Next Generation Advanced Bomb Suit (NGABS)
This Request for Information (RFI) is for market research purposes only. This RFI is not a request for proposals or quotations. Requests for copies of a solicitation in response to this notice will not be honored or acknowledged. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether conducting a competitive procurement is in the best interest of the Government. This is a follow on to the Industry Day conducted on 9 May 2017 at Fort Belvoir, VA for the Next Generation Advanced Bomb Suit (NGABS) System (W91CRB-FY17RFI-NGABS). The information received from this immediate RFI will be used to determine potential responsible sources and the technical capability of the existing industrial and production base. The Government does not guarantee that this RFI will result in a Request for Proposal (RFP) or contract award. The Government will not provide reimbursement for any costs incurred by vendors who respond to this RFI.
All questions concerning this notice shall be sent via e-mail to Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Grounds (ACC-APG) Point of Contact (POC), Lisa J. Yamakawa, lisa.j.yamakawa.civ@mail.mil. Requests for draft copies of the Capability Development Document (CDD) and/or the Technical Statement of Need (TSON) for the NGABS System may be sent to ACC-APG POC identified above.
NGABS REQUIREMENTS: The NGABS will provide 360 degree ballistic protection (blast and small arms), active cooling, and will incorporate an integrated sensor package to allow for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Operator to better operate and work in differing environmental conditions, including but not limited to nighttime operations. The NGABS System will be modular, scalable, and mission tailorable. It has been established by the EOD user community, that the protective suits used by the EOD units within the U.S. Army require extensive updates and technology refreshment. To that end, the EOD user community desires an increase in mobility, situational awareness, and modularity, while decreasing Soldier borne weight. The NGABS System is the overall effort to achieve these goals. Interested parties should review this document to ensure they can meet all requirements prior to submitting a response. Critical NGABS requirements include:
a. The modular sensor suite shall include the following capabilities: visible color, Low Light Level (LLL) Near InfraRed (NIR), and Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR). The NGABS System shall have a Heads Up Display (HUD) which shall be capable of displaying the imagery from the sensors in the modular sensor suite. The HUD shall be transparent and shall not obscure the horizontal or downward FOV provided by the NGABS ensemble helmet and visor. The Field of View (FOV) of the HUD must match or exceed the FOV of the sensor suite. The modular sensor suite and HUD must interface with the IHPS base helmet and NGABS visor without degrading any of the force protection performance of the IHPS and NGABS visor. For the sensor suite and the HUD, the helmet shall include power; the sensor suite and HUD shall receive power from the NGABS helmet, or the wearable conformable battery. The NGABS System shall have the means to capture still images from the sensor suite either to stream, or to be able to download at a later time. NGABS System thresholds & objectives are as outlined in Table 1 (Attachment).
b. Ballistic visor/shield and mounting arrangement to be integrated with the IHPS with a threshold weight of five (5.0) pounds and an objective weight of four (4.0) pounds. Visor/shield shall be representative of the function of the ABS Gen II or EOD9A visor. Visor/shield and mounting hardware shall not interfere with the operation of the sensor suite, or other helmet functions.
c. Bomb suit design and construction shall be modular, scalable, and tailorable, and will be based around the Modular Scalable Vest (MSV) (in whatever configuration is of the latest generation). It shall provide Advanced Bomb Suit (ABS) legacy or better levels of protection for the EOD Operator.
d. Protection to be provided will defeat kinetic fires in the form of primary and secondary fragmentation, as well as rifle and small arms projectiles. Protection from flame threats (due to blast or other factors) shall also be present in the final NGABS System. The NGABS System shall afford heat and thermal protection during the initial detonation of an explosive device. The system shall be composed of flame resistant materials. The inner materials (areas designed to touch the skin or the base uniform, Army Combat Uniform or other) shall be either flame resistant (FR) or no melt/no drip (NMND).
e. The back of body has the same required level of fragmentation protection as the front, excluding areas protected by rigid armor (Modular Scalable Vest (MSV) and Vital Torso Protection (VTP) hard armor plates worn by the EOD Operator in conjunction with the NGABS System.
f. The NGABS, when integrated with MSV and VTP hard armor plates will provide 9mm protection (whole body = O) as defined by the Soldier Protective System Torso and Extremity Protection (SPS TEP) and IHPS areas of coverage.
