Notice of Intent to Sole Source to Collins Aerospace

The government intends to award a sole source simplified acquisition PO to Collins Aerospace for the following items: Part Number: 822-3709-001 Description: HIGH SPEED MODEM (RF MODEM W/AUDIO INTERFACE) QTY: 4 Testing of unit as a BFTN system component replacement for current unit (HSM-2050). Two units are required per system and two systems are required to test. Market research was performed from 2011 to 2013 and included assessment of technical specifications and costs of several modems which resulted in the selection of the HSM-2050. Only two products were available that met the MILSPEC requirements at the time. One was Harris Radio modem, model 5710A, which was included in the system for HF networking but is no longer manufactured. The other was the Collins HSM-2050 which is capable of both HF and UHF networking and was also selected for the system. Since then a third modem has been tested, Rapid M, but it did not meet the functional requirements needed. The HSM-2051 meets the form, fit and function requirements. The BFTN system is currently in the sustainment portion of its life-cycle, and only changes that do not result in major engineering configuration changes and testing should be attempted, this limits the field of available replacement modems, leading to the HSM-2051 as a candidate unit.