SOURCES SOUGHT
12 -- SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR BORE-SIGHT TRAINING AIDS (BTAs)
- Notice Date
- 1/27/2006
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- N00164 300 Highway 361, Building 64 Crane, IN
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- N0016406R4886
- Response Due
- 3/31/2006
- Description
- This synopsis is being posted to both the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) page located at http://www.eps.gov and the Navy Electronic Commerce on Line (NECO) site located at http://www.neco.navy.mil. While it is understood that FBO is the single point of entry for posting of synopsis and solicitations to the Internet, NECO is the alternative in case FBO is unavailable. Please feel free to use either site to access information posted by the NSWC Division Crane. PURPOSE: The Government is studying the usage of Bore-sight Training Aids (BTAs) for inclusion in the Special Operations Peculiar Modification (SOPMOD) Kit. This announcement is to conduct a Government Market Survey of commercially available BTA offerings and associated hardware. This Market Survey has two objectives. The first is to collect current cost, schedule, and performance information in order to place near-term small purchase orders for BTA subsystems and associated hardware. The second objective of this Market Survey is to gather any additional data that vendors may supply that will enable the Government to develop a possible future specification/solicitation that could allow for larger BTA procurements. BACKGROUND: The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) SOPMOD program provides small arms accessories to Army, Navy, and Air Force Special Forces Operators. In 1993, USSOCOM arranged with the Naval Sea Systems Command to establish the SOPMOD Program Management Office at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division, at Crane, Indiana. Since then, the SOPMOD Program has provided joint Special Operations Forces (SOF) with standardized, versatile weapons accessories to meet all needs across SOF mission scenarios. These accessories increase SOF survivability and lethality by providing enhanced weapon performance, target acquisition, and day and night precision aiming. The SOPMOD program provides these accessories to SOF operators when the accessories are developed to the point that they are operationally suitable, affordable, sustainable, and funded. SOPMOD is an evolutionary acquisition program that continues to change and to upgrade its subsystems with new combat technologies. SOF Operators utilize multiple sighting accessories from the SOPMOD kit. These accessories incorporate iron sights, laser sights, image intensification sights, thermal imaging sights, and optical (glass) riflescopes to provide SOF Operators with accurate aiming in day and night conditions. Depending on the mission, the SOF Operator may be required to attach and detach several sighting accessories to the same weapon to configure the weapon for different mission profiles. Existing BTA?s in the government inventory exhibit characteristics that make them unsuitable for SOF applications. While very accurate, the existing stock system items are expensive, bulky, complex, require inordinate amounts of training, are of limited utility in bright sunlight, and utilize mandrel rotation in the most critical accuracy area of the weapon bore, the last few inches before the muzzle of the barrel. While this mandrel rotation has never been demonstrated to damage the barrel, a persistent SOF Operator perception that it could cause damage inhibits use of the system, particularly in sandy and dusty environments. In the past 5 years, SOF units and the SOPMOD Program have conducted user assessments with a variety of alternative Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) bore sight items. These include small chamber bore sight lasers, simple mandrel optical collimators, and a magnetic optical collimator. The SOPMOD program has a need for these types of items and other COTS BTA alternatives that provide simple and accurate confirmation of the alignment of installed aiming subsystems with the weapons bore-sight. The potential future demand for BTAs has caused the SOPMOD Program to issue this Sources Sought announcement and consider a future competitive acquisition for BTAs and supporting hardware. REQUIREMENTS: Training aids of this limited scope are not a combat subsystem, rather a training aid supplement Product Improvement Project (PIP) to the existing SOPMOD system. As such, the BTA does not require a formal requirements document. The fundamental training aid requirement is to provide small, inexpensive, easily transportable devices that can be quickly installed and removed from the weapon to provide a means of verifying the collimation