10--CROWS Spare Parts Bridge - Increase in Maximum Dollar Ceiling

The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions & Lethality Contracting Center, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806-5000, on behalf of PM Soldier Weapons, intends to solicit, negotiate and award a sole source modification to contract W15QKN-07-D-0018 with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(B) to increase the maximum dollar ceiling for spare parts by $77M. This modification is planned to be initiated in fourth quarter Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. Throughout the entire contract performance, KDA has been the prime contractor and responsible for designing, developing, integrating, testing, and providing spares support for KDAs CROWS. Since contract award, KDA has delivered spares to support military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Further, KDA is the sole contractor possessing the ability to continue delivering spares to meet the demand of the CROWS without introducing significant cost, schedule, technical, and safety risk to the program. KDAs CROWS are a proprietary design; no other contractor could provide spare parts without obtaining KDAs proprietary data. Acquiring spares from a source other than KDA will not allow the capability to meet the system performance requirements and component spare part demand by the end of 2QFY11. Only a sole source acquisition to KDA will meet the initial spare parts delivery schedules required by 2QFY11. Any other type of acquisition will result in unacceptable delays and deliveries well beyond 2QFY11. Please note this notice does not constitute as a Request For Proposal (RFP). A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract action based upon the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The anticipated award date for this action is the 24th of September 2010.