Quasonix 20-Watt Tri-Band telemetry Transmitter

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION (FAR 8.4- GSA/FSS) 1. Contracting Activity. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWC-AD) Patuxent River, MD 2. Nature and/or Description of Action Being Approved. This Limited Source Justification (LSJ) authorizes and approves the award of a contract for the Tri-Band 20 Watt Telemetry Transmitters described in paragraph 3 below. Based on this required products availability on the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule, this requirement will be limited to holders of a GSA Schedule contract as it will be solicited on e-buy. This procurement will be competed as an "All-or-none" requirement. The contract supports the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Air 5.2 Air Vehicle Modification and Instrumentation (AVMI) Department's requirement to augment the existing inventory of Quasonix Telemetry Transmitters. The AVMI Department provides technical and engineering support to the VX-23 Squadron at Patuxent River MD. 3. Description of the Supplies or Services Required to Meet the Agency's Needs (including the estimated value). The requirement is for a quantity of fourteen (14) Quasonix Tri-Band 20 Watt Telemetry Transmitters P/N QSX-VMMD-1110-20-15-14AC-DP-VP-CF-HR-LR-LD-PF-PM-AC-AI-SQ-PS16. The Quasonix QSX transmitter configuration is identified by the P/N and is detailed below. The transmitters will be used on several different VX-23 F18 Test & Evaluation Aircraft and therefore must be configurable to those specific project usages. The procured transmitters will also be used as spares and added to existing inventory already being utilized in other Test and Evaluation (T&E) aircraft, and must be identical in form/fit/function to these existing units. QSX-VMMD-1110-20-15-14AC-DP-VP-CF-HR-LR-LD-PF-PM-AC-AI-SQ-PS16 Configuration Description QSX Part # Configuration Description V Variable Rate M Tri-Band 1435.5 - 1534.5 MHz, 1750.0-1855.0 MHz, 2200.5-2394.5 MHz, with 0.5 MHz tuning steps M Dual-mode clock and data interface: software selectable between TTL (terminated 10K ohms to ground), and RS-422 (terminated 120 ohms differential) D Dual-mode serial control interface, software selectable between RS-232 or RS-422, 57,600 baud rate 1 ARTM Tier 0 Modulation (PCM/FM), 0.05-14 Mbps 1 ARTM Tier I Modulation ((SOQPSK-TG), 1-28 Mbps 1 ARTM Tier II Modulcation (Multi-h PCM), 1-28 Mbps 0 No Legacy Modulations (BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK) 20 20 Watts RF Output (+43 dBm minimum) 15 Pin Out Configuration 14AC Package Dimension 2.5" X 3.5" X 1.612" with a primary connector (Male MDM-21), secondary connector (Male MDM-15), tophat connector(Male MDM-37) powerconnector (amphenol PT02H-8-40) with pinouts IAW Tables 2-5, and a RF output connector (SMA Female) DP Dual Power Option, only active in parallel mode VP Variable Power Option (32 settings, up to 24 dB of attenuation) only active in serial mode CF Clock-Free Baseband Interface Option HR High Bit Rate Option (23 Mbps PCM/FM, 46 Mbps SOQPSK, 46 Mbps Multi-h CPM) LR Low Bit Rate Option (25 Kbps PCM/FM, 50 KbpsSOQPSK and ARTM CPM) LD LDPC Forward Error Correction Encoding PF Parallel Frequency Select Option PM Parallel Mode Select Option AC Automatic Carrier Output Option AI Auxiliary Input (auxiliary input which allows in the input to be Filtered PCM (FPCM)) SQ Admiral Pin RF master off PS16 16 Hardware Controlled Pre-Sets 4. Identification of the Justification Rationale (see FAR 8.405-6(b)) and, if applicable, a Demonstration of the Proposed Contractor?s Unique Qualifications to Provide the Required Supply or Service: (1) Only one source is capable of responding due to the unique or specialized nature of the work. Supporting Information: VX-23 F18 Program and the Aircraft Instrumentation Division already possesses an inventory of Quasonix Transmitters and procuring these transmitters will ensure that no disruption to the existing program data flow is incurred by the introduction of systems and parts incompatible with fielded aircraft and ground systems. Technical data specific to the transmitters is proprietary to the vendor. Any other brand, make, or model would require significant research and development to provide telemetry transmitters that are identical in form, fit and function to the Quasonix transmitters that are being requested. Choosing any other vendor would not be feasible due to the fact that existing flight test programs already under way would suffer irreparable harm in terms of schedule slippage and other costs that are beyond the scope of the work planned. Compatibility issues and procurement delays which would arise by the choice of any other vendor would also contribute to costly program delays and integration issues with existing payloads that would entail major system redesign. 5. Determination by the Ordering Activity Contracting Officer that the Order Represents the Best Value Consistent with FAR 8.404(d): The Contracting Officer will determine that this purchase order represents the best value and results in the lowest overall cost alternative to meet the Navy's needs. NAVAIR will seek additional discounts from the schedule holder if the price of the order exceeds the maximum order threshold, in accordance with FAR 8.405-1(d). Additionally, per FAR 8.404(d), GSA has already determined the prices of supplies under schedule contracts to be fair and reasonable. Therefore, ordering activities are not required to make a separate determination of fair and reasonable pricing, except for a price evaluation as required by FAR 8.405-2(d). 6. A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. A synopsis was issued on June 9, 2014 to make known NAVAIR's intent to purchase the Quasonix Telemetry Transmitters on a sole source basis. The synopsis requested any other interested parties may identify their interest and capability. One other contractor expressed interest and submitted a proposal, proposing this Quasonix part number but the quote was not based on a GSA schedule contract. After reviewing the requirement, it was detemrined that the Quasonix transmitters are available on GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract(s). As a result, the Contract Specialist amended the synopsis on June 26, 2014 to request only GSA schedule holders to respond if interested. No other parties showed interest. In accordance with FAR 10.002, market research by technical representatives was conducted to accomplish research and analysis of the Government's requirements, to determine availability and functionality required to meet the Government's needs, and to obtain competitive market pricing available on General Service Administration (GSA). 7. Any Other Facts Supporting The Justification. NAVAIR 5.2 AVMI maintains in-depth knowledge of telemetry transmitters used for test and evaluation for the F18 aircraft. This includes insight into technologies that the individual companies are focused on and their technical and production capabilities. AVMI representatives maintains this knowledge through routine review of industry journals, attendance at industry symposiums and conferences. They also periodically visit industry facilities for briefings on companies' Internal Research and Development (IRD) efforts. Due to the highly proprietary nature of the Quasonix Tri-Band 20 Watt Telemetry Transmitters and since this can be purchased from a GSA schedule contract, procurement of the system from any other source is not feasible. 8. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers that Preclude the Agency from Meeting the Requirements of FAR 8.405-1 and FAR 8.405-2 before any Subsequent Acquisition for the Supplies or Services is Made: As stated above, NAVAIRs AVMI Division maintains in-depth knowledge of telemetry transmitter technology developments and the transmitter industrial base. This is accomplished by routine review of industry journals, attendance at industry symposiums and conferences, as well as visiting industry facilities for briefings on companies Internal Research and Development (IRD) efforts. Changing to another vendor's telemetry transmitter is neither feasible nor practical, as the increase in program costs, delays in project schedules and the disruption of documented processes would make this action prohibitive. Technological advancements will make these transmitters,at some time in the future, no longer capable of meeting minimum requirements and so the market will continually be surveyed for future transmitter options. If a decision should be made to replace the entire the Quasonix Telemetry Transmitter inventory with another system, a competitive procurement will be considered at that time.