of the point-of-impact/point-of-aim. The devices should provide features that will make them useful during new weapons familiarization, initial sight installation, training exercises, and pre-combat activities. a. Operational Concept: During new weapons familiarization, the operator will use the BTAs to adjust the newly installed sighting devices for collimation with the bore axis. During training exercises, the BTAs will provide modes of operation that will enable instructors to identify and correct problems such as sight alignment errors. In preparation for combat, the BTAs will provide a means of final verification that weapon sights are zeroed. The BTAs are needed to allow the Operator to: (1) CONDUCT WEAPON ZERO WITH EFFICIENCY: Rough zero sights on 25-meter training ranges with gross sight adjustments in order to rapidly hit the 25m Zero Target in the correct location, saving time and ammunition. (2) CONDUCT WEAPON ZERO VERIFICATION: In base camp preparations prior to combat missions, the BTAs will provide a means of verifying collimation after changing sights or if it is suspected that the weapon and its assembled sighting subsystems have been disturbed or damaged. The BTAs will determine if the Operator?s sights are ?way off? in the field or in the forward support base. (3) HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE BTAs: Provide operator confidence that the BTAs are rugged enough to be used in training and combat preparations, that they add value to the deployment load, and that they are able to sustain anticipated misuse. b. Technical Concept: The BTAs may be in a variety of configurations for specific weapon needs. They may be chamber laser bore sights, non-rotating mandrel collimators, magnetic collimators, or other unknown designs. The BTAs should be capable of being consistently installed in a series of weapons. While standardization is desirable, different BTAs may be required to cover the entire range of SOF weapons and aiming accessories. Potential vendors should not be discouraged by the multiple weapons and aiming systems requiring BTAs, rather should consider providing information on one or more of the weapon/aiming accessory assemblies mentioned below. The SOPMOD PMO, in an effort to broaden competition and reduce cost and schedule, may be willing to assist in certain technical aspects, such as the preparation of zeroing targets. The following weapons/aiming systems are of interest in the BTA effort: Immediate client weapon BTA needs: M4A1 Carbine, (5.56mm NATO), NSN: 1005-01-382-0953 M24 and M82 Sniper Rifles, (7.62mm NATO), NSNs: Various Mk11 Rifle, (7.62mm NATO), NSN: 1005-01-475-7980 MK12 Special Purpose Rifle (Series), (5.56mm NATO), NSNs: Various MK13 Series Sniper Rifle (.300 WinMag), NSN: 1005-LL-L99-5364 M240 MG (Series) (7.62mm NATO), NSNs: Various M249 MG (Series), (5.56mm NATO), NSNs: Various Mk46 LMG (5.56mm NATO), NSN: 1005-01-476-6236 Mk48 LMG (7.62mm NATO), NSN: 1005-01-497-0347 Possible future client weapon BTA needs: MK16 SCAR light (5.56mm NATO), NSN: (To be assigned) MK17 SCAR heavy (7.62mm NATO), NSN: (To be assigned) SOF Combat Pistol (.45 ACP), NSN: (To be assigned) MK14 Enhanced Battle Rifle (7.62mm NATO) M14 Rifle (7.62mm NATO), NSN: 1005-00-589-1271 M60 MG (7.62mm NATO), NSN: 1005-00-605-7710 Mk43 MG (7.62mm NATO), NSN: 1005-01-411-0224 Mossberg 500 Series Shotgun (12 gauge), NSN: 1005-01-371-4462 M2 .50 Caliber MG (.50 BMG), NSN: 1005-01-343-0747 M88 PIP .50 Caliber Sniper Rifle (.50 BMG), NSN: 1005-LL-L99-5798 Immediate aiming accessory BTA needs: Backup Iron Sight, NSN: 1005-01-449-6306 ACOG 4X Day Optical Scope, NSN: 1240-01-412-6608 AN/PEQ-2 Infrared Illuminator, NSN: 5855-01-422-5253 AN/PEQ-2A Infrared Illuminator, NSN: 5855-01-447-8992 AN/PEQ-5 Carbine Visible Laser, NSN: 5860-01-439-5409 AN/PVS-17A Miniature Night Vision Sight, NSN: 5855-01-474-8904 M68 CCOS and ECOS-N (Aimpoint Series), NSN: Various Future aiming accessory BTA needs: LA-5/PEQ, Illuminator, Integrated, Small Arms, NSN: 5855-01-533-0555 SU-230/PVS Articulated Telescope, NSN: 1240-01-533-0939 SU-231/PEQ Reflex Sight, NSN: 1240-01-533-0941 SU-232/PAS Thermal Sight, NSN: 5855-01-533-0557 INFORMATION REQUESTED: The BTA kit(s) to be described are envisioned as a small re-usable waterproof container, containing one each of the proposed BTA product or assembly, supporting hardware, and a simple set of installation, zeroing, and operating instructions. Interested vendors may provide information on one, more, or all of the host weapons/accessories of interest. Interested vendors should submit the following information regarding the BTA kit(s): a. Performance: Please submit a technical description of the product, such as photographs, physical characteristics, operational features, and performance data. This should consist of commercial product literature, operating instructions, and/or supplemental technical documentation that define the BTAs and associated hardware. b. Schedule/Cost: Please submit, as a minimum, the cost and delivery times for 1-100 each, 100-500 each, and 500-1000 each. The Government may choose to act on this information in the near term with small purchase orders for testing, user assessments, urgent requirements, or other purposes. c. Future Designs: Vendors are invited to submit cost, schedule, and performance information on planned future militarized designs or improvements to their current COTS products. The government may use this data to develop a future solicitation/specification for BTAs. