Replacement wide band radome for F-16C/D Block 30-52 aircraft

Sources Sought Synopsis F-16 Program Office Fighter/Bomber Directorate Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 1.0 Description 1.1 The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Fighter/Bomber Directorate (WW), F-16 Program Contracting Office (WWMK), Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio is seeking information on a production effort to replace the current legacy radome with a wide band radome for F-16C/D Block 30-52 aircraft equipped with AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam (SABR), Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Fire Control Radar (FCR). 1.2 Specifically, the F-16 Program Office is requesting information on a wide band radome that can be retrofitted onto the existing F-16C/D Block 30-52 aircraft equipped with the AN/APG-83 with minimal to no structural, electrical, or environmental system modifications, as well as contractors who are interested in supporting the design, development, integration, and test program. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this potential work is believed to be in the 334511 category: Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing, size standard 750 employees. 2.0 This Is A Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) Only 2.1 This SSS is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This SSS does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. This is a sources sought only, which, as part of market research, is being issued in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 15.201(e). 2.2 The Air Force is not, at this time, seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in responding to this SSS. All costs associated with responding to this SSS will be solely at the interested parties' expense. Respondents are encouraged to include a budgetary estimate for the work involved. 2.3 Contractors must be either U.S.-owned or a U.S.-owned subsidiary with valid security infrastructure and clearances to accomplish this effort. If another company or small business believes they may have solutions to meet the requirements, please contact the U.S. Government Contract Specialist, Jason Pickart, at jason.pickart@us.af.mil and Contracting Officer, Patty Judge, at patricia.judge@us.af.mil, for contact information to these companies for subcontracting opportunities. Large businesses are encouraged to indicate the extent to which they intend to use small businesses. 2.4 Respondents should recommend small business utilization percentages as a percent of total contract value to be considered. This recommendation should include supporting rationale for the recommended percentage. Additionally, recommend any potential effort(s) that may be broken out of this requirement. 2.5 Not responding to this SSS does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement. 3.0 Background 3.1 A wide band radome enhances the F-16C/D AN/APG-83 AESA FCR system's ability to detect, track, and identify air and ground targets. The radome supports the F-16C/D day or night, and all-weather Air-to-Air, Air-to-Surface, and Electronic Warfare/Protection operations. 3.2 The threshold requirements for the wide band radome replacement from the legacy radome are: 3.2.1 Enables detection, tracking, and identification of airborne and ground targets by the AN/APG-83. 3.2.2 Enables Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) ground mapping by the AN/APG-83. 3.2.3 Enables the AN/APG-83's Electronic Warfare/Protection capabilities. 3.2.4 The radome shall generally conform to the mechanical and structural specifications listed in USAF Specification documents16ZB002 and 16VB008, with modifications that support the wide band capabilities listed above in 3.2.1-3.2.3. The radome will also conform to electrical specifications defined for the AN/APG-83 SABR AESA. 3.2.5 The radome provider shall be capable of initial deliveries of operational wide band radomes not later than 18 months after contract award. Wide band radome installation is projected to begin during 1st Quarter, CY22. Peak delivery requirements are estimated to be 7-10 radomes per month. 3.3 Due to security access, system attributes, and concept of operations, foreign contractor participation is not permitted at the prime contractor level. United States contractors must develop software and hardware in the United States of America. 4.0 Security requirements will be in accordance with the F-16C/D Security Classification Guide (SCG) and any other applicable classification guides. Please contact F-16 Program Office if a copy of the SCG is required. 5.0 The U.S. Government will accept a wide band radome replacement solution that fits within the existing AN/APG-83 radar volume and cooling budget allocated, meets all Size Weight and Power (SWAP) requirements, and minimizes any modifications to the airframe and other systems. 6.0 A contractor is currently developing, qualifying, and integrating a wide band radome solution for use with their AN/APG-83 radar. Delivery of radome specifications and reprocurement data is expected. To aid perspective contractors that desire to produce radomes until radome specification data is made available, the System Requirements Document (SRD) is available for this sources sought synopsis upon request by contacting Larry Pinkerton at larry.pinkerton.1.ctr@us.af.mil. 7.0 The U.S. Government cannot provide F-16C/D avionics core software on the operating system because of licensing agreements between the U.S. Government and the Original Equipment Manufacturer. 