Aerostat Production, Fielding, Sustainment and Life Cycle Support for International Programs

This request for information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an invitation for bid, request for quotation, request for proposal or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. All business types can respond to this RFI. Your response to this RFI will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor responses and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government reserves the right to reject input resulting from this request. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort. The Army in developing its acquisition strategy, performance work statement, statement of objectives and/or performance based specification(s), may use the information provided. Parties responding to this RFI are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI. Background: PD Aerostats is conducting market research to identify potential sources technically capable and qualified to provide life cycle support for the efforts related to aerostat family of systems (FoS) to include Persistence Surveillance Systems Tethered (PSS-T) Large, Medium, and tactical aerostats ranging from 500 cubic (cu.) feet (ft.) to 80,000 cu. ft. of volume. PD Aerostats current aerostat systems can carry multiple sensor payloads, based on the provided mission, ranging from 10 pounds (lbs.) to 1,100 lbs. with flight operations ranging from 1,000 ft. to 5,000 ft. above ground level. In addition to continuing sustainment of current systems, PD Aerostats is looking to identify aerostat systems that are outside of these parameters for future requirements in support of international programs. Aerostat systems are elevated command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) platforms equipped with a variety of payloads to fulfill force protection, operations support, communication extension, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Aerostat systems can be employed during all phases of operations. Aerostat systems are responsive to the ground component of a joint warfighting force by providing weather dependent, persistent surveillance at operating locations throughout the operational area and directly enhancing the Commander's situational understanding. RFI Response Requirements: Interested parties are required to respond to the RFI by answering all the attached market survey questions. All material submitted in response to this RFI must be unclassified. The response is limited to a maximum of 40 single-sided pages; 12 point Times New Roman Font; 1.0 margins. Responses are due 30 business days from the date of posting of this RFI. All RFI responses should be emailed to Jennifer Mattessino, Jennifer.L.Mattessino.civ@mail.mil AND Donel Wanton, Donel.Wanton.civ@mail.mil. This RFI is for the following capabilities: 1. Aerostat FoS to include PSS-T Large, Medium, and tactical aerostats ranging from 500 cu. ft. to 80,000 cu. ft. of volume to carry multiple sensor payloads, based on the provided mission, ranging from 10 lbs. to 1,100 lbs. with flight operations ranging from 1,000 ft. to 5,000 ft. above ground level. We also encourage and will review responses of aerostat systems smaller than 500 cu. ft. and those that exceed 80,000 cu. ft. 2. Manufacturing, engineering, testing, logistics, delivery, fielding, training, operations, and sustainment support services of a fully-integrated aerostat systems meeting exportability requirements within the combatant commands in support of foreign military sales cases. Respondents who can provide services, but not manufacturing, are also highly encouraged to respond. 3. Integrated sensor payloads to support aerostat operations such as signal intelligence, radio relay, wide area surveillance, indirect fire detection, acoustic detection finder, EO/IR (i.e. MX-20, CSP), radar (i.e. Vista F25, STaRLITE, APS142, etc.), communications intelligence, and data links (i.e. TCDL, CMDL). The Government is interested in other C5ISR sensors that can be integrated on multiple aerostat platforms and encourages sensor manufacturers to respond with potential solutions to this RFI. Approximate Award Value: $1-2 Billion. Approximate Contract Duration: 5-10 years Contract Type: Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery - Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Task Orders/Delivery Orders Market Survey Questions: Respondents are asked to provide a detailed reply for the following questions. When responding, please retain the outline structure provided below. Basic Information: a. Company Name: Address: Point of Contact: Phone Number: Fax Numbers: Email Address: b. What is the size of your company? c. What are your primary and secondary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes? d. Small Business Concern (Yes/No): 8(a): Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB): Woman-Owned Small Business: Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone): Veteran-Owned Small Business: Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business: e. If you identify as a Small Business (SB), please identify your company's small business size standard based on the primary NAICS code 541330 - Engineering Services and secondary NAICS code 334511 -Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing: f. If you are a small business under the current SB recertification regulations, do you anticipate your company remaining a small business, under primary NAICS code 541330 - Engineering Services and secondary NAICS code 334511 - Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing? 2. Products and Services: a. What aerostat related product(s), sensor systems, and/or services does your company provide? If