on  detailed price analysis outlined in the Pricing Memorandum assoicated with modificaiton P00015 to the subject IDIQ contract.

CONTRACTING OFFICER SIGNATURE IN SECTION 12 BELOW ALSO SERVES AS THE PRICE FAIR AND REASONABLENESS DETERMINATION IN THIS SECTION.

     12. Contracting Officer Certification:  (FAR 6.303-2(b)(12))

I hereby certify that this J&A is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME:  XXXXX                              TITLE:  Contracting Officer 

SIGNATURE:  _______________________________    DATE:  ___________

     13. Legal:  SOFARS 5601-1

I have reviewed this document and find J&A No. 21-2014 legally sufficient to support other than full and open competition:

NAME:  XXXXX                      TITLE:  Attorney-Advisor.

SIGNATURE:  _______________________________    DATE:  ___________

     14. Agency Advocate for Competition (AAC):  (If over Procuring Activity Advocate for Competition Authority (PAAC), [see SOFARS 5601-1 for your component’s approval authorities], up to $13.5M.  Note AAC must also sign above $13.5M.  SOFARS 5601-1

I have reviewed this document and find J&A No. 21-2014 adequate to support other than full and open competition:

NAME:  XXXXX                       TITLE:  Agency Advocate for Competition

SIGNATURE:  _______________________________    DATE: __________

     15. Approval:    (HCA)

Based upon the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the incorporation (via contract modification) of two additional ordering periods (OP) to current Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, H92222-15-D-0031.  The action(s) pursuant to this J&A are subject to the availability of funds and the completion of all required statutory and regulatory reviews and approvals.

NAME:  XXXXX                        TITLE: Director of Procurement

SIGNATURE:  _______________________________    DATE:  _____________

NOTICE 2

POST APPROVAL REQUIREMENT:  IAW Section 844 of NDAA 2009 as implemented via DPAP Memo, Public Disclosure of Justification and Approval Documents for Noncompetitive Contracts, dated 13 February 2009, this J&A will be posted to BETA.sam within 14 days unless 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(2), Unusual and Compelling Urgency is cited.  In that particular case the J&A will be posted within 30 days.  Prior to posting, previously identified proprietary data and information exempted from disclosure by 5 U.S.C. 552, Freedom of Information Act, XXXXX will be removed in order to create a document that is no longer classified as “controlled classified information” and is thus, appropriate for public release.  Follow the guidance found in the DCG for the redaction procees prior to public release.