SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- Transparent Armor - Package #1
- Notice Date
- 5/31/2012
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, U.S. Special Operations Command, Headquarters Procurement Division, 7701 Tampa Point Blvd, MacDill AFB, Florida, 33621-5323
- ZIP Code
- 33621-5323
- Solicitation Number
- RFI-TRANSPARENT_ARMOR01-2012
- Archive Date
- 7/10/2012
- Point of Contact
- Geneva Emiliani, , Nicoele M. Karas,
- E-Mail Address
-
geneva.emiliani@socom.mil, Nicoele.Karas@socom.mil
(geneva.emiliani@socom.mil, Nicoele.Karas@socom.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Attch 1_Vendor Loan Agreement A. INTRODUCTION: This is a Request for Information (RFI) and is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This RFI does not constitute a commitment implied or otherwise that the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) will make any procurements pertaining to this matter. Further, the Government will NOT be responsible for any cost incurred by respondents for furnishing this information. The government intends to review RFI submissions and possibly select vendors to participate in a structured experiment. B. OBJECTIVE 1. Background: Since 2001, the Special Operations Forces (SOF) has experienced multiple combat losses, injuries, fatalities, and aircraft damage resulting from projectiles penetrating windscreens while conducting operations. Enhanced transparent armor would provide a solution that is lighter and protects against current and emerging threats. 2. Request for Technology Experimentation Papers: The purpose of this RFI is to gain information leading to Government/Industry collaboration for development of USSOCOM technology capabilities and to assist in accelerating the delivery of these capabilities to the warfighter. USSOCOM Program Executive Officer - Rotary Wing (PEO-RW) invites industry, academia, individuals and labs to submit technology experimentation papers addressing innovative technology capabilities used in austere environments specifically, to provide information related to flat and curved transparent armor windows that will protect aircraft occupants from various projectiles to include munitions, birds, and debris. Of paramount importance is the determination of cost and weight issues related to these novel transparent armor concepts without sacrificing aircraft performance. SOF Helicopters are designed to operate in hostile environments and survive a variety of ballistic threats. Recent advancements in transparent armor technology have shown the possibility of increasing ballistic protection while reducing armor system weight. Although a significant amount of this work has been centered on ground vehicles, which do not have the weight restrictions commonly associated with aircraft, it is believed that this technology can be applied toward improving the performance and reducing the weight of transparent armor systems utilized by military aircraft. 3. Structured Experiment: After review of the Technology Experimentation Paper submissions, the Government may invite select candidates to demonstrate their capabilities at Camp Roberts, CA in August 2012. The objective of the experiment will be to show the art of the possible for advanced transparent armor concepts that are suitable for aircraft application and will provide the ballistic protection against various projectiles. This experiment will provide an opportunity for the submitter to interact with USSOCOM personnel for the purpose of USSOCOM assessing potential impact of emerging transparent armor technology solutions on USSOCOM missions and capabilities. C. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: 1. General Information: Technology experimentation papers shall not contain classified information, shall not exceed three pages using a PDF format and shall not be less than 10-point font. The Respondent shall prepare an additional unclassified, non-proprietary title and summary page at the beginning of the document. Product data sheets may be included with the technology experimentation paper and will not be counted against the page count. Technology experimentation papers exceeding three pages may not be considered. This will be at the sole discretion of the Government. Technology experimentation papers may be reviewed by Government personnel or support contractors. Respondent's attention is directed to the fact that Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) or contractor consultant/advisors to the Government, will review and provide support and recommendations during evaluation of submittals and during the structured experiment. These agencies and contractors include: SRA International, Ball Aerospace & Technology Corporation, The National Assessment Group (NAG), The Naval Post Graduate School, The Technology Applications Program Office, Cruz Associates INC. and Jacobs Engineering. Non-disclosure agreements will be signed by all reviewers of Technology Experimentation Papers. Submission in response to this RFI constitutes approval to release the submittal to Government support contractors. Lessons learned by USSOCOM from these experiments may be broadly disseminated, but only within the Government. If selected for participation in the Technology Experimentation, vendors may be requested to provide additional information that will be used in preparation for the experiments. 2. Security Requirements: The submittal process under this RFI is intended to be as streamlined as possible in order to allow the government to leverage technology solutions that are capable of meeting urgent warfighter needs. Vendors shall not submit classified information in the technology experimentation papers. The vendor further understands that Title 18 USC Section 701 specifically prohibits the use of the USSOCOM emblem or logo in any medium (e.g., corporate website, marketing brochure, news paper, magazine, etc.) unless authorized in writing by USSOCOM. Forward any request to use the USSOCOM emblem or logo through the Contracting Officer. 3. Submission Format: Section A: Respondent Name, Point of Contact, Title, Date, E-Mail Address, Phone #, Fax #, Organization/Office Symbol, Address and Business Country of Origin. Section B: Related federal contracts, if applicable, to include point of contact and current telephone number and address. Section C: Please describe the materials used to produce the transparent armor, estimated price for one 16"x16: panel, estimated price for a quantity of 100 16" x 16" panels, optical clarity of the transparent armor, weight, and thickness and current uses, if any, for the technology. 