Procurement of Rivet, Blind

This federal solicitation document (70Z03826QJ0000374, Attachment 1) outlines the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) contract terms and conditions for acquiring commercial items. The procurement utilizes a tradeoff evaluation process prioritizing Technical Acceptability and Delivery over Price. To meet Technical Acceptability, offerors must provide manufacturer CAGE codes tracing parts directly to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), SPS Technologies, LLC (Cherry Aerospace Div). All parts must be new, though "New Surplus" may be accepted with engineering approval. Deliveries are categorized by confidence levels, with under 15 days after receipt of award (ARO) rated as "High Confidence." The document incorporates stringent quality assurance, packaging, and shipping instructions tailored for the USCG Aviation Logistics Center (ALC) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Contractors must implement robust risk management to prevent counterfeit or non-conforming parts and must provide a signed Certificate of Conformance (FAR 52.246-15) with deliveries. Additionally, the text details critical federal compliance clauses, including Buy American requirements, prohibitions against racially discriminatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) activities (DEVIATION 26-10), and strict security exclusions. The latter includes prohibitions on Kaspersky Lab products, ByteDance applications (TikTok), and unmanned aircraft systems manufactured by foreign entities covered under the American Security Drone Act.

This federal procurement document is a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (J&A) issued by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Aviation Logistics Center. The purpose of this J&A is to authorize a brand-name acquisition for blind rivets used on MH-60T medium-range recovery helicopters during routine maintenance. The USCG intends to procure 3,000 units, with an option for an additional 1,500 units, of part number CR3243-4-02 (NSN 5320-01-HS1-8326). The designated source is SPS Technologies LLC, doing business as Cherry Aerospace Division. Because Cherry Aerospace is the Original Equipment Manufacturer, it retains all proprietary rights to the technical data, drawings, and specifications required to manufacture these complex, high-reliability parts. Furthermore, the USCG does not own the technical data, and purchasing it is deemed uneconomical. This specific brand-name rivet is the only one approved by the USCG’s Aircraft Configuration Control Board for the MH-60T, and it has been assigned an Acquisition Method Code of 5, restricting procurement to this specific manufacturer. The Contracting Officer will determine price reasonableness using methods such as market research, historical price comparisons, current price lists, and independent government cost estimates.