A -- AIRBASE TECHNOLOGIES

AIRBASE TECHNOLOGIES Sol. TYN 07-001. This is a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) identifiable as number BAA TYN 07-001, Airbase Technologies Division. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/MLQ), Tyndall AFB, FL, is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost/price) on the research efforts described below. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement shall reference the BAA number identified above. Responders will ensure that the amounts proposed will be valid for a minimum of 180 days from the date of the proposal. Proposals may be submitted until 30 Sep 07. White papers will be accepted. There will be no formal request for proposals or other solicitations regarding this announcement. Proposals shall be submitted with an original, not exceeding 40 double-spaced pages plus three (3) copies. Proposals and/or white papers shall be mailed to 325 CONS/LGCBA; ATTN: Wanda Cutchin; 501 Illinois Avenue, Suite 5; Tyndall AFB, FL 32403-5526, marked for BAA TYN 07-001 or e-mailed to contact@example.gov with BAA TYN 07-001 in the subject line. Requirements: The Air Force requires advanced technologies that facilitate the conduct of contingency base operations, combat support functions, and force protection in both homeland security and Air Expeditionary Forces (AEF) operations. In addition, the Air Force is looking for opportunities to reduce weight, volume, and costs of base emergency response, infrastructure support, and combat support systems. AFRL/MLQ solicits cutting edge proposals in the following general technology areas: Atmospheric Threat Protection - Identify characteristic emissions or patterns that enable detection, identification, and/or modeling of anthropogenic chemicals in or transported through the atmosphere. Develop and/or evaluate methods or technologies enabling localization and/or identification of these emission sources, for example storage, use, or accidental/deliberate release of toxic chemicals. Develop and/or evaluate methods or technologies enabling prediction of reactive chemical transport through the atmosphere. Develop, evaluate, modify, and/or integrate technologies and/or materials that may provide protection from atmospheric threats, either inside or adjacent to forward operating bases, and that may contribute to reducing or eliminating threats to personnel and equipment. Specific areas of interest include laboratory/outdoor chamber studies for validation of atmospheric chemistry models; experimental studies to determine the effect of aerosols on chemical transport in the atmosphere; novel coatings and/or additives that enhance the chemical barrier properties of polymeric coatings against toxic chemical permeation. Protective Technologies - Develop chemical processes and passive or self-decontaminating materials that will reduce recovery time and provide a significant improvement in decontamination capabilities. Develop sensing, active and passive protection, and decontamination technologies for improved force protection at fixed and forward airbases. Develop systems for detecting and quantifying toxic materials or hazards (chemical, biological, radiological, and energetic). Provide technology for automated hazard warning/avoidance, neutralization or decontamination, and decontamination validation in operational areas and industrial sites. Develop technologies that are simple for airmen to maintain and operate, affordable, deployable and modular, and allow for rapid mobilization and demobilization. Hazard avoidance during operations will allow sustained operations tempo; assurance of effective decontamination of equipment and operational areas; and ability to continue operations in a shirtsleeve environment. Explosive Effects Mitigation - Identify explosive characteristic effects or patterns that enable detection, evaluation, and/or modeling of the explosive and resulting effects. Develop, evaluate, modify, and/or integrate protective technologies and/or materials that may provide protection from blast, ballistic, and fragmentation effects. Develop new materials, technologies, and/or methodologies to mitigate blast effects resulting in reduced injuries and deaths to building/shelter occupants. Air Base Operating Surfaces - Develop lightweight portable airfield evaluation technologies for surface and subsurface material characterization, expedient repair materials and techniques, lightweight high-strength materials, heat resistant pavement materials or processes, and measurement and prediction in response to traffic and environmental loads. Protection of Deployed Forces and Assets - Develop lightweight rapidly deployable personnel and aircraft shelters, and protection systems for facilities and aircraft parking areas. Specific areas of interest include ultra-lightweight, high-strength materials, exploitation of in situ materials, and post-construction reinforcement of facilities, simulation and modeling of effects of air-blast and fragmentation, and chemical/biological protection systems. Energy & Reactor Systems - Develop innovative technologies to maximize mobility, reliability, and operating efficiency of deployed energy and chemical reactor systems for AEF operations. Specific areas of interest in energy systems tech area include: fuel reforming to produce hydrogen for fuel cell use, liquid fuel desulfurization, sulfur tolerant anode fuel cell, active and passive power generation, flexible solar cells, renewable energy, conversion of waste into liquid fuel, bio-energy and bio fuels suitable for deployed ground power, lightweight energy storage systems, power conditioning and distribution systems, and environmental control units. Specific area of interest in the reactor systems are: (1) produce, or deliver, weapon system specific chemicals in combat quantities, under deployed force conditions, (2) efficiently produce thermal, mechanical or electrical energy on demand using innovative chemistry and reactor systems, and (3) convert or dissipate energy produced from military operations. In addition, reactor systems and unit operations are desired that (1) utilize compact and light weight designs (2) are compatible with force deployment constraints, and/or (3) utilize new materials or innovative approaches in the use of conventional materials. Systems developed under this tech area shall be capable of being integrated with existing deployed base energy and utility systems to meet the requirements of the AEF operational doctrine. Force Protection Robotics - Develop automation and intelligent system technologies for use in high threat areas, expeditionary and fixed airbase support, and homeland security. The general areas of interest include novel unmanned technologies for force protection including civil engineering, explosive ordnance disposal, security forces, and airbase support operations. Specific areas include: UXO detection, characterization, handling, and disposal; advanced ground vehicle navigation and