SOURCES SOUGHT
59 -- Personnel Parachute Navigation System (PARANAVSYS) Request for Information (RFI) and Industry Day Announcement
- Notice Date
- 9/23/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- ACC-APG - Natick (SPS), ATTN: AMSRD-ACC-N, Natick Contracting Division (R and BaseOPS), Building 1, Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760-5011
- ZIP Code
- 01760-5011
- Solicitation Number
- W911QY13RFIPARANAVSYS
- Response Due
- 10/11/2013
- Archive Date
- 11/22/2013
- Point of Contact
- Mark Marchioli, 508-233-6172
- E-Mail Address
-
ACC-APG - Natick (SPS)
(mark.a.marchioli.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment (PM SCIE), Personnel Parachutes Team, Fort Belvoir, VA, is conducting a market survey to locate potential manufacturers or suppliers of a Parachute Navigation System (PARANAVSYS). The PARANAVSYS is a multipurpose navigational device for high altitude, standoff Military Freefall (MFF) and Double Bag Static Line (DBSL) operations. It will deliver a new capability to the US Army Airborne and Special Forces communities, providing a reliable and easy to use GPS navigation device that will allow for accurate, automated mission planning, precise determination of the release point (RP) in the aircraft with the ability to update the mission profile as required, and real time navigation information during infiltration to multiple drop zones (DZs). The system will allow for enhanced mission capabilities due to the elimination of environmental and visual limitations of the current MFF doctrine. It will increase the operational capability of Commanders to infiltrate parachutists by air surreptitiously into enemy held or denied territory, maintaining unit integrity and maximizing Force Protection at multiple DZs with near simultaneous landings, during all weather and light conditions. Parties that feel they can provide a solution to the below requirement should furnish PM SCIE with written materials, test data and other supporting specifications/data demonstrating their capabilities. Submissions shall be emailed to the PM SCIE POC noted below by 1400EST on Wednesday, 09 October 2013. Submissions shall not contain any classified information. Any proprietary information submitted in response to this RFI will be appropriately protected when clearly identified as proprietary. A Draft Request for Proposal (RFP) will also be posted to ASFI and FedBizOpps to ascertain Industry feedback on the RFP document. The Draft RFP will be released on or before Tuesday, 01 October 2013, with responses due no later than 1400EST on Friday, 11 October 2013. The Draft RFP will be provided as an amendment to this FBO posting. In addition to written responses, PM SCIE invites interested parties to participate in an Industry Day which will be hosted on Friday, 18 October 2013 at Fort Belvoir, VA. Registration will be required and additional information for this event will be provided with the Draft RFP. The Industry Day will consist of a requirement overview briefing, a question and answer session and individual breakout sessions, if desired and as time allows. Due to resource demands and time limitations, requests will be fulfilled on a first come, first serve basis. Questions from interested vendors shall be submitted by 1400EST on Friday, 11 October 2013 to provide the Government adequate time to respond. Government responses will be provided at the Industry Day. This RFI and draft RFP are for planning purposes only and is not to be considered a commitment by the Government to procure any items or services. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs may be charged to the Government as a result of submissions to this RFI or draft RFP. PM SCIE Point of Contact: Brian Huffman / Email: brian.g.huffman3.civ@mail.mil Natick Contracting Point of Contact: Matthew Buchanan / Email: matthew.r.buchanan6.civ@mail.mil Key Features and Subsystems. The PARANAVSYS shall consist of a navigation unit (NU), a mission planner (MP), and mounting hardware (MH) to protect and secure the navigation unit to the parachutist. A GPS Retransmission Kit (RTK) to supply GPS signal aboard the aircraft will be fielded with the system as ancillary equipment; the RTK will be supplied by the Government as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE). A description of each component is below. Navigation Unit. The NU shall be a mobile hardware platform which provides visual instruction to the user and supports mission planning, jumpmaster (JM) and navigation activities. It shall be a commercial-based, integrated computing platform with display and data entry suitable for use in the high altitude Airborne operational environment. It shall acquire and process GPS data through a GPS receiver (internal commercial GPS receiver with the ability to connect to an external Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) GPS receiver at a minimum) to display mission critical information to the parachutist, communicate via a data link (both wireless and wired) to the MP and have the ability to connect with Internet Protocol (IP) based radio systems or other wireless communications equipment to provide objective position location information and other situational awareness (SA) information. The use of Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) smartphone or tablet devices is encouraged to reduce system cost, and increase the maintainability and availability of replacement parts. The NU shall be operational during all phases and usable in all weather and environmental conditions of the HAHO/HALO mission to include extreme temperatures, high altitude and high g shock during canopy opening; it shall be operable with all extreme temperature gear such as face shields, goggles, gloves, etc. Mission Planner. The MP shall be a durable, ruggedized device such as a laptop, tablet or other device which will accept input of all data required to plan high altitude, standoff parachute operations. The MP shall allow for quick entry of mission parameters to generate a mission profile with a minimum number of steps. It shall mimic (replicate) the current MFF Jumpmaster Calculation (JMC) procedures such that the mission profile may be confirmed by using standard, manual MFF JMC procedures. Input data shall include, but not be limited to: exit altitude, environmental wind data covering all altitudes from aircraft exit to mission DZ, DZ coordinates, and parachute system specifications such as glide ratio and descent rate. The MP interface shall avoid needless complexity and allow for fast and easy transfer of a completed mission profile to each NU via a data link (wireless with a hardwired backup capability) with a confirmation of the transfer/update on both the sending and receiving system(s). It shall support the use, maintenance, and update of the NUs, including, but not limited to: applying firmware and software updates, providing map or terrain updates, and uploading/downloading of images or other data. Mounting Hardware. The MH shall secure the NU to parachutist and provide environmental protection/insulation. The MH should interface directly with the Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) vest and shall not interfere in any way with standard high altitude parachutist equipment, or the parachutist's ability to operate their canopy or other equipment.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/791368f228c0300922ded19140b0f438)
- Place of Performance
- Address: ACC-APG - Natick (SPS) ATTN: AMSRD-ACC-N, Natick Contracting Division (R and BaseOPS), Building 1, Kansas Street Natick MA
- Zip Code: 01760-5011
- Zip Code: 01760-5011
- Record
- SN03198353-W 20130925/130923235022-791368f228c0300922ded19140b0f438 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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