REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) For Manufacturing/Procurement of Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

For Manufacturing/Procurement of Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly

                    Noun                                                NSN                                Part Number

Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly          1650-01-187-9395HL                205-076-056-107

CAUTION:

The Government is conducting market research to identify potential sources that possess the data, expertise, capabilities, and experience to meet qualification requirements to manufacture/procure the Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly, which is applicable to the TH-1H Helicopter.

The Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly has an Acquisition Method Code (AMC)/ Acquisition Method Suffix Code (AMSC) code of 1/C.AMC 1: Suitable for competitive acquisition for the second or subsequent time. AMSC C: This part requires engineering source approval by the design control activity in order to maintain the quality of the part.  Existing unique design capability, engineering skills, and manufacturing knowledge by the qualified source(s) require acquisition of the part from the approved source(s).  The approved source(s) retain data rights, manufacturing knowledge, or technical data that are not economically available to the Government, and the data or knowledge is essential to maintaining the quality of the part.  An alternate source must qualify in accordance with the design control activity's procedures, as approved by the cognizant Government engineering activity.  The qualification procedures must be approved by the Government engineering activity having jurisdiction over the part in the intended application.  See Attachment 1 (Source Qualification Statement).  If one source is approved, AMCs 3, 4, or 5 are valid.  If at least two sources are approved or if data is adequate for an alternate source to qualify in accordance with the design control activity's procedures, AMCs 1 or 2 are valid.

The technical data required to manufacture the Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly is not owned by the Government. It has been determined to be uneconomical to buy the data or rights to the data. It is uneconomical to reverse engineer the part. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the TH-1H Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly is Woodward HRT, Inc. (CAGE: 81873). The OEM for the TH-1H Helicopter is Bell Textron, Inc. (CAGE: 97499)

The Government has determined that this assembly is a commercial item as defined in Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul (RFO) 2.101. Commercial item descriptions, commercial vendor catalog or price lists or commercial manuals assigned a technical manual number apply.

Contractor shall furnish all material, support equipment, tools, test equipment, and services.  The contractor is responsible for providing, maintaining, and calibrating all support equipment required at their facility or a subcontractor’s facility.  Contractor furnished material or parts used for replacement shall equal or exceed the quality of the original material or parts.

DISCLAIMER:

This RFI is for informational purposes only.  This is not a Request for Proposal or a promise to issue a solicitation in the future and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government.   Responses in any form are not offers and will be treated as information only.  The Government is under no obligation to award a contract because of this announcement.  Contractors/Institutions responding to this market research are placed on notice that participation in this survey may not ensure participation in future solicitations or contract awards.  The government will not reimburse participants for any expenses associated with their participation in this survey. Any information submitted by respondents is strictly voluntary. 

Although “proposal” and “offeror” may be used in this RFI, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. This solicitation is issued for the purpose of identifying any additional potential procurement sources capable of manufacturing these assets.

INSTRUCTIONS:

The document below contains a description of the Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly procurement requirements and a Contractor Capability Survey. The Survey allows Contractors to provide their company’s capability.

1. If, after reviewing these documents, you desire to participate in the market research, you should provide documentation that supports your company’s capability in meeting these requirements.  Failure to provide documentation may result in the government being unable to adequately assess your capabilities. 
2. ATTENTION: SMALL BUSINESS RESPONDENTS who are interested in participating in this effort:

           a.  No set aside decision has been made; however, the Government will determine the final strategy after thorough analysis of the small business responses and other market research available, considering the demonstrated interest and capability.  Please ensure that you provide a thorough response to each question.  If your company does not currently possess the full capability required to fulfill the entire requirement, what teaming/partnership/joint venture/subcontracting arrangement do you have in place to fulfill the government needs? Providing evidence of this arrangement, e.g. emails, letters, etc. that demonstrates a united response to this RFI is highly encouraged but not required. The evidence should state the type of arrangement and the role each member will fulfill.  If you are only interested in being a subcontractor to the future awardee, state the portion of the work that your organization has capability of fulfilling. 

           b.  Identify any areas of work that your organization believes should be broken out exclusively for Small Business.

       3.  Both large and small businesses are encouraged to participate in this Market Research.  Joint ventures or teaming arrangements are encouraged.

       4.  Questions relative to this RFI should be addressed to Logistics Manager Jessica Parton at contact@example.gov and Contract Specialist, Rebecca Taylor at contact@example.gov.

       5. Please complete both Part I and II of the Contractor Capability Survey below.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

For Manufacturing/Procurement of Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly

PURPOSE/DESCRIPTION

The Government is conducting market research to identify potential sources that possess the expertise, capabilities, and experience to meet qualification requirements to manufacture/procure the Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly, applicable to the TH-1H Helicopter.

