Opportunity
SAM #N6833526R1092
Procurement of Essex Industries 500 Gallon Liquid Oxygen Trailers for Royal Canadian Air Force F/A-18 Program
Buyer
NAWCAD
Posted
July 06, 2026
Respond By
July 21, 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 highlighted: Essex Industries INC. (CAGE: 19062) - Vendors: Essex Industries INC. is the sole-source supplier - Products requested: - Four (4) Essex Industries 500 Gallon Liquid Oxygen (LOX) Trailers - Trailers are designed 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 technical data rights - Only Essex Industries can supply the required trailers; alternate parts would incur significant costs and technical review - No additional market research or alternate vendors considered - The trailers are critical for safe and efficient delivery of liquid oxygen in military aviation operations
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}(l) and implemented in FAR 6.302-l(b}(l) (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-l(b)(l) (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.