84--EMD for Lightweight Immersion Suit for Aviation

The U. S. Army Contracting Command, Natick Contracting Division, on behalf of Product Manager AIR WARRIOR has a requirement for rapid, collaborative development and fabrication of a lightweight, surface immersion, thermally protective garment for military aviators. This requirement also includes an option for Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of the developed garment. The LISA procurement supports the Air Soldier System (AirSS) program. AirSS is the next-generation aircrew mission and protective ensemble that will replace the legacy Air Warrior system currently in use by Army rotary and fixed wing aircrew. A Key Performance Parameter of the AirSS is to provide a reduction in weight and bulk of 25 - 40% over the current Air Warrior system. Reductions in bulk and weight will be balanced against cost and soldier effectiveness. The engineering strategy for the LISA is collaborative Contractor/Government design modification of a commercial/non-developmental item (as represented by the Contractor's bid sample) to maximize reductions in weight and bulk while meeting at least the threshold immersed thermal protection requirement of 2 hours in 45 deg F seas (sea state of 5). The scope of this effort includes: design collaboration with the Government; limited support to Government-conducted program management, systems engineering, and test and evaluation; fabrication of mockups, functional prototypes, and production representative prototypes; refurbishment and modification of prototypes; delivery of technical data; and travel. The LISA EMD will consist of an 18 - 20 month design and evaluation phase at the end of which production-representative garment prototypes will be used in the Government Developmental Test/Operational Test (DT/OT) for the Air SS Phase 1a. The LRIP option may be exercised after the DT/OT phase and would be used to support fielding and the Air SS Phase 1b DT/OT. LRIP units will be subject to compliance with the Berry Amendment and Buy America Act. The Request For Proposals (RFP) shall require the Offeror to submit information demonstrating that their bid sample exhibits the minimum specified performance for the following attributes: weight, packed volume, water ingress during swimming, immersed insulation, and maximum escape buoyancy. The Offeror shall cite, reference and attach any supporting test data. To evaluate whether the bid sample meets the minimum performance for the basic performance attributes, the Government will examine Offeror-submitted bid sample information. In addition, the Government reserves the right to conduct testing of Offeror-provided bid samples. This procurement is 100% set-aside for small business concerns. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 315999, and the small business size standard is 500 employees. The award will be a combined Cost Plus Fixed Fee and Firm Fixed Price contract. The Government envisions that only one award will be made, however, the Government reserves the right to make more than one award or no awards and to award without discussions at their discretion. If for any reason, there are no successful proposals, or a single successful proposal, the Government reserves the right to re-open the solicitation. FAR 52-232-33 (Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Central Contractor Registration, May 1999) shall be a mandatory requirement for contractors to be registered in the CCR database. Contractors may register on-line at http://www.ccr.gov/. The Government currently estimates that the RFP will be released within the next twenty-one (21) days, on or about 17 February 2012, and proposals will be due approximately thirty (30) days after the release of the RFP. Any questions regarding this requirement will be accepted in writing only to Christine Sordillo at contact@example.gov. All proposals shall be sent to the address and in the format specified in the solicitation. Contracting Office Address: U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground Natick Contracting Division Building 1, Kansas Street Natick, Ma 01760-5011 US Point of Contact(s): Christine Sordillo, Contract Specialist contact@example.gov +1 (555) 000-0000