g. The NGABS System must not significantly impede mission efficiency. Weight of the NGABS must be at or below the stated threshold. Weight distribution of the system (to include the helmet and its associated systems) shall allow the wearer to maintain neutral balance. The NGABS System will accomplish this by providing weight distribution or offset of the residual weight in order to increase endurance and mobility of the EOD Operator. The NGABS System must not hamper effective positioning of specialized EOD render safe tools and explosive counter charges. The NGABS ensemble weight includes the bomb suit, helmet and associated sensors, and the batteries, but excludes the cooling system, carrying case, and modular components that are additional features beyond the capability of the legacy bomb suit systems. Weight thresholds and objectives are shown in Table 2 (Attachment):
h. Helmet and visor need to provide the optimal visibility for the Operator, to include reduction of optical distortion and an increased field of view over the current helmet, in order to maintain and increase situational awareness. The Thresholds and Objectives are outlined in Table 3 (Attachment):
i. Scalability and modularity. This will provide the capability to the EOD Operator to be able to don portions of the overall bomb suit ensemble to meet the immediate needs of the operation/mission being conducted. There may not be a need for the entire ensemble to be worn. There are situations, as defined on the ground, in which the entire ensemble may not be able to be worn by the EOD Operator. The Thresholds and Objectives for modularity and scalability are outlined in Table 4 (Attachment):
j. The Government desires to procure the NGABS System (i.e. sensor suite, bomb suit, and other components as described above), as a single system and not as individual components. The vendor will be the overall integrator of the system. The Government desires to make the NGABS as cost effective as possible with the maximum utilization of commercial technologies along with already existing Government programs (i.e. Conformable Battery, MSV, IHPS, TCAPS etc. etc.). Current projections show a total of seven hundred and seven (707) complete NGABS Systems for Full Operational Capability (FOC) over a period of approximately five (5) years.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Interested parties capable of meeting the above stated requirements shall submit a written narrative which supports their company's claim of presently having the technology, qualifications, experience, and capabilities to satisfy all of the performance and technical objectives described within this RFI and its technical attachments.
All information submitted shall support the offeror's capability to provide the items required, and shall be furnished at no cost or obligation to the Government. Responses must be in writing and must provide clear and concise documentation indicating an offeror's bona fide capability to provide these items. Verbal responses are not acceptable and will not be considered.
All responses shall be made in electronic format through e-mail by the required due date to the noted POC in section three (3). Formats accepted will be the suite of Microsoft (MS) Office Applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Project, etc.), as well as Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), or any combination thereof.
Written narratives must address the following:
a. Discuss the company's ability to adapt and/or provide existing technologies that have the required NGABS capabilities. This should include estimated unit cost, any licensing or royalty fees, any additional features/functionalities that are recommended for NGABS but are not specifically requested in this RFI.
b. Briefly discuss the company's experience conducting and passing First Article Testing (FAT) protocols for similar/same products against a military or Government contract.
c. Provide information on relevant, or similar products the company has produced within the past five (5) years or is currently producing to include:
I. Description on why the product is considered relevant.
II. List of products developed.
III. Physical dimensions, including weight, and other physical factors.
IV. Total quantity of the item produced, and over what time period.
V. Estimated proportion of work, in terms of cost of manufacturing (not including material costs), that would be completed in-house versus through sub-contractors.
d. Information on experience conducting and passing FAT, to include at a minimum:
I. Description of any Government conducted or required FAT for similar/same products that has been successfully completed to include contracting agency and contract number, and the time required to complete FAT and gain full FAT approval; and
II. Are there any FAT requirements that would be conducted internally at the Contractor's facility, and which tests would require the use of Government test facility.
e. The timeline for completing the following tasks (assume that Day 1 is the day of contract award):
I. Completing any design efforts;
II. Proposed approximate cost of effort;
III. Initial systems fabrication;
IV. Preparation for conducting the required FAT;
V. Conducting the actual FAT, or have the FAT completed by a Government test facility;and
VI. Delivery of first production quantities after FAT approval.
f. Completed copy of attachment "NGABS RFI QUESTIONNAIRE".
2. Interested sources shall submit the requested information not later than 4:00 p.m. EST on March 19, 2018 to Army Contracting Command Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), POC Lisa J. Yamakawa lisa.j.yamakawa.civ@mail.mil.
Lisa J. Yamakawa, Phone 4102786129, Email lisa.j.yamakawa.civ@mail.mil
