SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Request for Information (RFI) for Extracted Heavy Weight (60,000 – 80,000 Pound) Airdrop System Technologies
- Notice Date
- 3/23/2018
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 54171
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life SciencesT
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Army, U. S. Army Materiel Command, Headquarters, US Army Materiel Command, 9301 Chapek Road, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, 22060
- ZIP Code
- 22060
- Solicitation Number
- ADD18001-RFI-HEAVYWEIGHTADS
- Archive Date
- 5/8/2018
- Point of Contact
- Allison K. Griffin, Phone: 5082334495
- E-Mail Address
-
allison.k.griffin4.civ@mail.mil
(allison.k.griffin4.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- 1.0 Description 1.1 US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center (NSRDEC) is seeking information for a heavy weight airdrop system or components to support an extracted heavy weight airdrop system. This airdrop system is intended to deliver up to 60,000 lbs Total Rigged Weight (TRW) as a threshold and up to 80,000 lbs TRW as an objective. 1.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. A solicitation is not available at this time. Request for a solicitation will not receive a response. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United Stated Government to contract for any supply or service. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary; the United Stated Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the United States Government. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement. The purpose of this RFI is to determine the capabilities of the existing marketplace. The Government intends to use white papers provided solely for internal government purposes to further develop or refine the statement of requirement, not as a basis for making an award determination. 2.0 Requested Information 2.1 Systems or components for extracted heavy weight airdrop. NSRDEC seeks information on any system or components that support a 60,000 to 80,000 lbs maximum weight extracted airdrop system. Respondents may provide information on an entire system or on individual components or subsystems that could support this overall capability. Airdrop of this system is anticipated to be from low altitude. 2.2 Scalability. To the largest extent possible, systems, subsystems, or components should be scalable to lower weight airdrop systems in the range of current Low Velocity Airdrop System (LVADS) capabilities. 2.3 Compatibility with the US Air Force aircraft cargo airdrop systems. All systems, subsystems, or components must be compatible with US Air Force C-17 (threshold). As an objective, components should be compatible with the US Air Force C-130. 2.4 Areas of interest. NSRDEC seeks information on any or all of the following areas related to airdrop of 60-80K lbs, including the following subsections. Respondents may submit white papers on technologies that could support the overall 60-80K lbs airdrop capability but do not fall into one of the following subsections. 2.4.1 Platforms or platform enhancement systems. This category includes systems, subsystems, or components related to the airdrop platform that can support 60-80k lbs airdrop systems or support other components or subsystems of the overall airdrop system. 2.4.2 Extraction systems. This category includes systems, subsystems, or components related to extraction of the airdrop system from the aircraft. This includes extraction parachutes, extraction lines, extraction transfer couplings, or other extraction related technologies. 2.4.3 Extraction safety devices. This category includes systems, subsystems, or components related to extraction safety. This could include extraction parachute jettison systems, "extraction-by-main" prevention systems, or other safety or risk reduction technologies. 2.4.4 Suspension components. This categories includes any suspension or parachute riser components or technologies to support delivery of the 60-80K lbs airdrop system. This could include new riser or suspensions materials, new hardware or modifications to current Army airdrop components. 2.4.5 Main parachutes. This category includes parachute technologies or modifications to existing Army recovery parachutes that could support deployment of a 60-80K lbs system. This includes technologies that could minimize the required release altitude of the system to be in line with current LVADS altitude requirements. NSRDEC is not seeking to develop a new main parachute for this effort, but would welcome modifications or updates to existing systems. 2.4.6 Main parachute ground releases. This category includes ground releases, modifications to existing ground releases, or other technologies to support release of the main recovery parachutes to minimize the risk of payload rollover after ground impact for a 60-80K lbs system. 2.4.7 Facilities and payload handling. This category includes systems, subsystems, or components to handle, load, and recover the 60-80K lbs airdrop system, including relevant payloads. Currently, the DoD does not widely possess material handling equipment capable of loading an airdrop system and payload over 60K lbs onto the C-17 aircraft. Respondents may provide information on technologies to support testing, operational use, or both. 3.0 Responses 3.1 Interested parties are requested to respond to the RFI with a white paper. 3.2 White papers in Microsoft Word for Office 2013 compatible format or Adobe Portable Document (pdf) format are due no later than 30 days after the posting of this RFI. Responses shall be limited to 20 pages and can be submitted via email only to Andrew Meloni at andrew.w.meloni.civ@mail.mil. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Proprietary information will not be disclosed outside of the US Government. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. 3.3 The white paper shall address some or all of the requirements or areas in Section 2 and include the following information: Name, company name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and email of designated point of contact. 4.0 Industry Discussions. Army representatives may or may not choose to meet with potential offerors. Such discussions would only be intended to get further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, especially any development and certification risks. 5.0 Summary. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify sources that can provide technologies to support a 60-80K lbs airdrop system. The information provide in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Army has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USA/USAMC/W73QKK/ADD18001-RFI-HEAVYWEIGHTADS/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Contractor Facility, United States
- Record
- SN04865160-W 20180325/180323231306-89b7226ff10a4de07785c457591ca4d3 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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