A--R&D- DEFENSE OTHER: SERVICES (ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT)

The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Emerging Technologies Center, ACC-NJ-ET, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, 07806-5000 on behalf of the Combating Terrorism Technical Support (CTTSO) Office, Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), Tactical Operations Support (TOS) Mission, has a requirement to provide all materials and services to design, develop, integrate, deliver, support, and train Special Operations Forces (SOF) to support the highly diverse Combating Terrorism (CbT) community. The Government intends to fulfill this requirement on a competitive Small Business Set-Aside (SBSA) basis for Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts with multiple awardees, with Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Task/Delivery Orders. The contract(s) will be for five (5) years/ordering periods. The applicable SIC/NAICS code is 541330 and the PSC is AD24. As future needs for supplies and services are identified, it is the Government's intent that during the five (5) years/ordering periods, Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Task/Delivery Orders will be competed among the awarded IDIQ Base Contracts. The minimum obligation for each awarded contract is $500.00. The total program value/ceiling shall not exceed $48,000,000.00 from all contracts that may be awarded. The Government intends to award contracts without discussions (except for clarifications as described in FAR 15.306(a)), as permitted by FAR 15.306(a)(3) and FAR 52.215-1. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if determined necessary. It is anticipated that this solicitation will be posted on both the Army Single Face to Industry (ASFI) website: https://acquisition.army.mil/asfi/default.cfm and FedBizOpps website: https://www.fbo.gov/ in the Spring of 2014, with awards projected in the Fall of 2014. The solicitation and any resultant contract shall be subject to FAR 52.232-18, Availability of Funds. Please note this does not constitute a Request For Proposal (RFP). Responses to this announcement will not be considered proposals, and cannot be accepted by the Government. This notice is not a guarantee of a future RFP, or an award. This notice should not be construed as a commitment of any kind by the U.S. Government. Description: Under the guidance of the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO), the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) is the United States national forum that identifies, prioritizes, and coordinates interagency and international research and development (R&D) requirements for combating terrorism. In existence since 1986, the TSWG rapidly develops technologies and equipment to meet the high priority needs of the highly diverse Combating Terrorism (CbT) community. Special Operations Forces (SOF) are key members of the Combating Terrorism community supported by the TSWG. Special Warfare Technical Support (SWTS) focuses on Special Operations technical capabilities, specifically the find and fix lines of effort within Special Warfare. In addition, Special Warfare consists of activities taken by a specially trained and educated force that has a deep understanding of cultures and foreign language, proficiency in small unit tactics, and the ability to build and fight alongside indigenous combat formations in permissive, uncertain, or hostile environments. Special Warfare tactical operators often conduct missions in austere environments under conditions of limited time with constrained logistics and challenging communications requirements. They have a standing need for equipment, systems, and capabilities that enable them to operate more effectively, reliably, and efficiently. CTTSO desires to award multiple contracts which focus efforts and tasks on enhancing and training on find and fix Special Warfare capabilities. The requirements will fall into the categories of rapid system and capabilities development, training, and commercial technology exploitation and independent test and evaluation. The capability and requirement areas for find and fix are as follows: tactical communications, specialized access, close and long range reconnaissance and intelligence, target acquisition, and technical surveillance. Based upon the Market Research conducted by the requirement office, an analysis of realized cost, schedule, and performance benefits from previous efforts, combined with past experience, has proven that the Special Warfare requirement and its accompanying capabilities and technologies are best tackled by small businesses possessing the relevant skills and capabilities. In addition, market research has indicated that successful performance is most likely to occur for various Special Warfare Technical Support requirements through a total small business set-aside, opposed to restricting this acquisition to a specific small business socioeconomic contracting program. The contractor shall provide the capabilities to meet the following major task requirements related to the Special Warfare Technical Support (SWTS) projects: 1. Rapid System and Capabilities Development. The contractor shall provide rapid engineering services to process, supply, design, and fabricate materials/equipment for the development and integration of advanced enabling capabilities, utilizing innovative and technologically advanced commercial items for small CbT tactical operations teams conducting Special Warfare missions, operating in permissive, uncertain, non-permissive or high threat environments in the following areas: - Tactical Communications. State-of-the-art and/or high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) emerging methods of communication, as dictated by the Special Warfare mission, providing superior operational surety and command and control; with low probability of intercept and detection; full spectrum open communications indigenous in appearance with embedded encryption and compression; able to provide voice, data, and full motion video; Mobile Mesh Ad Hoc Network (MANET) capable; interoperable with sensors; unclass, secure, covert capable communications tailored to the mission area of