Transparent Armor for the Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected (MRAP) Cougar Family of Vehicles (FoVs)

THIS IS AN REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI), this request is for continued planning purposes only, and does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposals, Solicitation, Request for Quote, or any other indication that the Government will contract for the items contained in the RFI. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost(s) associated with submission of the information being requested. The purpose of this RFI is to seek feedback from current and new vendors on a new specification for Transparent Armor, and to announce an opportunity for interested industry to participate in an industry day. The Program Executive Officer (PEO) Land Systems, United States Marine Corps (USMC), is seeking interested sources capable of providing Transparent Armor for the Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected (MRAP) Cougar Family of Vehicles (FoVs). This information may also be used to support other current and or future Marine Corps Ground Combat Vehicles Background and Objective: Accelerated delamination of Cougar Transparent Armor (TA) is imposing a significant cost and maintenance burden on the USMC and other service users. USMC PM MRAP has developed an updated (draft) Cougar TA performance specification, which is being provided for industry review and comment. The USMC intends to implement this performance specification for future Cougar TA orders through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The USMC also intends to establish additional sources of supply for Cougar TA. The objective of this RFI is to seek interest from potential sources for Cougar TA, seek industry comments regarding the draft TA Performance Specification, and to announce an Industry Day that will provide additional information to potential sources of Cougar TA and allow for direct interface with the USMC MRAP Program Office. USMC PM MRAP will host an Industry Day on 25 July 2016, from 0900 to 1500, for parties interested in responding to this Request for Information (RFI). The Industry Day will be held at the Transportation Demonstration Support Area (TDSA), Building 28009, George Mason Rd, Stafford, VA 22554. The Government will not pay for any expenses incurred to attend this event or respond to this notice. At the Industry Day, PM MRAP will present information on the draft TA Performance Specification and their future TA requirements, will explain the process they will follow to qualify additional sources of supply for Cougar TA, and will have Cougar vehicles and sample Cougar TA assemblies available for participants to observe and measure. Industry attendees will have the opportunity to meet privately with the PM office personnel to ask questions, in order to improve the information they will provide in response to the RFI (see below). Advance registration is required for attendance. Vendors should notify the Contracting office by no later than close of business 13 July 2016 in order to make an appointment for a meeting at the Industry Day. As space is restricted at the TDSA facility, attendance at the Industry Day will be limited to a maximum of three (3) individuals per company. Access to vehicles and TA samples will be scheduled based on registration, and will be limited to one company at a time for a maximum of 30 minutes each, due to time constraints. PLEASE NOTE: Interested parties shall agree that any Government Furnished Information (GFI) distributed or made available during the Industry Day event shall not, without the written permission of the Government, be used, modified, reproduced, released, or displayed. The interested parties shall further agree that it shall not disclose any of the GFI to any person other than its subcontractors, suppliers, or prospective subcontractors or suppliers, who require any of the GFI to submit offers for, or perform, contracts under this effort. Prior to disclosing any of the GFI, the interested party shall require the persons to whom disclosure will be made to provide the Government with its agreement to the terms of this paragraph. Submission Instructions and Format Firms interested in attending the Industry Day shall contact the contracting office points of contact identified below by no later than 4:00 PM EST on 13 July 2016, and shall provide the following information: (1) Name and address of applicant/company (Corporate/Principal Office). (2) Name, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of point of contact. (3) CAGE Code and DUNS Number. (4) Type of Business type (Large Business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, or WOSB Programs etc.) (5) Name, titles, and contact information for Industry Day attendance (maximum three) (6) If they request a private meeting with PM MRAP personnel at the Industry Day event. All communications shall be made via the contracting office. In order to be eligible for Industry Day attendance, interested parties must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). Request for Information Following the Industry Day event, interested companies are invited to provide the following information for PM MRAP consideration in finalizing the Cougar TA Performance Specification and finalizing planning for qualification of additional sources of supply for Cougar TA. The information shall be presented in white paper format, and shall include: (1) Discussion of the offeror's capabilities and past performance providing TA similar to Cougar TA, and their interest in becoming qualified as a source for Cougar TA; (2) Recommendations and comments on the draft Transparent Armor Performance Specification; (3) Recommendations regarding packaging and storage for Cougar TA; (4) Recommendations regarding requirements for a warranty against delamination for Cougar TA; and (5) Any other information or recommendations that they believe the PM should consider in planning for future Cougar TA orders. White papers must be submitted to the contracting office POCs via email by no later than 15 Aug 2016. Please do not submit proposals at this time. The Government is only seeking information for market research purposes at this time. Proprietary data will be protected when so designated. Acknowledgement of receipt will not be made. Availability of any formal solicitation will be announced separately. The Government will not pay for any materials provided in response to this RFI or any follow-up information requests. Submittals will not be returned to the sender. Submission shall be in white paper format, MS Office Word or Adobe PDF. All questions and responses, except those that contain proprietary information, will be published via the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.fbo.gov) for public viewing after the completion of this event. Contracting Office Points of Contact: Duane Coats, Contract Specialist (Duane.Coats1@usmc.mil) and Albert Whitley, Procuring Contracting Officer (albert.whitley@usmc.mil). Contracting Office Address: 2200 Lester Street Quantico, Virginia 22134 United States Place of Performance: Stafford, Virginia United States Primary Point of Contact. Duane I. Coats, Contract Specialist duane.coats1@usmc.mil Phone: 703-432-2761 Secondary Point of Contact: Albert Whitley, Contracting Officer albert.whitley@usmc.mil Phone: 703-432-3153