Telemetry Network System (TmNS)

The responses to this Sources Sought will be utilized to determine if any Small Business Set-aside opportunities exist. All Small Business Set-aside categories will be considered. In addition, this market research tool is being used to identify potential and eligible firms, of all sizes, prior to determining the method of acquisition and issuance of a solicitation. A Pre-solicitation Notice with regards to this requirement will be released on the FedBizOpps website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement. DISCLAIMER THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. THE GOVERNMENT RETAINS THE RIGHT NOT TO COMPETE THIS REQUIREMENT BASED ON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE. INTRODUCTION The Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (AIR-2.5.1.11) at Patuxent River, MD 20670 announces its intention to procure the development and integration of the T541715elemetry Network System (TmNS) required for providing real-time test information between in-flight aircraft and ground engineering personnel, which are an integral component of the Air Vehicle Modification and Instrumentation (AVMI) department's Integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry (iNET) program. THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. It is a market research tool being used to determine potential and eligible small business firms capable of providing the requirements described herein prior to determining the method of acquisition and issuance of a Request for Proposal. The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of this synopsis. ELIGIBILITY The PSC for this requirement is AC14; the NAICS is 541715 with a size standard of 1,000 employees. All interested businesses are encouraged to respond. Specifically, the Government is evaluating the possibility of establishing this requirement as a Small Business/Other Socio-economic Set-Aside. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The anticipated period of performance includes a base period of 12 months and 4 one-year options for a total performance period of 5 years. The anticipated start date is 01 August 2018. ANTICIPATED CONTRACT TYPE The contract type is anticipated to be an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) with Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) delivery orders. The capabilities described herein shall be utilized on-site at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD Atlantic Test Range. REQUIREMENTS This is a follow-on effort that will support the development and fielding of a new generation of standardized network-enabled components in accordance with the TmNS standards of the Range Commanders Council (RCC IRIG-106). Reference applications are used in direct support for validating/refining the interoperability as defined by the draft standards and is used to prove system concepts and work out operational processes and procedures. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is the sole designer and developer of the key software elements, which forms the foundation for the System Manager and Link Manager applications. SwRI is the lead system integrator of the TmNS Components which is currently performed under contract N00421-14-C-0010. The contractor will continue the ongoing software development, integration and testing efforts, and provide maintenance support of the System Manager and Link Manager reference applications which is integrated at different testing sites and during interoperability/compliance testing against other hardware components currently being developed under various contracts as part of the ongoing iNET project. The iNET program has several major milestones that must be achieved on-time in order to provide capabilities in alignment with various sources of funding and testing efficiencies required by Range users. Test support, software development, and software maintenance done as part of this contract must be in synch with these milestones in order to ultimately provide Full Operational Capability as described in the Test Capabilities Requirements Document. Program Milestones which must be supported seamlessly include: Planned Beta Releases of the Link Manager and System Manager - 1Q-3Q FY18 RF link flight test support 2Q FY18 Data system flight test support 3Q FY18 through 2Q FY19 iSIL testing of production representative TmNS components - 3Q FY18 iSIL testing and integration of full TmNS - 4Q FY18 Integration of the production representative TmNS transceiver - 1Q FY19 Integration of the production representative TmNS remaining components - 3Q FY19 Initial Operational Capability - 1Q FY20 Full Operational Capability - FY22 Due to the aggressive schedule of the iNET program, the contractor must have personnel trained with the requisite knowledge of the iNET program at the time of the contract award. The contractor must be capable of being immediately productive with sustained progress. Satisfaction of these constraints requires the contractor to be extremely familiar with the iNET program technical details, history, goals, and requirements as well as all details of existing alpha-versions and beta-versions of the software. The contractor must have an existing integration laboratory facility containing a full suite of TmNS prototype components along with their own ancillary test equipment, appropriate network traffic generation and analysis equipment so that they can reproduce, troubleshoot, correct and retest any issues that arise as the result of flight tests and other user inputs deemed relevant to achieving program goals. The contractor must also have Subject Matter Expertise with all Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG) standards related to the TmNS in order to test, verify, and develop software in accordance with those standards. This highly detailed level of familiarity is also required so that the contractor can work with the RCC to evolve those standards as appropriate based on flight test results and other real-world experiences without any delays. In addition to the requirements above, please note that under a Small Business Set-Aside, the small business prime must perform at least 50% of the work themselves in terms of cost of performance. Cost of performance includes direct labor costs, overhead that has only direct labor as its base, and the small business' General & Administrative rate multiplied by the labor cost. The small business prime cannot utilize the cost performance of other small businesses it utilizes as subcontractors in calculating its performance to comply with FAR Clause 52.219-14. If the prime is a joint venture, the cost of performance by both small business concerns is utilized in calculating its performance to comply with FAR 52.219-14. The successful awardee will also be required to have a Government approved accounting system upon contract award. SUBMITTAL INFORMATION It is requested that interested businesses submit to the contracting office a brief capabilities statement package (no more than 10 pages in length, single spaced, 12 point font minimum) demonstrating ability to provide the software listed in the attached Requirements List. This documentation must address, at a minimum, the following: Title of the Requirement you are applying to; Company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office location(s), DUNS number, and a statement regarding current small/large business status; Prior/current corporate experience performing efforts of similar size and scope within the last three years, including contract number, organization supported, indication of whether as a prime or subcontractor, contract values, Government point of contact with current telephone number, and a brief description of how the referenced contract relates to the software described herein; Resources available such as corporate management and currently employed personnel to be assigned to tasks under this effort to include professional qualifications, specific experience of such personnel, and the ability to have personnel located at the city specified; Management approach to staffing this effort with qualified personnel; Statement regarding capability to obtain the required industrial security clearances for personnel; Company's ability to perform at least 50% of the work; and Company's ability to begin performance upon contract award. The capability statement package shall be sent by mail to: AIR-2.5.1 Contracts, Matthew D. Hudson, Code 2.5.1.11.12 Building 441, 21983 Bundy Road Patuxent River, MD 20670 or by email: to Matthew.D.Hudson@navy.mil Submissions must be received at the office cited no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on 08 January 2018. Questions or comments regarding this notice may be addressed to Matthew D. Hudson at (301) 342-4699 or via email at Matthew.D.Hudson@navy.mil. All responses must include the following information: Company Name; Company Address; Company Business Size; and Point-of-Contact (POC) name, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address.