Radar Absorbing Material (RAM)

Solicitation Number: FA9302-14-M-K019 Notice Type: Sources Sought Pre-Solicitation 1.0 SYNOPSIS 1.1 The Air Force Test Center (AFTC), Electronic Warfare Group (EWG), Edwards AFB, CA intends to procure the following items: 1) Medium-powered Radar Absorbent Material (RAM), base is 24" x 24" length and depth and pyramidal height 24" up to 26", 180 each. 2) Standard Radar Absorbent Material (RAM), base is 24" x 24" length and depth and pyramidal height 24" up to 26", 640 each. 3) hook-and-loop fastener (Velcro style) backing for each base piece of RAM, 820 each. The AFTC solicits responses from interested parties in regard to vendor capability and interest. The AFTC is seeking capability statements from small businesses. Any firms believing that they can provide the materials may submit a written response to be received at the Contracting Office no later than five (5) days after the date of publication of this notice. While a final decision has not been determined, the North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code is preliminarily set as 326299 with a size standard of 500 employees. A set-aside determination has not been made. 1.2 Details. It is emphasized that this Sources Sought is for planning and information purposes only, it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results. As stipulated in FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Pursuant to FAR 52.215-3, this Request for Information (RFI) Sources Sought is protected pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations. Information identified by a respondent as "Proprietary or Confidential" will be kept confidential. 2.0 SCOPE OVERVIEW: 2.1 Statement of Need. This is not a request for Proposal, Quotation, or Invitation for bid notice. The following information is included as a description of the current requirements/scope: The 772d Test Squadron (TS), Edwards AFB, CA has a requirement to provide electromagnetic energy absorption, in the medium and standard power, handling ranges of 3 watts per square inch and 0.5 watts per square inch for use in the Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF). This capability requires increased power handling (medium power) performance to accommodate high power systems, without major degradation of reflectivity performance across frequency. The overall use of Radar Absorbing Material (RAM) is to eliminate multi-path reflections within the chamber. The requirement is for a total of 180 pieces size; base is 24" x 24" length and depth and pyramidal height 24" up to 26", medium-powered pyramidal absorber at 3 watts per square inch maximum CW power handling. And 640 pieces size; base is 24" x 24" length and depth and pyramidal height 24" up to 26", standard-power pyramidal absorber at 0.5 watts per square inch maximum CW power handling. All pieces will have hook-and-loop fastener (Velcro style) backing (820 each) on the base of each piece. Applicable documents: 1) IEEE Standard 1128 - "Recommended Practice for RF Absorber Performance Evaluation in the Range 30 MHz to 5Ghz" 2) NRL Report 8093, 1, 2, and 3. 3.0 REQUIREMENTS: 3.1 Reflectivity Attenuation Testing for RAM. Frequency reflectivity measurements are required for each lot. 3.1.2 Data Delivery Requirements. All data collected for frequency testing must be provided on or before date of RAM delivery. Each measurement plot must identify, by serial number, which pieces were tested for that plot and a table must be provided to show which serial numbers belong to which lot. Delivered data must include frequency-attenuation graphs. 3.2 Manufacturing constraints. 3.2.1 RAM Glue lines. Due to the multi-use test nature of the BAF, glue lines are generally undesirable for high frequency BAF tests. If any manufactured RAM will include any seams whatsoever, the seams must be characterized for possible performance degradation. Appropriate data and graphs must be provided. The seam lines are to be specified. 3.2.2 RAM Design. The RAM required shall be of standard Vent/polyurethane pyramid design with 9 pyramids per RAM piece for base size: 24" x 24" length and depth and pyramidal height 24" up to 26". The RAM paint color will be selected after contract award from vendor's standard palette but will be other than standard blue to differentiate medium power RAM pieces from low-power pieces already in use within the BAF. 3.2.3 Footprint Size Tolerance. The RAM shall be manufactured to a 24 inch by 24 inch base with a maximum size tolerance of +0.25 inch/-0.25 inch. 3.2.4 Physical Integrity Requirement. The RAM must not shed or leach carbon and fire retardants through the outer paint. 3.2.5 Loading and Fire Retardant Binders. The RAM manufacturing processing must use a binder for both the loading ingredients and fire retardant ingredients. 3.3 Fire Retardancy. Independently test the flammability of the RAM's manufacturing method to meet the fire retardancy required by NRL Report 8093 (test 1, 2, and 3). 3.4 Physical Characteristics for RAM. The physical description for the RAM, base 24-inches deep by 24 inches length by 24-26 inches in height pyramidal, is provided in the table below: Overall Height Between 24 inches and 26 inches +/-0.5 inch Overall RAM Footprint 24 inches square (24" x 24") +0.25/-0.25 inch Pyramids per piece 9 per 24" x 24" base (height of pyramid can be between 24 and 26 inches) Pyramid Shape Standard pyramid Fire Retardancy IAW NRL Report 8093 (Tests 1, 2, and 3) RAM Material Open cell Vent/Polyurethane absorber 4.0 RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS 4.1 The AFTC is seeking capability statements from potential sources for the purpose of aiding in the acquisition planning for this requirement. All written documents shall be in Microsoft Word and shall be no more than 10 pages in length (8.5"x 11", using not smaller than a 12 point font). 5.0 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 5.1 A one-page summary shall be included with the capability statement, which identifies the company's specific capabilities that are relevant to the requirement. In addition, the summary should also include the following: Name and address of company, number of employees, type of business ownership (i.e., Large Business, Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business,8(a) Business, HUB Zone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, or Veteran-Owned Small Business), and location of the business. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be posted on FedBizOpps.