M240 Suppressor

Market Survey - M240B/L Suppressor Contract Opportunity Type: Sources Sought (Original) All Dates/Times are: (UTC-05:00) EASTERN STANDARD TIME, NEW YORK, USA Original Published Date: TBD Original Response Date: TBD Inactive Policy: 15 days after response date Original Inactive Date: TBD Initiative: None MARKET SURVEY / SOURCES SOUGHT M240 Suppressor Document Type: Market Survey / Sources Sought Notice Response Date: 15 days from publication Classification Code: 10-Weapons Subject: M240 Suppressor THIS IS A MARKET SURVEY / SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY: DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Army, Army Contracting Command-New Jersey at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806-5000 is conducting a market survey / sources sought notice on behalf of the Project Manager Soldier Lethality (PMSL) for a M240B/L Suppressor. Presently, the M240B and M240L machine guns are unsuppressed weapons that utilize a flash hider for signature reduction. It is desired to further reduce sound, flash, ground disturbance, while not significantly increasing the thermal signature. The suppressor should minimize the increase in toxic fumes at the shooter's face. The durability/reliability of the M240 weapon platform cannot be significantly compromised. The suppressor should be able to achieve similar or lower visible flash levels than the baseline M240L or M240B, with a standard flash hider, when firing M80A1 or M62A1 ammunition. Flash is characterized by measuring the luminous energy in milli-candela-seconds. Reduction of flash in the infrared spectrum is of interest as well. The sound reduction of the suppressor should provide 6 dB or more reduction in peak, unweighted sound at the shooter's ear. The suppressor should reduce ground disturbance of the M240, as characterized by changes in the amount of sand the suppressor kicks up, or movement in tall grass, while firing in the prone position off of a bipod or tripod. The suppressor does not need to have a quick disconnect feature, but does need to be able to be removed from the barrel by an armorer to replace the barrel or suppressor for cleaning or replacement of the barrel/suppressor on the weapon system. If the suppressor has a quick disconnect, the suppressor should be able to be removed from the weapon without a glove. A small removal tool is acceptable. It is important that any suppressor proposed for use on the M240 have the ability to demonstrate a minimum service life of 10,000 rounds, with a desired service life of 25,000 rounds, with a less than a 50% reduction in sound, flash, toxic fume and disturbed earth performance. The suppressor should not have any safety issues as it approaches end of life, including potential for blockages or structural failure. The suppressor should not increase in weight by more than 24 ounces due to copper/carbon build up over the life of the suppressor. The suppressor should be able to survive under a standard duty cycle on the M240 consisting of a 200 round belt of M80A1/M62A1 ammunition fired in 10-12 round bursts every 6-8 seconds and then cooled between belts. The suppressor should not increase in temperature more than 400-1100 Deg-F on the exterior during the standard duty cycle test. Preferably the suppressor should have some way of reducing the thermal signature as seen by machine devices if at all possible. The suppressor should be able to survive 50 to 125 of the 200 round belt standard duty cycles, in order to achieve the service life to 10,000 to 25,000 rounds. The suppressor should not change the typical cleaning cycle of the M240 which consists of a wipe and lube at 2000 rounds and full cleaning at 4000 rounds. The suppressor should not need highly specialized cleaning. The suppressor should weigh between 16 to 56 ounces at zero rounds and should not extend past the end of the muzzle more than 4-10 inches. SUBMISSION INFORMATION: Interested companies who believe they are capable of providing M240 suppressors that meet the above goals are invited to indicate their interest by providing the Government a brief summary (i.e. no more than 10 pages -- not counting prior contract history) of their company's specific suppressor design and any supporting analysis or test results that show the ability to meet the above goals. Please include information on lead times to produce and deliver small quantities of suppressors (maximum of 20) for evaluation by the government. It is preferable that all items be available within 2-3 months of request. Also, please provide information on the ability to scale up manufacturing and production in higher quantities. Companies are invited to indicate their capabilities by providing specifications, brochures, manuals, reports, demonstration video and other technical data, as well as identification of current customers. A TECHNICAL DATA PACKAGE (TDP) WILL NOT BE PROVIDED IN SUPPORT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. Please identify the subject of your response as, - M240 Suppressor. Vendor Questionnaire: The purpose of this questionnaire is to obtain information from industry to assist in the market research. Companies are invited to indicate their interest and capability to satisfy the above requirements by identifying the following items: 1. Company Name 2. Company Address 3. Company Website 4. CAGE code and DUNS Number 5. Company point of contact and phone number 6. Major partners or Suppliers 7. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this effort is 332994 with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees. Based on this information is your business considered a small business? 8. Type of Business (Small Business, Large Business, 8a Small Business, Hub zone Small Business, or Service Disabled Veteran Small Business) and Number of Employees. 9. Commerciality: (a) ( ) Our product as described above, has been sold, leased or licensed to the general public. (b) ( ) Our product as described above has been sold in substantial quantities, on a competitive basis to multiple state and local government. The development of the product was done exclusively at private expense. (c) ( ) None of the above applies. Explain: 10. Please provide rough indication of pricing and any pricing data. 11. Please provide any additional comments. DISCLAIMER: This market survey / sources sought notice is for information only and shall not be construed as a request for a proposal or as an obligation on the part of the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this market survey / sources sought notice or otherwise pay for information solicited. Any hardcopy information provided will not be returned. NO TELEPHONE INQUIRES WILL BE ACCEPTED. The Government will accept written questions by email or request for follow on conversations by email. The information collected from this market survey / sources sought notice may be used to support any follow on acquisitions. All data received in response to this market survey / sources sought notice that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this market survey / sources sought notice.