APX-119 Transponder Upgrade

1. Executive Summary & Notice

This Sources Sought Synopsis is published for market research purposes only and does not constitute a Notice of Solicitation. The United States Air Force, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Mobility and Training Aircraft Directorate, KC-46 Contracting Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), Ohio, is seeking capabilities packages from potential sources, including small businesses (SB), capable of performing required upgrade services on the APX-119 transponder and delivering a rotational pool of spare units.

The Government is actively seeking capabilities packages from all potential sources, including but not limited to: Small Business (SB), 8(a) participants, HUBZone Small Business, Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB).

IMPORTANT NOTICE
As stipulated in FAR 15.201, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No solicitation (Request for Proposal) currently exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. The decision to solicit for a contract remains solely within the Government’s discretion. Any information submitted is strictly voluntary, and the Government will not reimburse any costs associated with the submission of information in response to this notice.

2. Requirement Specifications

The Government is performing market research to identify contractors who possess the skills, experience, knowledge, and ability to obtain proprietary data to service the APX-119 transponder. The contractor must have the capability to perform necessary hardware and software upgrades while maintaining Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) compliance. All upgrade services must be performed by an FAA Part 145 certified vendor/facility.

Requirement Parameter

Specification Details

Part Number (P/N)

4079100 (APX-119 Transponder, including dash numbers 0522 and 0531)

National Stock Number (NSN)

0522:  5841-01-580-8081

0531:  To date, not assigned

Anticipated Retrofit Quantity

190 Units

Anticipated Spare Quantity

15 Units (Rotational Pool)

2.1 Operational & Logistics Flow

The selected vendor will receive APX-119 units from the Government’s main operating base and will be required to ship the same number of upgraded units back to the Government. This notice is searching for capable vendors to upgrade the units only; the contractor will not be required to perform procedures to remove the units from or reinstall them onto the aircraft.

Performance of the upgrade requires access to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) service bulletin to perform the necessary upgrade of OEM certified units. Additionally, all delivered units shall include a minimum of a one-year (1-year) warranty.

3. Capabilities Package Requirements

Interested parties shall submit a capabilities package, accompanied by a cover letter, that is brief and concise, yet clearly demonstrates the ability to meet the stated requirements with sufficiently qualified personnel. Capability packages must not exceed five (5) pages in total.

Responses must include the following detailed information:

• Company Profile: Company name, physical and mailing address.
• Point of Contact: Name, phone number, and email address.
• Prime Contractor Intent: A clear statement of your intention to submit a bid for this requirement as a Prime contractor.
• Ownership & Personnel: A statement as to whether your company is domestically or foreign owned or controlled (if foreign, please indicate the country), and whether use of any foreign national employees is contemplated on this effort.
• Subcontracting Arrangements: If subcontracts are to be used, provide the anticipated percentage of effort to be subcontracted and whether small or large businesses will be used. Teaming and/or subcontracting arrangements should be clearly delineated, and previous experience in teaming must be provided.
• Capability & Capacity: A statement as to your capability (including financial) and capacity to perform and manage the work.
• Execution Methodology: A statement explaining how your company will perform this work, specifically addressing:
  • How your company will complete the retrofits at a rate of up to 16 per week.
  • Demonstration of conducting the required retrofit while maintaining FAA STC compliance.
  • Commitment to delivering units with a minimum 1-year warranty.
• Experience & Background: A statement clearly describing your related background and experience with retrofitting similar transponders within the last ten (10) years, including contract numbers, project titles, dollar amounts, and points of contact.
• Business Size Standard: A statement of business size in relation to the NAICS size standard stated above.
• Socio-Economic Status: Socio-economic status (e.g., Large Business, Small Business, 8(a), HUBZone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, etc.).
• Government Identifiers: Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) number and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code.

4. Submission Instructions & Points of Contact

Advertising or marketing information is NOT appropriate for this submission.

Responses must be submitted electronically to the Primary Point of Contact. All correspondence sent via email MUST contain the exact subject line: “APX-119 Transponder Upgrade”

Failure to include this exact subject line may result in the email being blocked by spam filters at Wright-Patterson AFB. Email filters are designed to delete emails without a subject, with suspicious subjects, or with attachments exceeding 15 MB. Attachments with files ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be automatically deleted. Ensure only .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xlsx, or .xls documents are attached.