J -- WASP DC-10 Aircraft Repair

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) intends to award a sole source contract to Raytheon Technical Services Company (RTSC), LLC located in Van Nuys, CA for the repair of MDA's extensively modified DC-10 aircraft used for airborne data collection and hosting guest sensors, known as the Widebody Airborne Sensor Platform (WASP). RTSC's tasks shall include WASP airworthiness modifications (Firm Fixed Price (FFP)), aircraft maintenance activities (FFP), and flight testing and system adjustments to ensure full operating capability (Cost Plus Fixed Fee). The anticipated award date for this contract is 29 February 2008, to meet the Government need date of 2nd Quarter Fiscal Year 2009. The estimated contract value is $30M. The estimated period of performance is 9 months for airworthiness modifications and routine heavy maintenance, and 18 months for flight testing and airworthiness certification, for a total of 27 months. The contractor shall determine the contract place of performance. The service is being considered for sole source based upon FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), which states that "Supplies may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of a follow-on when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost not expected to be recovered through competition or unacceptable delays in fulfilling agency requirements." RTSC is the original modifier of the WASP, and has extensive knowledge and information on the aircraft modifications. The Government had previously issued a sole source contract to RTSC for a WASP return to service analysis (posted on FedBizOpps on December 22, 2006 http://www.fbo.gov/servlet/Solicitation/R/ODA/MDA/WASHDC1/Reference-Number-HQ0006-07-C-WASP). Based on the prior work already completed by RTSC, the use of any other contractor for the repair would require substantial duplication of cost and effort to gather comparable knowledge of the plane and its airworthiness issues that is not likely to be offset by competition. As well, the Government published a Sources Sought Notice on FedBizOpps on October 31, 2007 for the repair and flight testing of the WASP (http://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/MDA/WASHDC1/Reference%2DNumber%2DHQ0006%2D07%2DWASP%2DREPAIR/listing.html). No other businesses responded to the notice. Numbered Note 22 Applies.