SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION; no award will be made as a result of this request. This request for information is for informational purposes only; this is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). All interested parties are encouraged to respond to this RFI. The Government will not pay for information and materials received in response to this RFI and is in no way obligated by the information received. 1. SCOPE. Background: The mission of the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force (REF) is to rapidly increase mission capability while reducing risk to Soldiers and others by equipping operational commanders with off-the-shelf (government or commercial) solutions or near-term developmental items that can be researched, developed and acquired quickly. The REF receives requirements from operational commanders in war zones setting forth the capabilities needed. The REF is chartered by the Senior Army leadership to provide material solutions to meet these requirements in a significantly reduced timeline compared to traditional Department of Defense acquisition procedures. The purpose of this RFI is to obtain potential solutions to provide Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams with an EOD disrupter mounting systems for the Talon MTRS Robot. The EOD disrupter mount will be utilize to facilitate mount of a military disrupter to the upper arm of the Talon Robot for employment against Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The REF recognizes a current capability gap regarding the ability of EOD teams to Mount EOD disrupters to the Talon Robotic platform. Alternative solutions submitted by companies responding to this RFI will also be considered. Experience and information obtained from this request for information will be provided to Army Product Manager REF who will evaluate the information and feasibility of issuing a procurement action to resolve the stated problem. 2. REQUIREMENTS. The REF has a need for a Disrupter Mounting Solution that will provide the ability to attach common Military EOD disrupters to the upper arm of the Talon Robot. The system will operate during day, night and all weather conditions. (T) Threshold value = Minimum accept performance or specification (O) Objective value = Objective performance or specification No indication of threshold or objective value indicates the minimum acceptable values. 2.1. The Disrupter Mount system must be quickly affixed to the Talon Robot without modification to the Talon. 2.2. Disrupter Mount will install with common hand tools (T) no tools (O). 2.3. Disrupter Mount weight eight (8) lbs (T) four (4) lbs (O) 2.4. Disrupter Mount installations in six (6) minutes (T) less than four (4) minutes (O). 2.5. Disrupter Mount Dimensions L 12, H 8, W 6. 2.6. Disrupter Mount allows employment of an installed EOD Disrupter without limitations to Talon arm position. 2.7. Disrupter Mount can support laser and video aiming systems. 2.8. Disrupter Mount can support the United States Military PAN Disrupter and Small Caliber Disarmer (T) multiple military and civilian EOD disrupters (O) 2.9. Disrupter Mount must incorporate recoil mitigation system to protect Talon Robot arm from damage due to recoil associated with disrupter recoil. 2.10. Disrupter Mount energy dissipater that allows the firing of all types of disrupter ammunition and velocities with minimal affect to TALON robotic system. 2.11. Disrupter Mount has minimal impact to the disrupter operation and disrupter round velocity. 2.12. Disrupter Mount has detailed written instructions, in the form of user and maintainer guides or Technical Manuals, for the storage, installation, transport, use, and operator level maintenance of the integrated systems by Soldiers 2.13 Disrupter Mount has a written Safety Assessment Report (SAR), which describes all potential hazards associated with the storage, installation, transport, use, and operator level maintenance of the integrated systems by Soldiers. Hazards are to be identified and assessed with Risk Assessment Codes (RAC) as described within MIL-STD-882D, Standard Practice for System Safety, 10 Feb 00, and Army Regulation (AR) 70-1, Army Acquisition Policy, 31Dec 03. 3. DELIVERABLES Specific information on industry capability to produce a system that can meet the requirements identified in paragraph 2 above, or otherwise solves the problem. This is NOT a Request for Proposal. Companies who desire to participate in this market survey are encouraged to submit a white paper, which supports the companys claim that it presently has the technology, qualifications, and capabilities to satisfy one or more of the performance and technical objectives described above. The white paper should discuss the companys ability to develop and or provide existing technologies to provide Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams with an EOD disrupter mounting systems for the Talon MTRS Robot. Companies are required to provide a ROM (rough order of magnitude) price and its anticipated delivery for the solution proposed. The white paper should also discuss related company experience and include point(s) of contact. The white paper should be prepared in MS Word, limited to ten (10) pages, and submitted electronically to the contracting officer at
contact@example.gov. The company shall be responsible for any costs associated with preparing responses to this market research. All requests for further information must be made in writing or via email; telephone requests for additional information will not be honored. The government will review RFI submissions as they are received. The government reserves the right to close this RFI once they have received adequate response(s) to this RFI.