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP): Currently, the government desires to procure the BTAs as COTS, or militarized versions of COTS products, and has no interest in the acquisition of vendor intellectual property. The government, however, wishes to maintain open system architectures, and will have very limited interest in items that restrict future spiral development by using proprietary interfaces. The SOPMOD Program does not have technical data packages for the weapons and sighting systems listed above. Please do not request drawings or descriptions. PARTICIPATION: This announcement is a public invitation. Vendors are requested to respond to one, more, or parts of the BTA Requirements. Failure to participate in this Market Survey will not preclude abstaining vendors from bidding on possible future solicitations. This announcement is part of the full-free-and-open competition process, which encourages industry and academia to help shape Government specifications to match what is possible, affordable, and timely. Failure to participate in this open dialog process may result in a future Government performance specification over which the abstaining vendors have limited influence in the acquisition process, and may deprive abstaining vendors of potentially valuable direct early interaction with end-users, contracting officials, and acquisition planners. TECHNICAL AND SCHEDULE RISK: Small purchases of COTS BTAs could occur as soon as April 2006, when results of this Market Survey are received. For larger BTA procurements, current program planning seeks to finalize the production and fielding of the BTA capability to combat units in a time frame relevant to ongoing hostilities. The SOPMOD Program will have limited to no interest in basic research or initial applied research responses, or in early prototypical items, unless a clear, rapid path can be shown to achieve delivery of 15 first articles by the summer of 2006 for first article testing. This schedule objective may be adjusted earlier or later depending on the schedule data collected from responding vendors. COMMENTS: The technical Point of Contact (POC) for this Market Survey is Mr. Brian Kaneen. Mr. Kaneen may be reached via e-mail at: brian.kaneen@navy.mil , or via phone at 812-854-8701. His mailing address is: NAVSURFWARCENDIV Crane, ATTN: Mr. Brian Kaneen, Code 4081 Bldg 2521, 300 Highway 361, Crane IN 47522-5001. It should be noted that during the evaluation of all information submitted, the Government plans to utilize employees from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Wexford Group International (WGI), and possibly other direct Government contractors as advisors to the Government evaluators. While the Government may use Market Survey information provided to conduct small purchases for testing, combat user assessments, and specification/solicitation preparation, this sources sought synopsis does not constitute an Invitation for Bids (IFB), a Request for Quote (RFQ), or a Request for Proposal (RFP) and it should not be construed as a commitment of! any kind by the Government to issue a formal solicitation or ultimately award a contract. The U.S. Government is in no way liable to pay for or reimburse any companies or entities that respond to this announcement. Any costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement or incurred for participation in the Market Survey will NOT be reimbursed. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosures to non-Government personnel and entities. Your interest in this response is appreciated. Non-technical questions regarding this announcement may be directed to the Contracting Specialist (CTR-SAIC), Mr. Scott Bingham, Code 0562R3, Bldg. 2521, NAVSURFWARCENDIV, Crane, IN 47522, telephone (812) 854-8525, or e-mail scott.bingham@navy.mil. Information is requested in Microsoft compatible electronic format, however hard copy responses will be accepted. Please provide the information requested in this Market Survey to Mr.! Scott Bingham no later than 5:30 PM EDT, 31 March 2006.
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