Two (2) Hybrid Gliders

This is a Request for Information (RFI). This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment for an RFP in the future and it is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract. The Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this announcement. No basis for claim against the Government must arise as a result from a response to this RFI or Government use of any information provided. Disclaimer and Important Notes: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this RFI. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. The purpose of this RFI is to improve the understanding of Government requirements and industry capabilities. This allows potential offerors to participate and provide information how they can satisfy the Government's requirements. Responses will assist the Government in determining the availability of potential solutions and commercial products in the market place. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor Federal Business Opportunities (FBO.GOV) for additional information pertaining to this requirement. For information regarding this acquisition, contact the Contracting Officials listed herein. This exchange of information must be consistent with procurement integrity requirements (See FAR 3.104). Interested parties include potential offerors, end users, Government acquisition and supporting personnel, and others involved in the conduct or outcome of the acquisition. BACKGROUND: The Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division (AERD) has managed and implemented NOAA's U.S. Antarctic Marine Living Resources (AMLR) Program since 1986. The U.S. AMLR Program includes a program of pelagic ecological research designed to investigate links between the physical environment, krill, and krill-dependent predators (e.g., penguins and pinnipeds), and to understand the ecosystem effects of commercial krill fishing. Changing data requirements to address basic scientific questions necessary for management decision making cannot be collected without local measurements of the hydrography, productivity, and acoustic biomass of krill and have not been collected at the appropriate space and time scales during large-scale acoustic surveys previously conducted as part of the U.S. AMLR Program. To accomplish this task, the U.S. AMLR Program is developing an autonomous program to collect data at appropriate time and space scales. As part of this program the Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center has a need/requirement for for two (2) autonomous underwater vehicles, specifically hybrid gliders, capable of operating in Southern Ocean waters (-1.5 to 4 degrees C), and over the depth range of 50 to 1000 meters. It is anticipated the work will be completed in accordance with the description listed herein. Objectives NOAA's Western Acquisition Division anticipates a need for the procurement of the following services and supplies described herein: The government has the need to purchase two (2) long duration hybrid gliders for work in the Southern Ocean. These gliders will perform the broad work of the research vessels previously contracted to conducted acoustic assessments of krill biomass and to collect biological and physical oceanographic data. The gliders required will provide the government an efficient way to continue long-term monitoring of the Southern Ocean ecosystem as in support of The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) needs and U.S. Government interests. Scope The Contractor's primary responsibility must be to provide the instruments, and ancillary hardware and software to manage data collection from these instruments. The vendor must also provide training in the maintenance, deployment and mission planning for up to seven (7) persons at the vendor's training facility using the vendor's equipment. Tasks The autonomous underwater vehicles, specifically hybrid gliders must: A) Be capable of operating in Southern Ocean waters (-1.5 to 4 degrees C), and over the depth range of 50 to 1000 meters. B) Be of hybrid nature (buoyancy engine and a battery-operated foldable propeller capable of producing an additional minimum 0.5 knot speed); C) Be modular in construction allowing for the addition and substitution of payloads. D) Be equipped with instruments to measure water column properties (temperature, salinity, depth and oxygen (CTDO)) E) Have detectors for fluorescence (wavelengths appropriate for chlorophyll-a, colored-dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and transmissometry) F) Be equipped with a three frequency (38kHz (25-35 degree beam width) , 70kHz (10 to 20 degree beam width) and 120khZ (10 to 20 degree beam width)) integrated single beam acoustic echo sounders. G) The gliders must be equipped with either single use (long duration) Lithium ion batteries (capable of 6 to 7 month missions), or rechargeable batteries (with three month duration) that are interchangeable depending on mission specifications. H) Have all engineering to integrate the CTDO, echo sounders, and fluorescence units that must be included. I) Include sufficient on board data storage capacity to store the full suite of raw data from the scientific payload and diagnostic and navigation information from the glider . J) Integrate full navigation (GPS, altimeter, and pressure) into the system. K) Provide mission control software for piloting, mission setup, and data download, as well as fleet maintenance hardware and software. Thus, appropriate satellite (iridium, argos) and radio frequency communications for data download or upload of underway mission parameters into the system must be included. L) Be equipped with a strobe light for use during recovery and must have an emergency weight release to ensure surfacing in emergencies. M) Include two (2) extra cases for the storage of the units and a basic spare parts kit for each glider. N) Must provide training in basic glider maintenance, deployment and recovery for 7 persons Government-Furnished Property, Material, Equipment, or Information (GFP, GFM, GFE, or GFI) There is no GFP for this requirement. Security There is no security requirement as the equipment can be delivered. Travel There is no vendor travel associated with this product. The successful Vendor will host training classes at the vendor's training facility. Special Material Requirements There are no special material requirements. However, given that lithium batteries may be used to power these instruments, appropriate shipping requirements must be met by the vendor when shipping the instruments to the Government. Other Unique Requirements Prior to acceptance, the vendor will be required to demonstrate that the technical requirements of the SOW are met. This can be accomplished, for example, by deploying the instrument and recording sufficient data (three to four days, vertical excursions over the target operating range) with all instruments (CTD-O, Acoustic transducers, and fluorometers) operating to verify that the SOW is met. Sources intending to respond to this RFI should thoroughly review the aforementioned and submit the following information: A. Capability statements expressing interest in this requirement, describing your company and its capability to meet the minimum requirements stated in this RFI with a description of your proposed services and supplies that would meet the requirements. Interested parties should provide sufficient detailed information which demonstrates the technical capability of the proposed product to meet the Government requirements through the submission of product literature, technical features and warranty provisions, etc; B. Identification of your firm's business size. (Note: NAICS 334511 applies to this acquisition with the small business size standard being less than 1250 employees). Indicate if your business is a socio-economic concern (e.g. SDVOSB, WOSB, 8(a), etc.) C. Cage Code and DUNS number. D. Submit two (2) separate references which clearly address recently completed (Federal, State, and local government and private) contracts, subcontracts, and grants, relevant to the type of supplies required under this RFI. Referenced contracts must demonstrate relevant experience that describes work over the past three years which illustrates the successful completion of similar supply projects. Interested vendors may provide information on problems encountered on the identified contracts and the offeror's corrective actions. The Government will consider this information, as well as information obtained from references listed in the proposal, knowledge of Government personnel, or other information regarding the offeror's performance on relevant contracts. E. Provide estimated timeframe of delivery. Please send your submission via email to the attention of Contact Specialist (CS) Jules Gaynor (jules.gaynor@noaa.gov no later than Tuesday May 30, 2017, 1:00 p.m. PST. The response must be submitted electronically in PDF. The response must be no more than 15 single-sided, single-spaced pages, and use a minimum font of 12 point (Times New Roman) on 8 - x 11-inch paper. Each page should be separately numbered.