Contender Vehicle Rapid Prototype Development Initiative
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES
ACQUISITION DIRECTORATE
SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE
General Information
Document Type: Sources Sought Notice
Title: Contender Vehicle Rapid Prototype Development Initiative
Sources Sought Post Date: 06/05/2017
Sources Sought Response Date: 06/28/2017
NAICS Code: 332993, Ammunition (except Small Arms) Manufacturing
Product Service Code: AC52 R&D Defense System: Weapons (Applied Research/Exploratory Development
Contracting Office Address
Other Defense Agencies, Washington Headquarters Services, Acquisition Directorate, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC, 20301-1155, US
Background
The Office of the Secretary of Defense, Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) and U.S. Department of the Navy are seeking information from industry on their ability to provide Design for Manufacturing / Design for Affordability (DFM/DFA) recommendations for the Contender vehicle. The government desires to take advantage of the latest innovations in advanced manufacturing to produce a modern, reliable, reasonably priced weapon that can be transitioned to industry for production with minimal or no re-design.
The Contender vehicle project is a rapid prototype development initiative, sponsored by the Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), with demonstration objectives planned in 2021. The Contender vehicle aims to maintain current MK 48 Heavyweight Torpedo capabilities while substantially increasing range and providing modular payload ability. The Contender program currently makes use of a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC), with Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory (PSU-ARL) as the Contender vehicle design and integration agent. As the Contender initiative demonstrates success, the U.S. Department of the Navy will determine when a transition to a Program of Record (POR) will take place. Selected industry partners need to provide experienced personnel who have demonstrated highly specialized expertise in manufacturing and design of defense weapons or vehicles. Industry partners will coordinate with the PSU-ARL and government team to provide input and reviews of Contender vehicle system and subsystem designs.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense, Strategic Capabilities Office seeks information from industry for Design for Manufacturing / Design for Affordability (DFM/DFA) recommendations for the Contender vehicle. Responses from "all" sources is requested including Other than Small Businesses. Small Businesses, 8(a) small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, Women-Owned Small Businesses and Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Businesses are encouraged to respond.
This is a Sources Sought notice and is not a solicitation or request for proposal, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This notice does not constitute any commitment by the Washington Headquarters Service (WHS) or obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response to this notice. The Government will not reimburse for any information provided and will not return any information received. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any entity responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the Contractor's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.
The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to determine interest and capabilities of firms to fulfill the government's need. In the event a solicitation is issued, the proposed contract type for the Contender Vehicle is anticipated to be Firm Fixed Priced contract. The anticipated period of performance will be a one year base period, one year option period and an eight month option period for a total of thirty two month period of performance. The Government may potentially award contracts to one or more vendors whose responses to this sources sought in the Government's estimation provides the greatest overall benefit.
Critical Tasks/ Performance Elements
Note: A Secret Clearance is required for this effort. Firms must possess a Secret Facility Clearance to be considered for award.
Firms submitting a response to this Notice should address each of the four tasks listed below, and for each Task provide information to demonstrate how the firm's knowledge, experience, staffing, technical capability and recent past performance (last 5 years) is relevant to the task including the dollar value, period of performance, size and scope of the firm's prior contracts. Firms need to include their business address, point of contact, CAGE code, DUNS number and small business status (if applicable) including specific category (for example, HUBZone or Small Disabled Veteran Owned).
Note: All system and sub-systems of the Contender vehicle shall be subjected to DFM/DFA reviews including: SONAR, command and control, payload, fiber communications, Stored Chemical Electrical Propulsor System (SCEPS), drivetrain, and propulsor/control fins.
TASK 1 - The contractor shall review Contender vehicle system and subsystem designs and provide recommendations to improve manufacturability and affordability within the necessary manufacturing standards required for weapon production.
TASK 2 - The contractor shall provide recommendations on manufacturing processes, production line layout, inspection tools, test equipment, and any other pertinent manufacturing areas.
TASK 3 - The contractor shall review Contender Technical Data Packages (TDPs) and provide a review matrix with TDP recommendations.
TASK 4 - The contractor shall review the Contender baseline design and provide a cost analysis for delivery of a manufactured product.
Response Criteria and Submission Requirements
Contractors with an interest in being considered for the Contender Vehicle contract should submit the required Capability Statement of Qualifications. The Capability Statement of Qualifications shall not exceed 16 single-sided pages of 8 1/2x11 size paper, in font type Times New Roman and font size 12 and shall address the following:
(1) Company information to include name, point(s) of contact(s); email address(es), physical/mailing address, telephone number, any business self-certified category (e.g. large, small, women-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned, 8a) Cage Code and DUNS number.
(2) Explain what experience your company has had with providing services stated under the 4 Critical Tasks listed above.
Response Due Date: Vendors shall submit their information via email to Maurice C. Brown maurice.c.brown6@civ@mail.mil, by the due date: June 29, 2017, 2:00pm. No hard copy or facsimile submissions will be accepted. Cover letters and extraneous materials (brochures, etc.) will not be considered.
Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response.
Maurice C Brown, Contracting Officer, Phone 703-545-1010, Email maurice.c.brown6.civ@mail.mil
