RFI FOR STATE OF THE ART

To promote early exchanges of information with Industry in accordance with FAR Subpart 15.2, Naval Air Systems Command, Aircrew Systems (NAVAIR PMA202) of Patuxent River, Maryland is issuing this Request for Information (RFI). NAVAIR is requesting information to identify qualified sources to provide commercially available flame resistant cold weather jackets and pants for Navy and Marine Corps aircrew, aircraft maintainers and flight deck personnel. The requirements are provided below. Interested parties are invited to describe their capabilities to provide the product as described herein. The Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) items submitted in response to this RFI will be evaluated for the capability to meet the performance requirements listed below and the table listing key system attributes. The Navy plans to consider approval of COTS items that meet user requirements for local procurement by squadrons as required for mission needs. Cost will be a consideration in determining COTS items approved for use. There is no current plan to add this item to the federal supply system. Multiple items could be approved if found to be acceptable. Requirement Navy and Marine Corps aircrew, aircraft maintainers and flight deck personnel deploying to cold operational theatres are operating in temperature conditions at 20? and below, with precipitation and wind chills that can bring temperatures down to -20? or lower. The aircrew may be in aircraft that are not heated or aircraft that require the doors to be open and expose the aircrew to cold temperatures, high wind speeds and winter precipitation. The maintainers and flight deck personnel will be on the deck of a ship or aircraft tarmac in similar conditions. These personnel require cold weather jackets and pants that will provide warmth and protection in the range of conditions while also being compatible with equipment worn overtop, provide mobility required to operate machinery and be durable when kneeling on a non-skid surface, exposed to petroleum based products and abrasion with industrial surfaces. The amount of insulation required is dependent upon many factors, however, the estimated clo value required is approximately 2. Aircrew will typically be wearing a survival vest carrying aircrew life support equipment (ALSE) overtop the jacket and trouser. The jacket must integrate with the vest carrying survival gear, harnesses that provide fall protection and/or hoisting (straps around the legs); not interfere with helmets being worn by restricting head movement or not allowing the helmet to maintain proper position on the head. Aircrew who wear anti-g garments may wear a pant underneath or overtop depending upon design of the pant. Flight deck personnel and aircraft maintainers will be wearing a MK-1 life vest overtop when aboard ship. To avoid items from falling out of pockets by anyone in the aviation environment and creating foreign object debris (FOD) around the aircraft, pockets must be minimized and have a means of being securely closed. For those who must kneel on the anti-skid and concrete surfaces, the pant must be compatible with knee pads or have the ability to integrated knee pads into the pant. Hardware if used on the garments must be durable to prevent breaking and falling off that could create FOD. Due to limited space for storage, packability of the garments to conserve storage requirements is desired. Materials will need to be durable to laundering to remove petroleum, oils and lubricants (POL's) that will contact and remain on the garments through use. The materials shall provide inherent protection from exposure to flame and meet the requirements of the table below. Key System Attributes Requirements Test Procedure KSA 1: The materials for the cold weather jacket and trouser shall provide flame resistance. After flame (maximum seconds) Initial After 25 launderings Afterglow, (maximum seconds) Initial After 25 launderings Char length, (maximum inches) Initial After 25 launderings Melting or Dripping (observation) 2 2 2 2 5 5 None ASTM D6431 Values are maximum average values allowed for each direction (Wales and Courses) when tested in accordance with ASTM D 6413. Flaming melt/drip on any sample constitutes a failure. KSA 2: a. The cold weather jacket and trouser, when worn with a CWU-27/P flight suit shall provide protection from flash fire when tested as a system. The system shall provide flame protection resulting in less than 22% burn injury prediction when exposed to a 2.0 Cal/cm2/sec fire for 3 seconds and shall exhibit no melt or drip. ASTM F1930 KSA 3: The garment shall be fit the central 5th - 95 percentile of the population. A unisex sized system [T], men's and women's sizing [O] User evaluation and demonstration. KSA 4: The garments shall not have hardware that can become loose, fall or break off and create FOD. Hardware shall withstand a minimum pull force of 66 LBF (294 N) to remove hardware. NFPA 1977 8-4.8 Hardware Attachment Strength KSA 4: The cold weather jacket and trouser shall be available in military colors that meet nIR requirements of current