8.0 Industry Discussions 8.1 The F-16 Program Office (AFLCMC/WWM) representatives may or may not choose to meet with potential offerors. Such discussions would only be intended to get further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements. 9.0 On the following pages is a description of the radome replacement requirements, and the Contractor Capability Survey which allows you to provide your company's capability. 10.0 If, after reviewing this information, you desire to respond to the SSS, you should provide documentation that supports your company's capability to meet these requirements. Companies may be contacted for further information or clarification; however, failure to provide documentation may result in the U.S. Government being unable to adequately assess your capabilities. If you lack sufficient experience in a particular area, please provide details explaining how your company would overcome the lack of experience/capabilities in order to perform that portion of the requirement (i.e., teaming, subcontracting, etc.). Documentation describing your company's capability should be provided in the form of a white paper. 11.0 Address questions related to this market survey to: Program Manager, Mr. Paul Wojtowicz, at paul.wojtowicz.2@us.af.mil Contract Specialist, Jason Pickart, at jason.pickart@us.af.mil Contracting Officer, Patty Judge, at patricia.judge@us.af.mil. Questions regarding classified communications shall be addressed by the Security Officer, Ms. Pam Rose (CTR), at (unclassified) pamela. Rose.2.ctr@us.af.mil. 12.0 Your package can be submitted via e-mail or DoD SAFE (https://safe.apps.mil/). Be advised that all correspondence sent via e-mail must contain a subject line that reads "RADOME-SSS." Note that e-mail filters at Wright-Patterson AFB are designed to filter e-mails without subject lines or with suspicious subject lines and/or certain attachments (i.e., .exe or .zip files). Therefore, if this subject line is not included, the e-mail may not get through the e-mail filters. Also be advised that .zip or .exe files are not allowable attachments and may be deleted by the e-mail filters at Wright-Patterson AFB. If sending attachments with e-mail, ensure only. *PDF, *.doc, *.docx, *.doc, or .*xlsx documents are sent. The e-mail filter may delete other form of attachments. If you intend to send other file types, your entire package can be submitted using DoD SAFE. REQUIREMENTS DESCRIPTION F-16C/D Wide Band Radome Replacement Description The U.S. Government is requesting information in an effort to identify vendors with the expertise, capabilities, and experience to successfully produce a wide band radome replacement to the current AN/APG-68 Fire Control Radar radome on the USAF F-16C/D Block 30-52. Participating vendors shall meet the following requirements: 1. United States fighter aircraft radome vendor with past experience on USAF AESA radar development. 2. The manufacturer's development and production facilities are located within the United States. 3. The wide band radome solution must meet the minimal bandwidth requirements and attenuation levels described in the F-16 AESA radar System Requirements Document classified Supplement #1. 4. The wide band radome must be maintained in such a way that the electrical tuning per specification 16ZB002A is electrically identical (bending coefficient and attenuation levels) to allow for one fleet wide set of AN/APG-83 tuning coefficient, look up tables, etc. 5. The manufacturer must meet US DoD security protection requirements. 6. The contractor must have a solution that meets the following minimum requirements: a. Has a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6 or higher that is ready for integration and final development starting in CY21. b. Fits within the existing F-16C/D structural requirements and supports AN/APG-83 radar volume, Environmental Cooling System (ECS) capacity, and meets SWAP requirements. c. Meets all applicable F-16C/D airworthiness and safety of flight standards and requirements. 7. Describe concept of support to enable future U.S. Government wide band radome sustainment including, but not limited to licenses, technical data, commodity technical orders, and any unique requirements. 8. Provide a list of documentation, Government Furnished Equipment, and Government Furnished Information the contractor requires from the U.S. Government, as well as the dates by which they are needed. ? CONTRACTOR CAPABILITY SURVEY F-16C/D Wide Band Radome Replacement Part I. Business Information Please provide the following business information for your company/institution and for any teaming or joint venture partners: - Company/Institute Name: - Address: - Point of Contact: - CAGE Code: - Phone Number: - E-mail Address: - Web Page URL: - Size of business pursuant to NAICS Code 334511, size standard of 750 employees: Based on the above NAICS Code, state whether your company is: - Small Business (Yes / No) - Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) (Yes / No) - Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) (Yes / No) - 8(a) Certified (Yes / No) - HUBZone Certified (Yes / No) - Veteran Owned Small Business (Yes / No) - Service Disabled Veteran Small Business (Yes / No) *NOTE: All prospective contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database to be awarded a DoD contract. The NAICS code for this requirement, if applicable to the company's