Opportunity

SAM #N6833526R1092

Procurement of Essex Industries 500 Gallon Liquid Oxygen Trailers for RCAF F/A-18 Support

Buyer

NAWCAD

Posted

June 29, 2026

Respond By

July 06, 2026

Identifier

N6833526R1092

NAICS

333924, 336413

This opportunity involves the procurement of specialized equipment for military aviation support: - Government Buyer: - Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAVAIR NAWC AD), Department of the Navy - OEM Highlight: - Essex Industries INC. (CAGE: 19062) is the sole-source manufacturer - Products Requested: - Four (4) 500 Gallon Liquid Oxygen (LOX) Trailers - Used for transporting liquid oxygen to support flightline maintenance for the Royal Canadian Air Force F/A-18 program - Unique Requirements: - Sole-source procurement due to proprietary design and lack of government technical data rights - Only Essex Industries can meet compatibility and support needs; no alternate vendors or part numbers considered - No services are included in this procurement; only equipment is requested

Description

This effort is for the procurement of QTY 4 500 Gallon Liquid Oxygen (LOX) Trailers for the Royal Canadian Air Force F/A-18 program. The 500 Gallon LOX trailer as a means to transport liquid oxygen to support flightline maintenance activities.

Under authority 10 U.S.C.2304(c)(1) and implemented in FAR 6.302-1(b)(1)(i), this authority shall be used when the program needs can only be satisfied from only one source with unique capabilities.  Any attempt to procure a different part number would require the Government to fund a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) Critical Design Review (CDR) First Article Test (FAT) and Test & Evaluation (T&E) effort for a new vendor.  The Government would have to fund personnel to be on the Source Selection Team to review proposals.  Any change in form, fit or function would require changes to the existing Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) (technical publications, spares inventory, calibration) which would incur additional costs for update in the amount of $200,000 to $250,000.  The process required to obtain an alternate asset is cost-prohibitive and would force the FMS Partner to utilize an asset that is not supported, compatible or interchangeable with the assets in their fleet. 

This requirement will be processed under the authority FAR 6.302-1(b)(1)(i), whereby only one source with unique capability can supply the requested item. Market Research was performed by the Lakehurst Technical team. The Original Equipment Manufacturer of these items is Essex Industries INC., CAGE: 19062. The US Government does not own the technical data rights, therefore is unable to compete this request due to specific proprietary items to Essex within the design of the end item. Acquisition Method Code: 3H - acquire directly from the manufacturer/US GOV does not have sufficient data. No additional market research was conducted for the reasons discussed above, and thus, the government will be issuing the repair procurement on a sole-source basis to Essex Industries INC., CAGE: 19062.

View original listing