4. Responses: Technology Experimentation Papers must be submitted no later than 15:00 Eastern Standard Time, on June 25, 2012. RFI submissions will be accepted as email attachments only. All responses must be sent to Geneva Emiliani, contract specialist at Geneva.Emiliani@socom.mil or Nicoele Karas, Contracting Officer at Nicoele.Karas@socom.mil. An email confirmation of receipt from USSOCOM will be sent within a one-week period to the designated point of contact. D. USE OF INFORMATION: All proprietary information contained in the response shall be separately marked. All proprietary information contained in response to this request will be properly protected from any unauthorized disclosure. The Government will not use proprietary information submitted from any one firm to establish future capability and requirements. USSOCOM will not publicly disclose proprietary information obtained as a result of this RFI. To the full extent that it is protected by law and regulations, information identified by a respondent as Proprietary or Confidential will be kept confidential. E. OTHER SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: DO NOT SUBMIT PROPOSALS. SUBMIT TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENTATION PAPERS ONLY. No contracts will be awarded based on this announcement. Per FAR 52.215-3, Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997): (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. F. BASIS FOR SELECTION TO PARTICIPATE IN STRUCTURED EXPERIMENT: Selection of Transparent Armor vendors to participate in the Structured Experiment will be based on how well the vendor's panels as described in the Technology Experimentation Papers can achieve the following objective and threshold capabilities: Objectives: a. Less than 1 inch thick. b. Weigh less than 10 pounds per Square foot. c. Exhibits optical transmission of at least 70% in the visible spectrum. d. Capability to provide a 16 inch by 16 inch for flat panel for experimentation. e. Capability to provide a 16 inch by 16 inch curved panel for experimentation. Threshold: a. Transparent armor panels cannot be manufactured with any hazardous materials or chemicals that would cause harm if ingested or inhaled upon being shot. b. Technology to be demonstrated shall be at a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, defined as a representative model or prototype system that has been fully tested in a relevant environment and represents a major step up in a technology's demonstrated readiness. Examples include testing a prototype in a high-fidelity laboratory environment or in a simulated operational environment. G. STRUCTURED EXPERIMENTATION FOR SELECTED INVITEES ONLY: If invited to participate, the vendor can expect experiments to be conducted on 1 or 2 August 2012 at Camp Roberts, CA. The transparent armor panels will be required to demonstrate the ability to stop a single projectile and multiple projectiles. In an attempt to normalize the transparent armor testing across multiple materials/designs/vendors, USSOCOM requests that participants bring a 16 inch by 16 inch panel optimized to defeat a 7.62x54mm Ball and Armor Piercing (AP) threat. The threshold pounds per square foot (psf) metric should be <10 psf, and the objective should be <7 psf, with a minimum feasible thickness. It is also desired, however not mandatory, that participants provide a curved panel that is 16 inches by 16 inches. Radius curvature will not be specified due to the various different curvatures of windscreens and chin bubbles on SOF aircraft. Selected vendors can expect that their transparent armor panels will be placed in a uniformed bracket and shot with the same weapon and ammunition. Each candidate will have a time slot to bring their panels to the appropriate firing range at Camp Roberts, CA. Vendors' products will be secluded from other vendors during the experiment in order to maintain proprietary information. USSOCOM shall provide the firing range, supporting infrastructure, weapons, ammunition, test brackets, and assessment (operational and technical) personnel at no cost to the respondent. All vendors will be responsible for the costs of disposal and shipment of their panels to and from the experiment, as well as any travel and manufacturing costs. Vendors will be required to sign a vendor loan agreement prior to the experiment. The Vendor Loan Agreement (VLA) authorizes the government to take possession of the panel and shoot the panel. The Government will assume no responsibility or liability to submitters or others for damage to, destruction of, or loss of voluntary submissions resulting from test activities or otherwise. The government will not be responsible for the replacement cost of any panel that is destroyed or inoperable during this experiment. The NAG will serve as an independent observer and will document the experiment based on observation criteria. The observation criteria for the structured experiment are as follows: a. Weight per square foot of the panel. b. Thickness of the panel. c. Curvature radius (for curved panel submissions only). d. Is the panel 16 inches by 16 inches? e. Optical transmission of at least 70% in the visible spectrum (measured with spectrophotometor). f. Does the first bullet penetrate the panel and puncture the witness plate. g. What is the visibility of the panel after the first round? h. Do the second, third, and fourth round penetrate the panel and puncture the witness plate. i. What portion of the panel is visible after the second, third and fourth shot. The government intends to take pictures and video of each experiment in order to document the results. Vendors will receive a Letter of Observation (LOO) from the Contracting Officer within two months of completing the experiment. The LOO will provide details of what was observed during the experiment from The NAG. The LOO will not serve as a decision that the government intends to purchase or award a contract to a vendor and will only state facts that were observed during the experiment. Vendors are required to submit a one page field report to the Contracting Officer within one month of the conclusion of the experiment stating- 1. Vendor assessment/observations of the experiment. 2. Assessment of post experiment panel. 3. Assessment of TRL level and evolutionary path for improvement.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/USSOCOM/SOAL-KB/RFI-TRANSPARENT_ARMOR01-2012 /listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 7701 Tampa Point Blvd., McDill, Florida, 33621-5323, United States
- Zip Code: 33621-5323
- Zip Code: 33621-5323
- Record
- SN02762375-W 20120602/120531235525-7094f6ffdbee5e56d9585590fef04745 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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