Request for Information for APS 6 Software Development Contract

This Request for Information (RFI) is being issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute an Invitation for Bids (IFB), a Request for Proposals (RFP), a Request for Quotations (RFQ) or an indication that the Government will contract for any of the items and/or services contained in this notice. In accordance with FAR 52.215-3, Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes, the Government will not pay for any information/items submitted in response to the RFI. No determination as to the viability of this potential requirement has been made at this point and there is currently no solicitation for this effort. Failure to submit a response will NOT prevent a company from participating in any future competition related to this program. NO telephone responses will be accepted. A. PURPOSE The purpose of this RFI is to conduct Market Research regarding a contracting effort to procure Air Vehicle Planning System 7 (APS 7) contract for agile software development for the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Commandant Command division (AFNWC/NCC). AFNWC/NCC is the program management office that directs the APS contract which includes: agile software development, Final Acceptance Processing (FAP) Checker, engineering and software services for maintenance and analysis of Government- owned mission planning software, on-site support for planners, provisions for interoperability with other necessary programs, correction of known software deficiencies, incorporation of guidance changes, maintenance of the capability to fix both non-critical and emergency (urgent) Software Change Requests (SCRs), and application training for personnel. This requirement also includes provisions for enhancements and code development for the nuclear triad. B. BACKGROUND The purpose of this RFI is to conduct Market Research regarding a potential contracting effort to procure Air Vehicle Planning System 7 software development for the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Commandant Command division (AFNWC/NCC). The APS 6 is in the process of modifying the code baseline to integrate 3 high value AF weapons systems (B-2, B-21 & LRSO). The APS 6 code baseline modification is on critical timeline for those programs and there are significant milestones occurring during 2026 through 2030. The software development for APS 6 requires a TS/SAP (Special Access Program) level accredited facility, personnel and development network capabilities for a contractor team of 45 to 55 developers. APS 6 is comprised of COTS, FOSS, and GOTS software, currently running in a virtualized environment. The current environment is a VMWare hypervisor and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) virtual machines. Oracle WebLogic application servers run most of the application software; the application also uses Oracle database, Oracle Service Bus, Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) servers, Oracle WebLogic, Spring Java, Cesium, Marionette, JNI, and REST. The system uses a layered architecture, in which each layer communicates with its neighbors using well-defined services. APS 6 uses the following 10 primary languages: C++, SQL & DDL, FORTRAN, HTML, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Script, CSS, and XML. Automated system provisioning and configuration control for variant simultaneous build and infrastructure versions consists of 5 permutations at operational site across 2 enclaves and 5 disjointed operational Lines of Service (Engineering, VSS, Unix, DBA, MTA). There are no Intellectual Property (IP) and/or associated IP rights costs included in the requirement. The Government currently has unlimited rights to all APS data and there is no plan to deviate from this rights posture in the future. B. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS The Contractor shall provide custom agile software development services Section 1: Company Profile (please limit this section to a single page) 1. Please describe your company's general experience providing custom software and hardware for military use. 2. Describe similar agile software development offered to the Government. (Include period of performance, contract number, dollar value, Government point of contract, etc.) 3. What is your business size and type (i.e., small, woman-owned, veteran-owned, etc.) under NAICS code 541512 (Computer Systems Design Services)? Section 2: Facility and Security Clearance Requirements (please limit this section to a single page) Does your company have a TS facility clearance, either as a prime contractor or through subcontracting partnerships? Please explain. Is your company able to provide employees who can obtain a TS/SCI clearance, either as a prime contractor or through subcontracting partnerships? Please explain. Section 3: Key Resources Describe the resources your company possesses to meet these requirements such as: unique skills or training, any novel processes utilized to achieve uninterrupted continuous agile software development operations within a TS/SAP facility, ability to provide cleared personnel and ability to provide a properly accredited TS/SAP software development environment. Section 4: Additional Comments/Information Provide detailed information in response to the questions listed below. Please answer them in the order in which they are asked: 1. Previous history of TS/SAP level agile software development experience with Recent (within the last 2 years) and Relevant (at minimum, $15M in annual software development (NAICS 541512)) Past Performance. a. List experience and successes with minimizing/eliminating risks when transitioning suppliers on software development programs with SAP elements. Must provide a Government POC (name, organization, title, phone number, email) to verify the information provided. b. Provide specific details regarding the successful transition process: risk identified, associated problems experienced and methods used to overcome risks and problems to achieve a successful contract transition including facility, personnel and software development environment. c. What was the total time for software development environment set-up and final security accreditation for associated efforts? d. Provide specific measures/solutions for lowering/eliminating transition risks for software development programs with SAP elements and mission critical timelines. 2. Pertinent information to clearly show you met the program's Security Requirements to allow uninterrupted day 1 performance as follows: a. TS/SAP accredited development facility b. TS/SAP accredited software development environment c. TS/SAP cleared software development personnel 3. What is your firm's likelihood/interest level to compete, as scheduled (Estimated Contract Award, July 2026), for an APS 7 contract given the current conditions (e.g. APS is on the critical timeline for 3 high value AF weapons systems and perturbation to delivery schedule is not acceptable) 4. What other unique capabilities are available for TS/SAP level software development, that may enhance mission performance? 5. The acquisition team has found that having the developers in the local area facilitates strong outcomes due to the collaborative nature of agile software development. a. How will your firm attract and retain skilled TS/SAP cleared personnel to the Offutt AFB area? b. Do you have experience with TS/SAP level software development occurring at a significant distance from the requiring activity? If yes, how was that facilitated for a successful outcome? c. What specific processes and technologies did you use to maintain security in a distributed development arena? 6. The general category of weapon systems being supported at an unclassified level are the B-2, B-21 and LRSO programs (all three programs are acknowledged). Potential vendors should provide any relevant experience with these or similar programs, so relevant experience may be assessed. 7. All responding firms must be DFARS 252.204-7020, NIST SP 800-171 and DFARS 252-204-7021, Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) requirement compliant. Please provide a compliance statement for each clause and CMMC certificate in the firm's response. 8. The developer must have personnel, facility, and IT systems capable of processing TS/SAR data. Personnel, facility, and IT systems will then have to be accredited to the individual programs. 9. The applicable elements for contractors to understand how to meet the security accreditation requirements for the APS 6 contract are outlined in AFI 31-401? 10. Please provide any comments/questions regarding this effort. The Government will use the information submitted in response to this notice at its discretion and will not provide comments to any submission; however, the Government reserves the right to contact any respondent to this notice for the sole purpose of enhancing understanding of the notice submission. Information received will not be considered confidential/proprietary unless marked accordingly. Company proprietary data will be reviewed by Government employees and authorized representatives only. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI, including any market research product demonstrations. Interested vendors must provide documents to the Contracting Officer, Chad Stemick, chad.j.stemick.civ@mail.mil or Contract Specialist, Brandon Lohse, brandon.s.lohse.civ@mail.mil. All vendors documents received must be a current SAM.gov registered DOD contactor.