NATO Notification of Intent to Invite Bids to Provide GAG Secure and ECM Resistant UHF Communication for Poland

The NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) has reopened the opportunity for nominations to the bidders list for the provision of G/A/G Secure and ECM Resistant UHF Communication for Poland. NC3A is serving as the NATO contracting agency for this project. NC3A intends to use the International Competitive Bidding (ICB) One Envelope Procedure, in which the price proposals are opened and evaluated and the bids ranked in order by lowest price. Technical Evaluation then commences with the lowest price bid until a fully compliant bid is found. The estimated value of this project is not available at this time. The reference for the IFB is IFB-CO-12546-POL-GAG. The U.S. Department of Commerce will be using the same reference. The successful contractor may be required to handle and store classified information up to the level of NATO SECRET. In addition, contractor personnel working on NATO sites will be required to hold individual security clearances of NATO SECRET. Only companies maintaining such facilities and personnel clearances will be able to perform the resulting contract. 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. Bidders will be required to quote for the provision of ground, secure, and ECM resistant UHF radio infrastructure with the associated remote control capability, and with additional VHF- and UHF-band ancillary equipment to include hardware, software, documentation, testing, installation, training, and transition on-site support. A minimum of one year warranty period will also be included for maintenance and support of the systems. Quotations shall be on a fixed price basis for the total of the contract. Bidders will be required to bid for UHF radios that are capable of operation using the Have Quick II standard. If SATURN radios are bid, they must be capable of operation in Have Quick II mode. If Have Quick II radios are bid, it must be possible to upgrade the radios to the SATURN standard, while still retaining the capability to operate in the Have Quick II mode. In the latter case, the bidder will be required to quote for the related option referring to the upgrade of Have Quick II radios to SATURN. This option will be part of the evaluation. The bidders will also be required to quote for options referring to additional equipment to be installed in additional sites in Poland. The options will be part of the evaluation. The solicitation will require the bidders to guarantee that the radio frequencies specified are compatible with the regulations and controls of the nations and that national frequency clearances will be obtained as appropriate. The bidders will have to take in to account that the installation will be performed on existing sites, which have electromagnetic and infrastructure constraints. The solicitation will include a requirement for prospective bidders to demonstrate their ability to undertake this project, and mandatory criteria for extensive experience with the provision of similar types of systems. 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 NATO contracting agency will not accept requests for nomination received directly from firms. IMPORTANT DEADLINES 1. Final date to request a Declaration of Eligibility: 16 March 2010 2. Anticipated date that the contracting agency will distribute the IFB: April 2010 3. Anticipated closing date for receipt of bids: July 2010 4. Anticipated contract award date: November 2010