Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension (CAStLE), T-38 USAF Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) Planning and Analysis

The 10th Contracting Squadron, United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) Colorado, intends to award a contract to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to maintain essential engineering and research capabilities pertaining to ASIP planning and analysis for the T-38 fuselage, wing, empennage, and landing gear, evaluating the usage spectrum, and assessing/determining alternative approaches for stress sequence development. In addition, SwRI will perform risk analysis of static, fatigue, or durability critical aircraft structures, structural health monitoring, non-destructive inspection, general training and any other related activities necessary to support the United States Air Force and the USAFA Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension (CAStLE). The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is: 10 USC 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-3(a)(2)(ii). FAR 6.302-3 is entitled, "Industrial Mobilization; Engineering, Developmental, or Research Capability; or Expert Services". In March 1961, the T-38 "Talon" was first delivered to the USAF with the expectation that the weapon system would have a nominal 20-year structural service life. Over the past five decades, both materiel (vis--vis modification programs) and engineering solutions have been employed to ensure structural airworthiness beyond the original 20-year expected service life. Some of the T-38 fighter jet aircraft trainers are nearing an unprecedented 50 years of service. The safety and success of the Warfighter are dependent upon the success of the T-38 System Program Office (SPO)/Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) in sustaining the T-38 fleet to 2020 (and beyond). The Air Force must maintain continuous, focused, and integrated engineering capabilities, to ensure availability of personnel possessing characteristics and skills necessary to meet the fleet safety and structural sustainment needs of the aircraft community. Recent Class-A mishaps at Columbus (2008) and Edwards (2009) Air Force Base(s) (AFBs) resulting in the loss of life, demonstrate an ongoing, unforgiving environment that mandates an immediate response to the situation to ensure continuity in proactive sustainment activities. These incidences have reinforced the need for a community of well versed, technically competent, rapidly responding personnel. This community must be capable of providing timely, integrated, engineering answers to difficult technical challenges. In order to address this need, risks surrounding three key elements must be categorically mitigated: 1) safety, 2) mission impact, and 3) amount of Government oversight and contractor training prior to performing technical requirements. The operational environment will not accommodate an expenditure of additional resources (both in terms of personnel and cost) to support the time frame necessary for the development of an alternative engineering source for this effort. To address this environment and the resulting needs, it is essential for the Air Force to maintain SwRI's capabilities; thereby providing immediate, viable, engineering, research, and fleet management expertise to the Program and Warfighter. SwRI has been a major team leader in maintaining the viability of the T-38 weapon system to retirement. SwRI is a non-profit institution. It is positioned to provide unbiased technical assessments to the technical community, by pulling from the Company's wealth of T-38 experience and academic integrity as a research institution. SwRI has been a primary provider of technical expertise for mechanical testing, flight loads data recording, spectra analyses, durability and damage tolerance analyses, and engineering studies in direct support of the T-38 weapon system for over three decades. Much of this core ASIP data is unique to SwRI. Any other engineering services provider would find it extremely difficult (if not impossible) to be able to manipulate, interpret, and then transform this data into actionable technical information for use by the T-38 SPO/ASIP in a timely manner. For example, SwRI's T-38 Cracks Database, economic life analyses, and data reduction software - custom engineering algorithms and tools developed for the T-38 SPO/ASIP - takes an estimated six months to understand and a year to become proficient in their use. Due to the severity of the environment, this type of delay in execution of requirements would present an unacceptable level of risk to the Warfighter. SwRI has the immediate ability to execute requirements using company unique engineering analyses and tools. SwRI's technical prowess and detailed, comprehensive understanding of the T-38 structure/allied systems is unmatched by any similar aerospace engineering firm. The Institute's capacity as the lead ASIP contractor support organization for the T-38 has consistently provided highly skilled technical performance, responsiveness, and overwhelmingly positive value to the Warfighter. Historically, SwRI has provided for these essential technical capabilities by maintaining highly skilled company engineers that have ensured continuous, focused, and time critical engineering to