RQ-7Bv2 Shadow Block III upgrades New Equipment Training (NET), Instructor and Key Personnel training (IKPT), Follow-On Operational Test & Evaluation (FOT&E) and Logistics/Maintainability Demonstration Support

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Unmanned Aircraft Systems Description 1.1 The U.S. Army Contracting Command-Natick (ACC-NCD) on behalf of the U.S. Army Program Executive Office (PEO) Aviation for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Management Office (PMO) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in providing RQ-7Bv2 Shadow Block III upgrades New Equipment Training (NET), Instructor and Key Personnel training (IKPT), Follow-On Operational Test & Evaluation (FOT&E) and Logistics/Maintainability Demonstration Support. 1.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and to identify interested sources - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. No contract will be awarded from this announcement. This RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Unsolicited proposals will not be accepted. Funding is not available at this time. The United States Army has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. Response to this RFI is voluntary and no reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this and any follow-on information requests. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential responders to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this subject. Background and Description The RQ-7Bv2 Shadow is a commander's day and night, Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) system. The Shadow allows the commander to "see and understand" his battle space and gain dominant situational awareness on the battlefield. It gives maneuver commanders the ability to look into the battle space where ground recon assets cannot penetrate or cover in a timely manner. It can also observe heavily protected areas where commanders are hesitant to commit manned aerial platforms. Lastly, it gives commanders a dedicated, rapidly-tasked asset to see critical elements of the battle space and support the increased demand for immediate situational awareness on the battlefield. The Shadow is a critical tool to obtain the hard to get information needed to satisfy the commander's Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIR) and Commander's Critical Information Requirement (CCIR). It is a command and control enabler for tactical decision making. NET - The contractor NET team shall conduct system delta training (on the Block III upgrades) and support initial system operational checks as directed/scheduled by the Shadow TUAS PM. NET class shall not exceed 30 Soldiers/students. The training program curriculum shall include: Formal Net Instruction- includes courseware, developing new test and PE's, and creating a formal schedule and POI for the events - Classroom Instruction / Hands-on Labs - Live Flight Operations - Simulated Flight Operations (MUSE / UMS) - Maintenance Operations / Troubleshooting Training shall be conducted by a RQ-7Bv2 Shadow qualified Instructor Operators (IO) Aircraft Operator (AO) / Payload Operator (PO) and Shadow qualified Maintenance Instructors. Training shall include VoiceOver Internet Protocol (VoIP/CRP) training and shall ensure those trained are b. IKPT - The contractor shall provide Block III training for Government identified Instructor and Key Personnel (I&KP). This shall ensure that I&KP involved in PMUAS sponsored training are proficient on the hardware and software that will be delivered during fielding. c. Logistics/Maintainability Demonstration Support - The contractor shall provide Block III engineering, technical assistance, and sustainment maintenance support of PM UAS sponsored Logistics/Maintainability Demonstration. d. FOT&E - The contractor shall provide Block III technical assistance, and sustainment maintenance support of the FOT&E, except for efforts that Textron is working on under task order W911QY-20-F-0083. The anticipated contract period of performance is twelve (12) months from award date. The Government does not own the Technical Data Package for this requirement. No Government Furnished Equipment or material will be supplied to an interested vendor to support replies to this RFI. The RQ-7Bv2 TUAS will not be available to support a response to this RFI. Interested parties having the potential capacity to provide these requirements are requested to submit a statement of capability. The statement of capability shall include: A. Interested Vendor information including: (1) Company name and mailing address.(2) Point of Contact (POC) name, email address, web-site address, telephone number.(3) Business size and type of ownership. Please provide Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code. (4)Identify status in the Federal Government System for Award Management (SAM). (5) If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver capability. Delineate between work accomplished by prime, subcontractors, and work accomplished by teaming partners. B. Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars necessary to support the effort described above. Specifically, a description of the relevant experience in providing CLS expertise and producing hardware as identified above. C. Relevant, recent contract experience/capabilities to provide requirements described above. D. Provide any other pertinent information that will assist the Government in this assessment. 3.0 Submission Instructions SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above requirement are invited to submit a response to this RFI. Responses shall be received no later than 3:00 P.M. (1500 hours) Eastern Time, Thursday, 26 March 2020. Only electronic responses shall be accepted and shall be submitted as an email attachment in MS Word or Adobe PDF format to the Contracting POCs listed below. Electronic transmissions must not exceed 5 megabytes and responses in the form of white papers should be limited to 10 pages in length and may include technical specifications and product sheets as deemed necessary. All responses will be considered. Extraneous materials (brochures, manuals, etc.) will not be considered. The submitted information shall be UNCLASSIFIED. All assumptions, including any assumed Government support, shall be clearly identified. All proprietary and restricted information shall be clearly marked. Additionally, responses may include data that interested vendors do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government except for information purposes. If your company wishes to restrict the data, the title page must be marked with the following legend: - Use and Disclosure of Data: This response includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed -- in whole or in part -- for any purpose other than to evaluate this response. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in these data if they are obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in Data Sheets [insert numbers or other identification of sheets]. Your company may also mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend: - Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this response. All questions and comments concerning this RFI should be e-mailed to the Contracting POCs listed below. All must be in writing as no telephone calls will be accepted. Questions will be published with the appropriate answers at the same web location of this RFI. Questions shall be submitted no later than 3:00 P.M. (1500 hours) Eastern Time, Thursday, 19 March 2020. Contracting POCs: Contracting Specialist: Thomas Wallace,email:thomas.s.wallace3.civ@mail.mil Contracting Officer Kevin Parker Kevin.J.Parker3.civ@mail.mil