operation infrastructure; able to leverage host-nation landlines, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), internet, and all communication means possible within the electro-magnetic spectrum; with ancillary equipment to include low profile dismounted and mounted antennas, operating off of military and Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) batteries and charging systems. - Specialized Access. State-of-the-art and/or high TRL emerging methods of stealthy infiltration and exfiltration where signature and noise management is paramount to mission success; from point of infiltration to target, actions on the objective, to point of exfiltration/recovery maintaining the element of surprise based on specific mission requirements and area of operations; primary focus is complex urban terrain but also includes maritime, subterranean, jungle, desert, and mountainous environments. - Close and Long Range Reconnaissance and Intelligence. State-of-the-art and/or high TRL emerging methods of low-cost, high yield tracking, tagging, and locating of platforms and personnel for small tactical team and singleton missions; tactical and concealable surveillance equipment that allow for capturing and relaying acoustic and video intelligence; preparation of the environment reconnaissance capabilities for follow-on operations; capabilities to enhance technical visual reconnaissance to include but not limited to infrared and night vision devices; and network ready Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms. - Target Acquisition. State-of-the-art and/or high TRL emerging methods of handheld ISR technologies for detection, recognition, and identification; optical enhancement devices for visible, near infrared, covert, and thermal; laser range finding, pointing, illuminating, marking, targeting, and designating ISR technologies. - Technical Surveillance. State-of-the-art and/or high TRL emerging methods of tactical and concealable surveillance equipment for video and audio with net ready capability; low-cost, high yield tracking, tagging, and locating of platforms and personnel; technologies that provide low visibility and sound signature management; cyber domain capabilities to include social media, social engineering, digital signature management, defensive cyber capabilities, and cyber operations. The contractor shall focus on modifying commercial hardware and Open Source software to reduce overall cost and meet the specified requirements of capabilities developed under this task. 2. Training. The contractor shall provide Subject Matter Expert (SME) custom training courses on a task by task basis for identified requirements. Training shall be conducted both at the contractor's facilities and off-site, CONUS and OCONUS, as required. Training courses will focus on advanced technical skills to support the mission areas outlined in a task; operator training courses for various technologies; and other non-technical skills related to the completion of the mission areas within the SOW. The contractor shall provide instructional SME support to include new equipment training, depot level maintenance, operational evaluation reports, traditional classroom training, field training, scenario-based training, practical application and related exercise development to support the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office Mission and Tactical Operations Support (TOS) Subgroup as well as other advisory specific training within the tasks. Specific activities that may be performed under this task area include, but are not limited to the following: preparing training materials such as brochures, handouts, attendee registration or lists; develop training and exercise materials such as curriculum and how-to-manuals, multi-media; presentation materials, instructor(s), participant materials (including manuals, workbook, etc.) slides and overheads; providing training tools such as audio visual equipment computers for hands-on-sessions; providing logistical arrangements for training sessions; providing instructors; providing travel and logistical support. 3. Commercial Technology Exploitation and Independent Test and Evaluation. The contractor shall provide a team of engineers and former US Special Operations Forces personnel for independent test and evaluation of commercially available technologies and the ability/feasibility to modify commercially available technologies. The contractor shall have the ability to procure, test, and report on the following commercial technologies, materials, focus areas, and equipment: Detection, circumvention, and defeat of residential, commercial, and industrial security and surveillance systems; fixed site and systems vulnerability assessments; information system auditing and exploitation; exploitation and use-case scenarios of cyber tools and techniques; comparison and analysis of information systems to be used for Special Warfare; durability testing of identified technologies to include; social media and open source information gathering and source profiles; and feasibility of modification for identified technologies. All hardware and software used for testing shall remain the property of the US Government for integration into future development efforts or deployment in support of TOS end-users. It is anticipated that TOS end-users and program staff will participate in much of the testing for verification of the correct implementation and results. The contractor shall develop test plans prior to testing, and provide test reports upon the completion of all testing and evaluation tasks. These reports shall be developed in accordance with the CDRLs assigned on a task by task basis. This PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE is for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a draft or formal Request for Proposal (RFP). This PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The point of contact for this action is: Mr. Peter W. Gerhard, Contract Specialist Email Address: contact@example.gov. Please note that telephone inquiries will NOT be accepted. Contracting Office Address: ACC New Jersey, Emerging Technologies Center, Building 9, Phipps Road, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806-5000.