1. This announcement is a Request for Information (RFI) only. The United States Army Corps of Engineers, Afghanistan Engineer District South (USACE-AES) is seeking preliminary marketing information from capable and reliable sources. The proposed requirement is to obtain a Fixed Wing (FW) Aircraft Support Contract for the USACE AES. The Contractor providing such support services would provide one (1) safe, pressurized, dual engine, operable fixed wing (FW) aircraft and associated services to support USACE AES missions. The Contractor would provide one type of aircraft that would be available to operate out of Kandahar Air Field (KAF), Afghanistan within 24 hours of notification. The Contractor shall submit the aircraft type and performed characteristics of the proposed fixed wing aircraft in accordance with the proposed support contract. The aircraft provided under the contract would be capable of flying a minimum of 90 hours monthly with a minimum of 12 passengers per flight. The minimum total hours requested for the FW aircraft under the proposed contract would be 1,000 hours per contract year. The Contractor will charge AES based upon actual flight time only, tracked to the tenth (0.1) of an hour. 2. The contractor shall include: a flight crew, ground crew, security personnel, all maintenance personnel, an operations center, internal ground transportation, and all maintenance parts and other required logistics. Priority for flights under the proposed contract would be given to AES personnel if timely notice of at least 24 hours is provided. The FW aircraft shall be used to transport personnel and cargo around the country of Afghanistan and conduct aerial surveillance operations throughout Afghanistan. The contractor shall have Commercial Airlift Review Board (CARB) certification from the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) at time of award. Fly America regulations/rules apply. 3. The USACE AES, at a minimum looks for industry to provide conclusive business case results for the items listed below, as well as other requests defined in the RFI. This effort is classified through the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) under 481211, Non Scheduled Charter Passenger Air Transportation. a. Respondents shall provide a Statement of Capabilities, which shall include, as a minimum: (1) A positive response to each of the questions below; and (2) A list of contracts and or contact email addresses that can provide past performance information relative to delivery schedule, quality of services provided, etc. b. The requested information is for planning purposes, and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a contract procurement action will be issued. However, the USACE AES will utilize the information for technical and acquisition planning. All data received in response to this RFI marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from release outside the U.S. Government. USACE AES will not reimburse providers for the cost of submitting information in response to this RFI. The Government will not return pictures, documents, graphs and or other requested information. It is emphasized that this RFI is for planning and information purposes only and is NOT to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of a solicitation. Questions may be directed to: TAS.ContractingServices@usace.army.mil. Phone calls and fax transmittals will not be accepted. Interested offerors shall address the requirements of this RFI in a written form at as described in the previous paragraphs by electronic mail to: TAS.ContractingServices@usace.army.mil, no later than 1700 PM Kandahar, Afghanistan local time on 22 May 2012. c. Respondents must demonstrate knowledge and expertise providing the services identified above in an OCONUS (Outside the Continental United States) theater. d. In addition to the statement of the offerors capabilities listed above, please provide answers to the following questions and/or requests for information. Responses must reference the request for information, and contain the respondents commercial and government entity (CAGE) code, if available. Please reference each response with the question numbers as follows: 1) Company name, company mailing address, point of contact, telephone number, e-mail address, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code, and size of your organization (i.e. Large Business, Small Business) using as the basis for your response. 2) Provide a limited discussion of the company's ability to offer experienced and certified technical and management personnel capable of supporting a FW in Afghanistan. 3) Provide a limited discussion of how your firm could provide qualified pilots that are fluent in English and meet air certifications to operate fixed wing aircrafts within Afghanistan. 4) Could your firm provide fixed wing aircraft with pressurized cabins, capable of carrying a minimum of 12 passengers? Aircraft provided must be able to handle a target payload capacity of 6,000 lbs. This load capacity would include the weight of the passengers, pilots, cargo, medical gear, security gear, and fuel. Not included in the required load capacity calculations are the standard aircraft equipment such as wheels, seats, fuel tanks, standard safety equipment (i.e. fire extinguishers), and other permanent features of the aircraft. 5) Could your firm provide a fixed wing aircraft that has the capabilities to utilize a takeoff field length less than 4,000 ft, and a landing field length less than 3,000 ft? This aircraft would also require the capabilities to utilize unimproved runway surfaces like the following: gravel, compacted dirt. 6) Provide a limited discussion of how your firm could provide fixed wing aircraft certified as air worthy by trained and certified mechanics for each specific aircraft utilized. Air worthy certificates would be required to be made available to the Government upon request. Provide a limited discussion as to how your firm could provide preventive maintenance service schedules for aircraft that conforms to manufacturers recommended servicing schedules. 7) Provide a brief discussion and information as to if and how your firm could and would provide a viable operations center, customer service section, and an air operations planning section. The Contractor providing fixed wing support under this potential contract with USACE AES, would be required to have in place the ability to coordinate air fixed wing Prior Permission Required (PPRs) with Allied Movement Coordination Center (AMCC) and National Airflow Authority (NAA) and other aviation planning and approval organizations within Afghanistan. 8) Provide a brief discussion and information on can your firm could provide fixed wing aircraft outfitted with UHF, VHF and/or HF two-way radios to allow for communication with Coalition Forces ground units? The frequency range utilized is 30-400 MHz. 9) Describe if your firm can provide multiple fixed wing aircraft, available in Afghanistan and ready to insert into operations under a support contract to USACE AES, in the event that one aircraft is non mission capable? 10) Provide detailed information on two (2) contracts for similar work within the past one to three (1-3) years. Include complete references, contract titles, and dollar values, points of contact, email addresses, and telephone numbers. The Government will evaluate relevant experience information based on:"Information provided by the offeror, "Information obtained from the references provided by the respondent, and "Data independently obtained from other Government and commercial sources. 11) How many people does your company employ? 12) Will you need to hire additional personnel to perform this effort?13) Are there any other factors concerning your company's ability to provide Fixed Wing Aircraft and associated services support throughout Afghanistan? 14) Is your company a foreign-owned/foreign-controlled firm? 15) What would be your estimated required set-up time in order to be fully mission capable?