                       NOUN                                                 NSN                                         P/N

Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly            1650-01-187-9395HL               205-076-056-107

This requirement is for procurement/manufacture services.  Our procurement strategy is a five-year Indefinite-Delivery Requirements type contract (basic 1-year plus four 1-year ordering periods) and will continue through FY33.  The projected quantities will be Best Estimated Quantities (BEQ) of 32 each for the basic year and 28-38 each for the outyears. The Government’s need for procurement services is required to support current combat search and rescue missions. The TH-1H Helicopter is used by the Air Force to train helicopter pilots.  This Linear Actuating Cylinder Assembly is part of the TH-1H helicopter's flight control systems. These are a series of mechanical linkages, actuated by conventional controls and are used to control flight attitude and direction. This actuator provides hydraulic assisted cyclic input from the pilot to the main rotor through the swashplate and collective input through the collective levers and scissor hub. The hydraulic actuator has an irreversible valve to reduce feedback forces and provide for minimum use of controls in event of hydraulic boost failure. The Cylinder Assembly is an Aviation Critical Safety Item (CSI). It must provide hydraulic-assisted cyclic input from the pilot to the main rotor. Failure to achieve its designed function will result in unacceptable probability of a class-A mishap, thus increasing the likelihood of loss of life. This item has both military and commercial applications, but due to its critical nature, only approved sources can meet a military requirement.  Potential bidders require engineering source approval by the control activity to assure integrity of the part. Alternative sources must qualify by submitting a Source Approval Request (SAR, see Attachment 2) according to the design control activity’s procedures, Air Force Materiel Command Instruction (AFMCI) 23-113, and receive approval from the applicable government engineering activity, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC)/WIHEZ (Rotary Wing Systems and Integrity Engineering Section). Potential bidders must be prequalified before award. See Attachment 1 (Source Qualification Statement).

CONTRACTOR CAPABILITY SURVEY

Responses to the Capability Survey Part I and Part II must be received by 3:30 PM EST on 10 December 2026.  Please ensure data is in a readable electronic format that can be received through a firewall.  Attachments shall not exceed 10 MB per email.  Multiple emails are acceptable.  Responses must be sent via email to the following:

•           Logistics Manager: Jessica Parton at contact@example.gov

•           Contract Specialist:  Rebecca Taylor at contact@example.gov

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:
• Government Proposed North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code: 336413

       Based on the Government proposed NAICS Code 336413, state whether your company is:

• Small Business                                                            (Yes / No)
• Woman Owned Small Business                                  (Yes / No)
• Small Disadvantaged Business                                   (Yes / No)
• 8(a) Certified                                                              (Yes / No)
• HUBZone Certified                                                    (Yes / No)
• Veteran Owned Small Business                                  (Yes / No)
• Service Disabled Veteran Small Business                  (Yes / No)
• System for Award Management (SAM) registered    (Yes / No)
• 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

A.  General Capability Questions:

1. Describe briefly the capabilities of your facility and nature of the goods and/or services you provide.  Include a description of your staff composition and management structure.

       2.  Describe your company's past experience on previous projects 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).

       3.  Describe your company's capabilities for generating, handling, processing and storing classified material and data.

      4. Describe your company's capabilities and experience in generating technical data, engineering drawings and manuals.  Identify what software programs are utilized to generate these data products and what formats are available for delivered items.

      5.  What is your company’s current lead time for manufacturing NSN/Part Number 1650-01-187-9395HL/205-076-056-107?  What is your company’s current maximum capacity per month for this particular type of requirement?  Provide information on any facility reserves you may possess to increase capacity in the event of an immediate need due to critical operational mission requirements.

     6. What quality assurance processes and test qualification practices does your company employ?  Provide a description of your quality program (ISO 9001, AS9100, etc.).

               a.  Provide a detailed quality plan implementing AS9100 (or equivalent).

     7.  A five-year Firm Fixed Price Requirements type contract consisting of a basic year followed by four one-year ordering periods is anticipated.  Is your company willing to support a five year long-term contract strategy? Is your company willing to propose firm fixed pricing for the full five years?

     8.  Does your company intend to submit a proposal in the event a solicitation is formally issued?

B.  Commerciality Questions:

1. Are there established catalog or market prices for our requirement?

        2.  If you offer 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?

        3.  Is our requirement offered to both under similar terms and conditions?  Briefly describe any differences.

        4.  Describe your standard warranty and return process for goods and services furnished to the government for items similar in nature to this requirement.  

C.   Manufacturing Questions

1. Describe your capabilities and experience in manufacturing with regard to the requirements of this effort.

        2.  Describe your capabilities and experience in developing/modifying manufacturing procedures.  Include associated upgrade of technical orders and preparation of new technical orders.

       3.  Demonstrate your ability and experience in the manufacture of the same or similar components, which are currently utilized in the commercial or military environment by providing the following information on the same or similar items:

              a.  Contract Number

              b.  Procuring Agency

              c.  Contract Value

              d.  Number of assets shipped

       4.  Provide your commercial manual(s) or Acceptance Test Procedures (ATP) and your rights to these manuals and or ATP used in the manufacture and functional check of these or similar assets for Government Engineer review.

       5.  Describe your capabilities and experience in test, evaluation, and repair processes/procedures with regard to manufacturing items.

       6.  Describe your configuration management processes and how you identify and resolve parts obsolescence and diminishing manufacturing sources problems?

      7.   Discuss your process for addressing any fit, form, and/or function issues that may arise out of the requirements of this effort.

      8.  Describe your process for maintaining inventory records and reporting on hand/work-in-process balance and manufacturing status to your customer.

      9.  Include a detailed list of facilities and equipment, including quantities required to satisfy the requirements of this effort.

                 a.  Provide an outline of the proposed process, including inspections.

                           i.  State the type of test procedures are anticipated for this effort.

                           ii.  State the type of inspection processes anticipated for this effort.

                                           1.  NDI/T.                                           

                                            2.  Destructive testing/inspection.

       10.  How will your organization address the absence of drawings, specifications, technical data, test procedures, etc.

       11.  If the item cannot be manufactured in total, state what your organization can produce.

       12.  State any technology insertion ideas for the item that would be suitable for this effort.

       13. Discuss any reverse engineering or item replacement opportunities that may be present.

Attachments (2): 

1. Source Qualification Statement
2. Source Approval Request