70--THE GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT

The contract pertains to the Weapons Development and Integration Directorate's need to procure one year of support and maintenance for four previously acquired perpetual licenses of Wind River Workspace 3.X and VxWorks 6.X software. These software products are critical for developing embedded software used in the Curtis Wright DMV-184 embedded computer, which operates the Sentinel Radar system. In addition to the initial year of support and maintenance, the contract includes three optional one-year extensions for continued support. Due to Wind River being the sole provider of these specific software products—whose source code is unavailable and are trademark protected—the procurement is being conducted as a sole source contract under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. This authority allows the Department of Defense to bypass full and open competition because no other suppliers meet the technical or capability requirements. The solicitation, identified under number W9124P14R9551, was issued by the USA Engineering Support Center in Huntsville, Alabama, specifically at Redstone Arsenal. The contract is classified under NAICS code 334419, which relates to other communications equipment manufacturing. Interested parties who believe they can fulfill the contract requirements were invited to submit their qualifications by contacting the designated point of contact via email no later than April 14, 2014. However, due to the proprietary nature of the software and the lack of alternative suppliers, this contract is intended to be awarded to Wind River, reflecting the necessity for continuity and compatibility within the military's embedded system development capabilities.