the T-38 SPO/ASIP as detailed/demonstrated below: - USAF Fleet Viability Support (2009) - As an outcome of recent aircraft mishaps, and with continued general level concern about the ability of the T-38 weapon system to reach retirement in 2020, the T-38 ASIP/SPO is working with the USAF's Fleet Viability Board (FVB) to provide meaningful strategic direction to the Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF). SwRI, as the core provider of technical analyses and studies for the T-38 ASIP/SPO, is the recognized source of technical expertise for the T-38 structure (as most of the reports provided to the FVB's team are SwRI authored documents). In addition, SwRI stands behind their analyses and recommendations, providing a team of technical experts to address the FVB's questions regarding the structural history of the T-38 airframe. SwRI (teamed with the T-38 ASIP/SPO) continues to provide the key documentation and credible responses to the SECAF, the ultimate customer for the FVB's report. Maintaining this level of responsibility and continuity is critical to the success of the FVB in obtaining the buy-in of the SECAF. - Air Force Material Command's (AFMC's) Annual ASIP Review (2004-2009) - In support of the USAF's ASIP, AF leadership provides a technical team of senior structural, material, and aerospace engineers to review and provide recommendations for the various ASIPs. Over the past five review cycles (2007 was skipped), SwRI provided direct technical support to the T-38 ASIP/SPO in addressing engineering leadership's concerns and/or constructive critiques. Much of the review's dialogue centered around analytical and program management studies that SwRI was directly involved in developing; as the key provider of ASIP-related studies for the T-38, SwRI was adept at responding to (and patient with educating) the ASIP Review Team's members. As an outcome of this valued support, the ASIP Review Team has recognized the T-38 SPO/ASIP for a "best practice" in terms of ASIP planning. - T-38 Aileron Actuator Lever Fatigue Analysis (2008) - This engineering study was in direct support of a Class-A mishap that occurred at Columbus AFB. The Columbus mishap resulted in the tragic loss of two USAF pilots and the impact was further compounded by a second fatal mishap only weeks later. As a result of the initial mishap, USAF leadership grounded the entire T-38 fleet. Subsequent mishap investigations uncovered the cause of the Columbus AFB accident to be directly related to metal fatigue of an aileron actuator lever. SwRI was contracted to provide test, analysis, and technical/programmatic support recommendations to the USAF, as the T-38 SPO/ASIP was not positioned to immediately respond to the technical challenge of evaluating the fleet-wide risk. SwRI met all aggressive, short-suspense deadlines for reporting up to the Commander, AFMC (AFMC/CC) and Commander, Air Education and Training Command (AETC/CC) level of senior leadership. SwRI provided detailed, technically sound, and credible support to the associated Independent Review Team (IRT), established by the Commander, Ogden Air Logistics Center (OO-ALC/CC) level of leadership, in direct support of the needs of the USAF at large. The final outcome of this effort was stellar technical reporting and lever inspection/replacement recommendations that were on time, within budget, and critical to AETC and the T-38 SPO towards providing guidance on a fleet-wide grounding decision. - T-38 Analytical Condition Inspection (ACI) and Risk Plan (2007-2009) - As the USAF leadership's attention continues to be drawn to the T-38 weapon system, the T-38 SPO/ASIP are routinely required to provide timely, credible, and technically sound risk evaluations for safety and strategic management activities. SwRI is the recognized leader in developing sound risk assessments for use in managing the T-38 fleet. As the architect and sole provider of the only comprehensive ASIP risk plan for the T-38 weapon system, SwRI has provided strategic guidance towards the T-38 ASIP's ability to manage safety of flight risk while mitigating the associated adverse affects to mission impact. Cultivating this unique skill-set over the past three decades, SwRI has demonstrated its ability to readily address short, moderate, and long-term risk assessments with little-to-no guidance from the T-38 SPO/ASIP. The operational environment could not accommodate an expenditure of additional resources (both in terms of personnel and cost) to support an estimated two-year time frame for the development of an alternative engineering source for the described risk evaluations. The most recent risk assessment in SwRI's 2009 reporting is directly related to the life-limiting fuselage structural component (i.e., the dorsal longeron); this timely assessment is currently being used by the T-38 SPO/ASIP for development of the Pacer Classic III modification program - a $200M structural refitting program. In addition to fleet planning activities, such as Pacer Classic III, SwRI is positioned to quickly respond (within weeks) to any structural risk evaluation using the approved USAF Probability of Fracture (PROF) methodologies. This unique capability to support T-38 activities, in terms of both short- and long-term risk assessments, is essential to the management of the T-38 fleet to 2020 (and