APU Exhaust Box Redesign

This Sources Sought Notice is issued in accordance with DFARS 206.302-1(d) and PGI 206.302-1. This is not a Request for Proposals. Responses in any form are not offers and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this Notice. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice or otherwise pay any person's costs incurred responding to this Notice. This sources sought is being issued by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The Navy Airborne Strategic Command, Control, and Communications Program Office (PMA-271) is seeking sources for a planned contract action for the procurement of services, supplies, and drawings in support of re-design of the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Exhaust Box to Outer Mold Line on up to sixteen (16) E-6B Aircraft to include spares. This work will be performed during aircraft depot maintenance inductions. Contract award is anticipated the third quarter of calendar year 2024. Interested parties may submit a Capability Statement identifying their interest and capability to respond to the requirement. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract action based upon responses to this Notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Capability Statements received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. DISCLAIMER: This Sources Sought is for planning purposes only and your organization shall not consider it an invitation to bid, request for quotation, request for proposal, or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. Any response to this RFI will be treated as information and may be used by the Navy to develop an acquisition strategy, statement of work, statement of objectives, and performance work statement and associated specifications. To the maximum extent possible, please submit non-proprietary information. Any proprietary information submitted should be identified as such and will be properly protected from disclosure. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition-sensitive information contained in their response. The Government shall not be liable for damages related to proprietary information that is improperly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. The Government reserves the right to contact the submitting parties for further clarifications. BACKGROUND The E-6B platform is integral to the U.S. nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) enterprise, and provides assured capability for U.S. nuclear force execution. The existing E-6B APU Exhaust Box fails to adequately dissipate hot APU exhaust gasses outside the aircraft fuselage when the APU is operated for extended periods of time. The existing APU Exhaust Box utilizes subcomponents that are not adequately sealing exhaust gas flow paths that results in exhaust gas leakage and structural damage. The current APU exhaust box design also utilizes sealant materials that are not rated for the exhaust gas temperatures experienced which results in exhaust gas leakage and structural damage. A redesign will extend beyond the APU Exhaust Box itself to the outer mold line including the APU Exhaust Box (P/N 204-65515-1), the Exhaust Door Coupling (P/N 204-65426-1), Insulation Gasket (P/N 204-65512-7), and Heat Shield (P/N 204-65513-1). Design considerations will require thermal modeling to demonstrate adequate heat dissipation. INFORMATION REQUESTED NAVAIR expects to receive from each respondent an UNCLASSIFIED Full Response with their capability summary. Capability statements should discuss any corporate experience and past performance and should address the following requirements: Corporate Information i. Company's Name and Address; ii. Company's point of contact including email address and phone number; iii. Company's business size and list of North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes under which goods and services are provided; and iv. General corporate information Specific Sources Sought Information Requested Proposed approach to meet the government's complete requirements described in the Background above; A detailed list of anticipated end product physical and performance characteristics; Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) costs for the performance of the efforts described above in the Description section; Timeline in number of calendar days and/or hours to perform efforts described above; Potential Teaming arrangements; Related past performance performing similar related requirements within the past five (5) years; and Proposed approach to meet the Government's complete requirements described in paragraphs 1 and 2 above, to include ability to gain access to OEM (Boeing, L3H, and P&W) proprietary data RESPONSES The Government requests that respondents deliver responses electronically via e-mail in Microsoft Word or PDF format with proper data markings for unclassified and proprietary information by 07 July 2023. . All interested parties should not submit classified material, as the Government will not accept classified material. All submissions should include this Sources Sought Notice Reference Number, company name, company address, CAGE code, DUNS number, and a point-of-contact who is able to discuss the Capability Statement submitted. Point-of-contact information should include name, position, phone number, and email address. Acknowledgement of receipt will be provided. All information submitted will be adequately safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 15.207. All submissions must be clearly marked with the following caption: Controlled Unclassified Information, Releasable to Government Agencies for Evaluation Purposes Only. Responses that fail to comply with the above instructions or present ideas not pertinent to subject, may not be reviewed. Information submitted in response to this Notice is submitted at no cost to the Government and will not be returned. The Government is under no obligation to provide responses or comments to information received from interested persons, but may request additional information following review. Note: If the interested person is a foreign concern or if a US interested person has a team member or partner who is a foreign entity, adherence to all International Traffic and Arms Regulations (ITAR) are required.