NATO Notification of Intent to Invite Bids for the Development and Delivery of Increment 1 of Air Command and Control Information Services (Air C2IS)

The NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) intends to invite bids on the development and delivery of Increment 1 of the Air Command and Control Information Services (Air C2IS) in Support of Air Staffs. NC3A is serving as the NATO contracting agency for this project. NC3A intends to use the Optional Preliminary Bidding Procedure. The formal IFB will be preceded by a Request for Bidders Views (RFBV), which will provide the draft IFB documentation to nominated bidders for comments. The estimated value of this project is Euro 11,365,000.00 ($17,865,000.00). The amounts of the bids submitted in response to the IFB shall not exceed 125% of the authorized amount for the project. The reference for the IFB is IFB-CO-12556-AirC2IS. The U.S. Department of Commerce will be using the same reference. Bidding documents, including technical specifications applicable to the bidding and the contractual documents, are expected to be NATO UNCLASSIFIED. Bidders may also be given access to a bidders library that may include material up to the level of NATO SECRET. Performance of the contract will also require that contractors have personnel and facility clearances at the level of NATO SECRET. The contractor is responsible for ensuring that the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) forwards to the NATO contracting agency the NATO clearance certifications for all personnel assigned to the contract. SUMMARY DESCRIPTION The Air C2IS project is intended to provide the common elements of the Air c2IS as a fully integrated component of the Bi-Strategic Command (Bi-SC) Automated Information System (AIS) and to serve as a baseline for future enhancement. These services are required to complement the Bi-SC AIS core services with an integrated and supported suite of Air C2 services capable of supporting the work of Air staffs at all static and deployable Command Facilities of the NATO Command Structure. The Air C2IS Increment 1 (AirC2IS-1) capability is also envisioned to expose those services and products needed by other Bi-SC AIS functional areas, such as the Air Operations Direct9ive (AOD), Air Space Control Order (ACO), Recognized Air Picture, and reporting of air order of battle information. In accordance with the Air C2IS Capability Package, it is expected that this project will be implemented based on a Spiral Development approach that will be executed in three increments to complete the Air C2IS capability. Each increment should provide an integral, usable, and operationally-fielded capability. BIDDING PROCEDURE Before a firm can be nominated to the bidders list for this procurement, it must first be approved for participation in NATO International Competitive Bidding (ICB). The U.S. Department of Commerce is authorized to approve for participation in NATO ICB those firms with a facility located within the United States. Please visit the following website for a copy of the NATO ICB application: http://www.bis.doc.gov/defenseindustrialbaseprograms/OSIES/NATOprograms/index.htm A firm that has been approved for participation in NATO ICB must request that the U.S. Department of Commerce issue a Declaration of Eligibility (DOE) for each project on which the firm wishes to bid. A DOE is used to nominate a firm to the bidders list for a particular project. The U.S. Department of Commerce forwards the DOE to the U.S. Embassy, which uses the DOE to nominate the firm to the bidders list. The NATO contracting agency will not accept requests for nomination received directly from firms. Firms that the U.S. Embassy nominates to the Bidders List will be contacted directly by the NATO contracting agency when the IFB has been issued. IMPORTANT DEADLINES 1. Final date to request a Declaration of Eligibility: 08 July 2008 2. Anticipated date that the contracting agency will distribute the RFBV: July 2008 3. Anticipated date that the contracting agency will distribute the IFB: Oct/Nov 2008 4. Anticipated closing date for receipt of bids: Jan/Feb 2008