you are not interested in all functional areas, what areas would you be interested in supporting? b. Is your aerostat related product(s), sensor systems, and/or services a commercial solution? c. Is your product export compliant and approved for foreign military sale to another country? d. Provide performance capabilities of the aerostat related products and/or services of your company. Has your product gone through independent verification and validation (IV&V)? If so, what organization performed the IV&V, and when was it performed? e. What are your production lead times for all hardware and/or services that you provide? Discuss your production capacity/rate and ramp up capability. f. Has your company ever provided aerostat related products and/or services to the U.S Government, foreign governments, or other non-government customers, either currently or in the past? If so, by what agency, and what, if any data right assertions/technical data packages were provided or procured by the Government for that solicitation? 3. Company Background: a. Describe your company's capability in providing aerostat systems, payload systems, and/or spare packages to include all the contiguous United States (CONUS) and outside the contiguous United States (OCONUS) functions, organizational constructs, roles and responsibilities. Provide contract number(s), issuing organization, contracting officer, and contract information. b. Describe your company's experience to manufacture, integrate, test and assemble aerostat systems and sensor payloads (environmental, simulation, RF, wind tunnel, etc.). What capabilities do you have in-house and what capabilities are outsourced (i.e. aerostat envelope manufacturing - in house, mooring platform welding - outsourced)? Specify size and location. c. Do you have a facility clearance? If so, what level of clearance? d. What aerostat system certifications do your employees have (i.e. sensors, subsystem components, support equipment, networking)? e. Describe your company's process in providing basic life support for deployed field service representatives in austere OCONUS conditions (security, lodging, transportation, food, etc.). 4. Engineering: a. Describe your company's experience to develop technical data packages in accordance with military and commercial specifications. b. Describe the process(es) used to perform sustainment engineering that address component obsolescence on similar aerostat operation and mission support equipment efforts (e.g. control units for camera and radar systems, backup power supply with short shelf life, ground control station computers and peripherals, etc.). c. Describe your company's experience integrating new electronic sensors and technology on aerostat platforms. Describe the process by which your company supports integration activities to include exporting hardware subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). d. Describe your company's process to provide reliability assessment for new or modified design(s) to include exporting hardware subject to ITAR. 5. Quality: a. What industry standards, certifications, and/or accreditations does your company have for quality control and management (e.g. CMMI, ISO 9001, ISO 17025, NADCAP, etc.)? Provide a list of any exclusions. What tools does your company use to manage subcontractors, risk, schedule, and cost? b. Describe your system quality verification processes and standards. Once products have either been built and/or acquired from a subcontractor/vendor, how are they qualified? What tests and/or validation would be performed to ensure that the system meet specifications? 6. Operations, logistics, training, maintenance, and sustainment: a. Describe your company's experience to provide qualified OCONUS operators and maintainers for aerostat system operations and sustainment. b. Discuss your company's experience to manage the supply chain for aerostat systems, to include helium supply, payload/sensors, associated support equipment and provide up to date inventory management. c. Describe your company's process and experience to formulate sparing requirements for aerostat operations sustainment. d. Describe your company's experience to coordinate and execute CONUS, OCONUS and intra-theater movement of personnel and equipment. e. Describe your company's process for managing, transporting, and handling of hardware to include control cryptographic items, enhanced end user monitoring equipment, and anti-tampering equipment subject to ITAR. f. Describe your company's experience to manage repair and return maintenance programs for the aerostat systems including payloads and associated support equipment for CONUS and conduct field level repairs and modifications on OCONUS deployed aerostat systems. Identify types of field level repairs and modifications your company has performed. g. Describe your company's process and experience in the development of training curriculums, training, and evaluating operators for foreign military/personnel. h. Describe your experience translating technical material into other languages. i. Describe your company's experience providing OCONUS hub and site level support. Hub level support includes theater coordination, distribution and management of personnel, equipment, and system resources to support multiple remote operational aerostat sites within a region. Site level support includes: 24/7 aerostat operations, field level maintenance, manning, report and management of system site resources, training, and familiarization of system with battlespace owner. 7. Experience and Recommendations a. The Government is interested in the vendor's experience in supporting a multiple award IDIQ and requests feedback on this contract structure.