Request for Information for Replacement of Voice and Flight Data Recorders on the United States Coast Guard MH65E and MH60T Rotary Wing Aircraft

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION NUMBER 70Z03821IS0000001, AMENDMENT 0001, FOR REPLACEMENT OF VOICE AND FLIGHT DATA RECORDERS ON THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD MH65E and MH60T ROTARY WING AIRCRAFT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS The purpose of this amendment 0001is to answer the questions received during the question and answer period which has since ended. All other Request for Information terms and conditions remain unchanged. See attached Questions and Answers to the United States Coast Guard's (USCG) Request for Information (RFI) (70Z03821IS0000001) for the Replacement of Voice and Flight Data Recorders (VFDR) on the USCG MH65E and MH60T Rotary Wing Aircraft. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regard to its submission; other than acknowledgment of receipt - IF a request for an acknowledgement is requested by the submitter. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Aviation Logistics Center (ALC) is not at this time seeking proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government, and will not be returned. 1.0 DESCRIPTION The USCG ALC Safety and Environmental Health Office (SEHO) manage and support the USCG fleets Voice and Flight Data Recorder (VFDR) systems. As part of this management, the SEHO provides analysis and investigation for Mishaps and Engineering events. These analyses are yet another tool that Air Station Maintenance, Operations, Safety, and Training personnel can use to keep the aircraft flying and safe to operate. The USCG has in excess of 130 operational MH65E and MH60T rotary wing aircraft. 2.0 PURPOSE OF THIS RFI The purpose of this RFI is to ascertain available sources to provide replacement VFDRs for the USCG's MH65E and MH60T rotary wing aircraft. The GE Aviation K3 Voice and Data Recorder (VADR) is currently installed on the entire fleet of USCG MH65E and MH60T rotary wing aircraft. The USCG is proposing to replace the current VADRs due to component obsolescence, software and hardware problems and challenges, internal component failures, lack of access to component maintenance manuals, and the proprietary nature of these units in which inhibits the USCG from utilizing rotary wing aircraft data in its growing Flight Data Analytics Program. The USCG's Flight Data Analytics Program downloads, decompresses, compares and trends aircraft flight data files against aircraft original equipment manufacturer and flight manual exceedances. The replacement VFDR must meet the following specifications, at a minimum: Combination Voice/Flight Data Recorder with 90 Day Underwater Acoustic Beacon (UAB) Data Storage Unit (DSU), Quick Access Recorder (QAR) or equivalent for maintenance downloads Area Microphone Analysis Software and Documentation Accommodate the basic characteristics (physical, audio, flight data, survivability capabilities, and cost data) currently held by the K3VADR Basic Physical Characteristics include: mounting footprint, weight, Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) Basic Audio characteristics include: Four (4) channel capability with minimum 4 hour recording time Basic Flight Data Characteristics include: minimum 25 hour recording time, memory size, MIL STD 1553, ARINC 429 data bus, data downloading format, DSU/QAR output capability, and an open Data Format Basic Survivability characteristics include: Government regulated requirements Basic cost data for the unit as well as any Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) associated in programming the VFDRs Replacement VFDR will need to be similar in size and capability to the current VFDR due to space availability and weight constraints on the aircraft Integration, testing, and documentation for NRE, documentation and impact, and environmental and validation testing Integration of the replacement VFDR to the existing aircraft Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) 3.0 RFI RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Electronic files larger than 5 MB shall be broken down into multiple files with no one file exceeding 5 MB. Each electronic submission shall include: The RFI number in the subject line. The maximum number of pages per submission shall be limited to 10 pages. The file number and total files being submitted (e.g., File 1 of 4, File 2 of 4, etc.) in the subject line, if submission includes more than one electronic email. A Point of Contact (POC), phone number and email address of the person (in the body of the email) to be contacted regarding any correspondence between the Government and the Vendor. The POC shall be capable of addressing questions or issues associated with the submission and content of the RFI. A brief summary of email content, vendor name, address, and the vendor's cage code. Interested parties having the expertise and capabilities are invited to submit detailed information discussing their capabilities to Brandy Moneymaker, Contract Specialist, at the following address, Brandy.L.Moneymaker@uscg.mil by 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on September 30, 2021. Questions regarding this RFI may be forwarded to Brandy Moneymaker, Contract Specialist, via email at Brandy.L.Moneymaker@uscg.mil. The deadline for submitting questions is 12:00 PM EST on September 17, 2021. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the ALC, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become the property of the Federal Government, and will not be returned. Responses to this RFI will be evaluated by Government technical experts.