500lb Penetrator/Warhead Case Production

DISCLOSURE: This is a Request for Information (RFI) notice only. This RFI is for informational planning purposes and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government for any actual procurement of materials, machinery, or services. This notice does not constitute a solicitation or a promise of a solicitation in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to a contract for any supply or service. Respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI are solely at the responding parties' expense. Respondents are solely responsible for properly marking and clearly identifying any proprietary information or trade secrets contained within their response. The Government will not be liable for, or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly marked or clearly identified. Proprietary information received in response to this RFI will be safeguarded and handled in accordance with applicable Government regulations. Responses to this notice are not offers and will not be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract or agreement. The Government will not be obligated to pursue any particular alternative because of this RFI. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if one is issued. Specific responses to the approaches will not disqualify or have an impact on participation and evaluation on future solicitations, if issued. GENERAL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The Department of Defense, United States Air Force (USAF), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Armament Directorate, is currently conducting market research seeking capabilities statement from potential sources, including small businesses (SB), 8(a), HUBZone, Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned (EDWOSB), Woman-Owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVOSB) small business that are capable of providing for the production of 500lb penetrating bombs with an already qualified warhead design. The Government is seeking qualified contractors who are able to successfully manufacture or supply qualified 500lb penetrating bombs that have the same form factor as a Mk-82 and the warhead shall be able to be configured into the GBU-38 and GBU-54 configurations. Our current Best Estimated Quantity (BEQ) is 3000 units with no follow on plans to procure future warheads after this possible procurement. The NAICS Code assigned to this acquisition is 332993 Ammunition (except Small Arms) Manufacturing, with a size standard of 1,500 employees. Respondents should indicate their size in relation to this size standard and indicate socio-economic status (i.e. SB, 8(a), HUBZone, EDWOSB, WOSB, or SDVOSB). Respondents are further requested to indicate their status as a Foreign-owned/Foreign-controlled firm and any contemplated use of foreign national employees on this effort. The Government reserves the right to consider a small business set-aside based upon responses hereto for any subsequent action. All prospective contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database to be awarded a DoD contract. No set-aside decision has been made. Note that a key factor in determining an acquisition to be a Small Business Set Aside is that small business prime contractors must perform at least 50% of the effort, as defined in FAR Clause 52.219-14. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is voluntary. This RFI is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government reimburse any costs associated with the submission of information in response to this notice. Respondents will not be individually notified of the results of any government assessments. The Government's assessment of the capability statements received will factor into whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as a full and open competition or as a set-aside for small business, or any particular small business program. CAPABILITIES STATEMENT: All interested vendors shall submit a capabilities statement that explicitly demonstrates their capability to provide/perform the requirement stated in this notice. The capabilities statement should be brief and concise, yet clearly demonstrate an ability to meet the stated requirement. Competence and proof must be demonstrated through written description of the vendors past and/or current capability of manufacturing warheads. The respondents interested in producing the 500lb Penetrator warhead shall be able to produce or supply a qualified 500lb penetrating warhead that has the same form factor as a Mk-82 and the warhead shall be able to be configured into the GBU-38 and GBU-54 configurations. Respondents to this RFI should adhere to the following details. Interested parties are requested to respond to items (a) thru (g) below with a white paper in the following format: Microsoft Word 2010 compatible; 40 pages or less (including cover and administrative pages); 1-inch margins; and 12 point font (or larger). Interested parties should provide a company profile to include the following: Respondents are requested to provide the following information. Respondents should tailor their responses based on their proposed team or company strategy. Citing prior experiences relating to the questions will aid in the Government assessment of industry capability. a. Describe your capabilities or experience manufacturing a 500lb penetrating warhead with MK-82 mass properties and dimensions. b. Integrated & flown operationally on either F-15 or F-16 Platforms. c. Identify the activities and timeline to establish a manufacturing line and qualify First Article Acceptance Test (FAAT) units, or have access to current production capabilities. d. Identify a proposed production schedule to include possible hybrid CONUS/OCONUS sourcing and quantity bands with associated estimated production costs and per warhead case cost between 500 and 3000 warheads in 500 lot increments. e. Provide estimated average yearly production rate and estimated maximum yearly production rate. ? f. Describe your experience working directly with government organizations using government personnel and facilities, first article testing, environmental testing, and final acceptance testing of warheads. g. State your quality assurance processes to assure production assets meet all specifications. Only government employees will review submitted responses to this RFI. Respondents are advised that employees of commercial firms under contract with the Government may be used to administratively process submissions and perform other administrative duties requiring access to other contractor's proprietary information. These administrative support contractors include nondisclosure agreements prohibiting their contractor employees from disclosing any information submitted by other contractors or using such information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished. Foreign participation may be authorized. RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 4:00 P.M. (CST) ON 08 June 2018. Direct all questions concerning this requirement and all submissions/responses via email to Jennifer Kottke at jennifer.kottke@us.af.mil and Andrea Matson at Andrea.Matson.1@us.af.mil. All correspondence shall be sent via email and shall contain a subject line that reads "FA8681-19-R- 0003, 500lb Penetrator." If this subject line is not included, the e-mail may not get through e-mail filters at Eglin AFB. Filters are designed to delete emails without a subject or with a suspicious subject or attachment. Attachments with files ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be deleted. Ensure only .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xsls, or .xls documents are attached to your email. All other attachments may be deleted.