Submarine Strategic Outsourcing

The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) intends to award a contract to Austal USA (Austal) Mobile, Alabama on an other than full and open competitive basis to support foreign military sales (FMS) and United States (US) requirements. The contract will be to:

develop and utilize shipyard sources to moderate existing US shipbuilder workload; and procure embedment efforts that will entail embedding personnel in positions that will enable them to build skills necessary to support construction and maintenance/modernization of a conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine. The anticipated period of performance for this effort is five years from date of contract award.

In accordance with 10 U.S.C 3204(a)(4) as implemented by FAR 6.302-4(a)(2), full and open competition need not be provided for when precluded by the terms of an international agreement or a treaty between the US and a foreign government or international organization, or the written direction of a foreign government reimbursing the agency for the cost of the acquisition of the supplies or services for such government.

This authority may be used in circumstances such as when a contemplated acquisition is to be reimbursed by a foreign country that requires that the product be obtained from a particular firm as specified in official written direction such as a Letter of Offer and Acceptance, as documented here in the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) in support of an FMS customer.

The contemplated contract will also include US and additional FMS customer requirements to be awarded pursuant to 10 U.S.C 3204(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Austal is uniquely positioned as the only shipbuilder with an existing “Focus Factory” for construction of nuclear-powered submarines.

The “Focus Factory” approach, combined with Austal’s previous shipbuilding experience, has accelerated Austal’s viability as a strategic source, providing the ability to execute non-nuclear submarine module construction in support of nuclear-powered submarine construction.

It is estimated that the time to duplicate the Austal “Focus Factory” would be approximately five years, at a minimum, and require oversight at an additional shipyard, complicating the construction of modules and straining existing resources in an already resource-constrained environment. A delay of this length would unacceptably impact both FMS customer and US national program schedules.

In order to fulfill the contractual demands of current and future US national programs, while also meeting the requested FMS customer requirements, Austal is the only existing responsible source for this effort and the time to develop another source for these efforts would result in unacceptable delays. Parties interested in subcontracting opportunities should contact Austal directly. This notice is for informational purposes only. Solicitation documents are not available.

This pre-solicitation synopsis shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to solicit offers or award contracts. The Government is not soliciting proposals as a result of this synopsis, and this synopsis is not a promise to issue a request for proposals, or a promise by the Government to pay for information received in response to this synopsis or any subsequent synopsis. The information contained herein is subject to modification and in no way binds the Government to award a contract.

The Government will not pay for any effort expended or any material provided in response to this announcement, nor will the Government return any data provided. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency if received by the original response date of this notice. Any response to this notice must show clear, compelling, and convincing evidence that a competition will be advantageous to the Government.

Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. No telephone inquiries will be accepted. The Government does not commit to providing a response to any comment or questions. No basis for a claim against the Government shall arise as a result of this announcement.