flight suits and survival vests. Approximate the standard sample for MIL-C-83429. The garments shall be available in sage green [T], dark Navy blue (Navy shade 3386) [T], desert tan [O] and coyote brown (Navy shade 3758 = Tan 499) [O]. AATCC Evaluation Procedure 9, Option A or C, with sources simulating artificial daylight D75 illuminant with a color temperature of 7500 (+ 200)K illumination of 100 (+ 20) foot candles, and shall be a good match to the standard sample under incandescent lamplight at 2856 (+ 200)K. KSA 5: The cold weather garments shall be compatible with aircraft interfaces. The cold weather garments shall not snag or impede entrance or egress from the aircraft. User evaluation KSA 6: Aircrew life support system (ALSS) and/or flight deck and maintainer man mounted equipment compatibility. No interference when wearing or using ALSS or man mounted equipment User evaluation for compatibility. KSA 7: The materials shall be Petroleum, Oil, Lubricant (POL) resistance. The materials shall not absorb POL products which reduce the flame protection of the garment. ASTM D6413 after POL exposure. KSA 8: Garments, when worn as a system will provide protection from cold temperatures and precipitation. Water proof, seam sealed, estimated clo value of 2 (when worn overtop a garment equivalent to mid-weight long underwear) ASTM D 751, AATCC 22, ASTM F 1291 or ASTM F 1868; user evaluation KSA 9: Electro-static dissipation. Prevent of minimize the build up of an electro-static charge. See information below for KSA 9. KSA 9: Electrostatic decay test: The specimen shall be tested according to the method below initially and after five (5) laundering cycles according to AATCC-135 using the 3, V, Aiii conditions. Testing equipment. The test equipment shall consist of a meter for measuring relative humidity (RH) and temperature, a faraday cage, a source capable of outputting 5000 volts, and voltage meters to display the applied voltage and the voltage detected by the sensor. The faraday cage shall contain two (2) parallel electrodes on which specimens may be mounted and charged, and a sensor that will detect voltage on the specimen surface. The faraday cage and specimens to be tested shall be pre-conditioned at 10 (+ 2) percent relative humidity overnight, and conditioned at 20 (+ 2) percent relative humidity for a minimum of 24 hours at approximately 75 (+ 5)oF. The specimens shall be tested at 20 (+ 2) percent relative humidity and 75o (+ 5)oF. A bench top size chamber may be used as an option to achieve the conditions and to do the testing in, or any area capable of maintaining these conditions may be used. An air ionizing blower may be used while conditioning, although the blower must be turned off once testing begins. A static master may also be used to eliminate residual charges before testing. Specimen preparation. The specimen shall be a 3-inch by 6-inch rectangular piece of material. The warp or filling yarns shall run parallel to the 6-inch length of the specimen. The direction of test (warp or filling) shall be along the length of the specimen and each specimen shall be labeled accordingly in one (1) corner. Test specimens shall be cut so that no two (2) contain the same set of warp and filling yarns. Six (6) specimens, three (3) warp and three (3) filling, shall be tested, face and back sides inclusive Testing procedure. Allow the test equipment 1-hour of warm-up time. Adjust the voltage source for a charging voltage of 5000 volts by mounting a 3-inch by 5-inch aluminum plate across the electrodes in the faraday cage such that it is centered in front of the voltage sensor opening. Apply a charge of 5000 volts, and adjust/calibrate the voltage meter designated to indicate detected voltage on the sample equal to 5000 volts. Remove the aluminum plate. Mount a specimen tautly across the electrodes, centering it over the sensor opening. The surface of test specimen (back or front) shall face the sensor. The CUT-OFF must be set to 10 per cent. With the high voltage off, depress the CHG button to measure initial charge on the test specimen. If it is not reading zero, turn CHG button off and use the static master or blower to attempt to eliminate the residual charge. With high voltage off, depress the CHG button again and record any remaining measurable residual charge. Turn off CHG button. Apply 5000 volts to the electrodes for a period of 20 seconds. To do this, depress the + button on the right (the reading on CHARGING VOLTAGE meter must read 5000 volts); then depress the CHG button. Wait 20-second; record the highest reading on the SAMPLE CHARGE meter. Then depress the TEST button and from the readout under DECAY TIME-SEC, record how long it took for the charge to decay from maximum voltage to 10 per cent of the maximum level. Depress the ZERO/STBY button after the test. The high voltage (5000 volts) shall be turned off and the specimen immediately grounded. If the DECAY TIME-SEC is less than 0.5 seconds, the specimen is acceptable; otherwise it is not. Also, the specimen must accept a charge of at least 4000 volts during the 20 second charging period to be acceptable.