guidance; obstacle detection systems; non-line of sight, high bandwidth, wireless communication systems; and innovative robotic vehicle systems including: perception, power, weapons, computing, manipulation, and mobility systems. Fire Fighting - Develop agents, systems, equipment and hardware for use in aircraft firefighting and rescue operations, airbase structural firefighting, weapons systems firefighting, hazardous materials incidents, and improved firefighter training. Develop DoD firefighting systems such as munitions protection and explosion mitigation. Specific areas of interest include the development of environmentally compatible, operationally and cost effective fire extinguishing agents, aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles/systems, fire detection/suppression systems, specialized rescue and personnel protective equipment, and training technologies. The objective is to enhance airbase and other DoD firefighting safety programs and training capabilities that significantly reduce the amount of time to extinguish fires, extract victims, and minimize damage/casualties. Biofunctionalized Materials ? Design and construct materials that integrate biological molecules with conventional materials. Specific areas of interest include: development of components for sensors to detect chemical and biological threats, materials used for decontamination/threat neutralization processes, materials for chemical and biological barriers, and materials for self sanitizing surfaces. Biocatalytic Materials Synthesis ? Develop processes for biological synthesis of chemical feed stocks used in production of high performance polymers and advanced materials. Principal interests are materials for aerospace applications and conducting polymers. Proposal Preparation: Responses submitted shall include a proposal for technical and cost/price as follows: (a) The technical proposal must include an outline and full discussion of the nature and scope of the research, the method or technical approach, and the expected results of each proposal. This proposal should offer scientific advancement in the state of the art. The technical proposal must identify privately developed items, components, processes or computer software entailed in their proposed approach, if any. Information must be included on prior work/experience in the indicated field of research and the available facilities. Management resources shall include resumes of people who will be participating in the proposed design effort, and identify the principal investigator. (b) The cost/price proposal requires submission of cost or pricing data IAW FAR 15.403-5 with a supporting detailed cost schedule and shall contain a per person/hour breakdown per task. FAR 15.403-5 may be located at http://www.arnet.gov.far/. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract. It is, however, an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost in FAR 31.205-18. Evaluation Criteria: Proposals will compete for contract award based upon their potential value to the government in fulfilling the requirements set forth above. That value will be determined using a complex combination of criteria including the technical promise (originality, feasibility, desirability, etc.), affordability (of development, considering technical alternatives; and funding available; and of implementation, if otherwise successful), and the government's confidence in the effective pursuit of the effort considering the scope of the effort, the offeror's understanding of it, the competence and availability of experienced engineering, scientific, managerial, or other technical personnel, offeror's overall corporate experience (including past performance), and the availability of, or ability to obtain, necessary facilities to perform this effort. Cost realism and reasonableness shall also be considered to the extent appropriate. The Government reserves the right to select for award any, all, a part thereof, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. Technical consideration will be given greater weight than cost in the selection decision. No further evaluation criteria will be used in source selection. The technical and cost information will be evaluated at the same time. Deliverable Items: (a) Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), DI-MISC-81183A, (b) Contractors Progress Status and Management Report, DI-MGMT-80227, (c) Still Photographic Records, DI-MISC-81206, (d) Presentation Material, DI-ADMN-81373, (e) Scientific and Technical Reports, DI-MISC-80711 (Draft and reproducible final, AFRL/MLQ format). The contractor shall be required to present a final formal briefing at the end of the effort to be held at Tyndall AFB, FL. Any equipment or hardware developed under this BAA shall be delivered to Tyndall AFB, FL or a destination as directed by the government. Size Status: The appropriate NAICS code for this acquisition is 541710 with a size standard of 500 employees. Firms responding should indicate whether or not they are a small business, small disadvantaged business, or a woman-owned business. Award Information: Multiple awards are anticipated. While no parts of this requirement lend themselves to being severed for set-aside to Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, or historically Black Colleges and Universities or Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI), the Air Force reserves the right to consider a small business set-aside based on responses hereto. Preferred Type of Contract: Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Period of Performance: The length of time varies based on the contracted effort. Guidelines and recommended durations are provided in the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Security Requirements: Access to information classified Confidential, Secret or Top Secret may be required to fulfill specific portions of this contract. In such instances responding firms must have, or acquire prior to award of contract, appropriate Facility Clearance (FCL). The security guide applicable to this BAA announcement will be provided on a case-by-case basis prior to negotiation. Notice to Foreign and Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to notify immediately the Government contact point cited below upon making a decision to respond to this announcement. This action is necessary to begin review and clearance procedures. Foreign firms should be aware that restrictions might apply which could preclude their participation. Point of Contact: Wanda Cutchin, Contracting Officer, Phone +1 (555) 000-0000, Fax +1 (555) 000-0000, Email contact@example.gov. Ginny Garner, Contracting Officer, Phone +1 (555) 000-0000, Fax +1 (555) 000-0000, Email contact@example.gov. Technical questions should be addressed to AFRL/MLQ; Attn: 1Lt Allyson Schutzenhofer; 139 Barnes Drive Suite 2; Tyndall AFB, FL 32403-5323, +1 (555) 000-0000 or e-mail contact@example.gov. Only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government.