capabilities, should be included in the company's NAICS code listing in SAM. A statement as to whether your company is domestically or foreign owned (if foreign, please indicate the country of ownership). Part II. Capability Survey Questions Please provide the following business General Capability information for your company/institution and for any teaming or joint venture partners: 1. General Capability Questions a. Describe briefly the capabilities of your facility and the nature of the goods and/or services you provide. b. Describe your company's past experience on previous projects for the U.S. Government similar in complexity to this requirement. Include contract numbers, a brief description of the work performed, period of performance, agency/organization supported, and individual point of contact (Contracting Officer or Program Manager). c. Provide data to support/prove the required TRL has been achieved (if already at TRL 6 or higher) or is achievable within the aforementioned timeline. d. Briefly describe how your company would use small business to support this potential effort. e. Describe your company's knowledge of and experience in working with the F-16C/D radome and structure. f. Describe your company's capabilities for generating, handling, processing, and storing classified material and data. g. Does your company have the ability to work up to the extended classified level to support this development? h. Describe your company's capabilities and experience in generating technical data, engineering drawings, and manuals. Identify what software programs are used to generate these data products and what formats are available for delivered items. i. What is your company's current maximum production capacity per month? j. Provide information on any facility reserves you may possess to increase production capacity in the event of an immediate need due to critical operational mission requirements. k. Describe any options that exist to shorten the production timeline (to include long lead parts). l. Are there specific requirements in the documentation that the U.S. Government provided that would currently preclude your product from being a viable solution to our requirement? m. Describe your company's proposed contract type and anticipated period of performance as it relates herein. 2. Hardware Production Questions: a. Describe your capability and experiences in the manufacturing/fabrication of F-16 radome components. b. What quality assurance processes and test qualification practices does your company employ? Please provide a description of your quality program (ISO 9000, QS-9000, EIA-599, or otherwise). c. Does your product require support equipment? d. What peripheral equipment is needed to install, remove, and maintain your product? e. What, if any, type of special handling or considerations are required for your product? f. Has environmental/structural testing to F-16 standards been completed on your product? 3. Repair Questions: a. Describe your capabilities and experience in developing/modifying repair or maintenance procedures. Include associated upgrade of technical orders and preparation of new technical orders. b. Describe your configuration management processes and how you identify and resolve parts obsolescence and diminishing manufacturing sources problems. c. Describe your process for maintaining inventory records and reporting on hand/in work balances and repair status to your customer. 4. Commerciality Questions: a. Are there established catalog or market prices for our requirement? If your company offers this product and/or service to both U.S. Government and commercial sources, is the same workforce used for both the U.S. Government and general public? Is our requirement offered to both under similar terms and conditions? Briefly describe any differences. b. Describe your standard warranty and return process for goods and services furnished to the U.S. Government for items similar in nature to this requirement. PROPRIETARY DATA F-16C/D Wide Band Radome Replacement 1. Proprietary Information (PI) or Intellectual Property (IP) should be minimized and clearly marked: a. Segregate PI and IP information to the maximum extent practical. b. Proprietary Data Protection Agreement should be in place that would permit F-16 program office support contractors to view proprietary information. The following is a list of support contractors, who will review the responses. Company HMR Tech Sumaria Systems 2. The U.S. Government will secure Non-Disclosure Agreements from contractors supporting the F-16 Program Office (AFLCMC/WWM) as identified above. Interested parties, if unwilling for the U.S. Government to release their proprietary data to support contractors, shall provide a statement detailing their position. 3. In the absence of either of the foregoing, the U.S. Government will assume that the respondent does not agree to the release of its submission to U.S. Government support contractors. 4. The respondent must provide a facility security clearance prior to any point-to-point classified discussions. Summary THIS IS AN SSS ONLY to identify sources that can provide a wide band radome replacement for the current F-16C/D radome. The information provided in the SSS is subject to change and is not binding on the U.S. Government. The Air Force has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this SSS should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become U.S. Government property and will not be returned.