Spade Damper Assembly and Spare Parts for M777 Lightweight Towed 155mm Howitzer

Purpose: The Army Contracting Command New Jersey (ACC-NJ), Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806-5000 is conducting a Market Survey on behalf of the Joint Program Manager Office Towed Artillery Systems (PM-TAS) to identify parties having the interest and resources to support a future requirement to produce Spade Damper Assemblies and Spare Parts for the M777 Lightweight Towed 155mm Howitzer. Description: This Sources Sought Notice (SSN) is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or an obligation on the part of PM-TAS. This SSN will be used in identifying interested vendors and their capability to manufacture, produce, supply, and inspect Spade Damper Assemblies and associated spare parts for sustainment. To produce these parts, the vendor should be capable of manufacturing or outsourcing metal part production and metal finishing to meet Military standards. These subcomponents are made up of commercial off the shelf (COTS) and build to print metal parts. The Spade Damper is a compression acting hydraulic shock absorber with a coil spring reset. The Spade Damper cartridge is mounted in a sleeve and has a nominal stroke of 4 inches prior to hitting the bottom stop. The Outer Sleeve is made from 7075-T7351 hard coated anodized aluminum. The plunger is chrome-plated Corrosion-Resistant Steel. The operating temperature for the M777 Lightweight Howitzer is between -51'F and 120'F. The Spade Dampers facilitate spade emplacement and act as shock absorbers during firing of the M777 Lightweight Towed 155mm Howitzer. The Technical Documentation for this effort is Distribution A and can be found below in the attachment section of this posting. The vendor should have capability to conduct a functional and final acceptance that includes dimensional inspections, examination, and testing of environmental requirements such as Gun Shock, Vibration, High & Low Temperature operating & storage in accordance with the technical data package. For planning purposes, this effort is anticipated to commence in the 1st Quarter FY 2024. The anticipated demand is up to 800 each Spade Damper Assemblies with individual order quantities ranging from 1 - 200+. The interested vendor will be required to conducted First Article Testing (FAT) prior to the full up production and delivery. All interested vendors are requested to provide: 1. Statement of capability describing the vendor's ability to fabricate, outsource, inspect, assemble, and conduct a final acceptance of Spade Damper Assemblies and Spare Parts for the M777 Lightweight Howitzer. This statement should include, if applicable: Present capabilities and relevant past experience (i.e. does the company have past experience doing this type of work?). Description of fabrication, process, and inspection capability of mechanical components and electronic circuits, which may include: Types of CNC Machining, tooling, and capability of machining to tight tolerances. Capability to apply anodize coating on aluminum. Capability to apply chrome plating on steel. Types of CMM and other inspection equipment available to perform accurate measurements to tight tolerances. Capability to conduct Gun Shock, Vibration, High & Low Temperature operating & storage in accordance with the technical data package. 2. Description of Quality Management System certification or compliance (i.e. ISO 9001:2015 or equivalent). 3. Description of facility that will be used for production (i.e. facility layout, square footage, location, and if co-located with Engineering and other administrative support). This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE (SSN) ONLY and should NOT be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or any type of commitment by the United States Government. As stated above, please be aware that the Government will not pay for any information submitted under this announcement. As a result of this SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE (SSN), a Request for Proposal (RFP) may be issued for the Spade Damper Assemblies and Spare Parts for the M777 Lightweight Towed 155mm Howitzer. Participation in this SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE (SSN) is completely voluntary by the vendor and as such all costs to develop the vendor's response are to be borne by the participating vendor. Submissions of designs that are not fully compliant with all requirements are also encouraged so that PM-TAS may assess the capabilities of all currently available sources. The Government recognizes that proprietary, data restricted, and/or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) data may be a part of this effort. If so, firms shall clearly mark restricted/proprietary and classified data and present them as an addendum to the nonrestricted/non-proprietary and non-CUI information. All interested sources are encouraged to submit their abilities/capabilities no later than (NLT) Friday, 02 FEBRUARY 2024 1700 EASTERN via electronic submission only. Interested sources shall submit their responses and inquiries pertaining to this announcement to Daniel Rakauskas via email: daniel.s.rakauskas.civ@army.mil HARD COPY OR FACSIMILE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.