Brand Name Sole Source for an Environmental Chamber

This solicitation, numbered W911QX26QA166, is a firm-fixed-price contract under Simplified Acquisition Procedures for the acquisition of a benchtop environmental battery test chamber and associated shipping services, issued by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory under the Department of Defense. The procurement is designated as a brand name sole source with no set-aside, and it uses the NAICS code 334516 for small business size determination, which has a threshold of 1,250 employees. Offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and provide valid Unique Entity IDs and CAGE codes. The response deadline is July 30, 2026, at 11:59 a.m. Eastern Time, with submissions accepted only via email to the designated Contract Specialist. Evaluation is based on price and technical capabilities without assigned weights or adjectival ratings, and award will follow a trade-off process, allowing selection of a higher-priced offeror if technical advantages justify the cost. Delivery must be made within four to five months after receipt of order to the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Maryland, under F.O.B. Destination terms, with inspection and acceptance occurring at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The contract mandates strict compliance with DoD-specific requirements, including Unique Item Identification (UUI) via two-dimensional Data Matrix symbols per MIL-STD-130 and ISO/IEC 16022 standards, with machine-readable verification required. All items must be reported in the IUID Registry and through WAWF for invoicing and payment processing, under clause 252.232-7006. Packaging must conform to MIL-STD-129. The contract incorporates numerous DFARS and FAR clauses covering Buy American requirements, preference for domestic commodities, prohibition on hexavalent chromium, restriction on business with the Maduro regime and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, cybersecurity standards including NIST SP 800-171 for CUI protection, and reporting obligations for former DoD officials. Contractors must also affirm compliance with telecommunications restrictions under FAR 52.204-24 and -25, and submit required representations regarding small business status and socioeconomic categorizations. No pricing details are provided in the solicitation, and the total contract value remains unlisted as offerors are expected to propose unit and extended prices. The Contracting Officer, Shanna