beyond). - T-38 Airframe Life Study (2002-2007) - This program has been the marquee engineering activity for the T-38 ASIP over the last ten years and it is vital to AETC and the T-38 SPO. SwRI has provided turn-key technical and programmatic support. Under one effort, the Company successfully reconfigured a T-38A aircraft (retired in 1995) by structurally refitting the hull into a near-T-38C configuration. Testing was conducted at SwRI's facilities, with simulated flight loading close-loop controlled by the use of a custom LabVIEW program and over 200 strain gage channels. SwRI provided turn-key engineering with the following technical activities: setting-up the test article, developing the loading sequence, establishing a data collection program, ensuring an appropriate inspection protocol, carefully employing a teardown evaluation, and articulating the final economic life reporting and recommendations. During mid-course of the program, cracking was discovered by SwRI, while looking in locations outside of the test requirements. These findings ultimately leading to a safety inspection Time Compliance Technical Order (TCTO). Later in the program, SwRI partnered with the T-38 SPO/ASIP/AETC and original equipment manufacturer (OEM - i.e., Northrop Grumman), developing a comprehensive assessment of the T-38 fleet's structural health. The test program culminated in a briefing to AETC on 30 May 2007, where the nucleus of the Pacer Classic III program (a structural refitting program for 125 aircraft) was formed. The final outcome of this effort was highly credible technical reporting and fleet management recommendations that were on time, within budget, and timely to AETC and the T-38 SPO towards determining the next-generation jet pilot trainer decision. - T-38 Wing Economic Life Evaluations (1993-2009) - In the early- and mid-1990s, the T-38 fleet experienced a number of relatively early wing condemnations, due in large part to fatigue cracking. Working with the Air Force, SwRI performed a full-scale wing test and subsequent teardown inspections of the test article (complemented by additional teardown work of field condemned wings), fully establishing a working baseline for estimating the number of wings required to fleet retirement. In essence, SwRI's unique algorithm for the T-38 usage evaluation and expertise in the wing life process evaluation enabled SwRI to provide the required level of detail to ensure fleet safety - while at the same time maintaining mission capability by recommending the appropriate level of wings for supply. The outcome of this comprehensive study was the establishment of an economic life for the T-38's wing, providing guidance to the USAF in the acquisition of replacement wings for the fleet. In total, over $200M in wings for the T-38 weapon system will be replaced based on SwRI's predictive model. This technical assessment was also instrumental in providing preliminary information used in the redesign of the next-generation of T-38 wings. The expertise of SwRI described herein will continue to enable the Air Force to immediately address the challenges facing the T-38 SPO/ASIP at present and those projected to occur as the Program sustains the T-38 in the decades to come. In these capacities, the Institute will play a key role in ensuring synergistic benefits and value to the USAF and to the parties that support and rely on the T-38 weapon system. On 10 July 2009, the Contracting Officer posted a sole source synopsis under solicitation number FA7000-09-R-0050. The synopsis contained a description of the requirement discussed above and rationale for the sole source acquisition. The posting closed on 25 July 2009. No responses have been received to date. The J&A was approved on 31 July 2009. 5352.201-9101 OMBUDSMAN (AUG 2005) (a) An ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition. When requested, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The existence of the ombudsman does not affect the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. Further, the ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes. The ombudsman may refer the party to another official who can resolve the concern. (b) Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines for any other processes (e.g., agency level bid protests, GAO bid protests, requests for debriefings, employee-employer actions, contests of OMB Circular A-76 competition performance decisions). (c) If resolution cannot be made by the contracting officer, concerned parties may contact the USAF Academy Ombudsmen, Kelly Snyder 8110 Industrial Drive, Ste 103 USAFA, CO 80840 Telephone Number: 719-333-2074 Fax Number: 719-333-9018 email: kelly.snyder@usafa.af.mil Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the MAJCOM/DRU level, may be brought by the concerned party for further consideration to the Air Force ombudsman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), SAF/AQC, 1060 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC 20330-1060, phone number (703) 588-7004, facsimile number (703) 588-1067. (d) The ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds the agency. (e) Do not contact the ombudsman to request copies of the solicitation, verify offer due date, or clarify technical requirements. Such inquiries shall be directed to the Contracting Officer. (End of clause)