R&D Contracting Directorate, Attn: WL/AAKE, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, Wright-Patterson AFB

A -- ROBUST LASER RESONATOR INITIATIVE SOL BAA 97-03-AAK POC Contact Dawn M. Ross, Contract Negotiator, (937) 255-5311 or Michele L. Dickman, Contracting Officer, (937) 255-2976. A--INTRODUCTION: Wright Laboratory (WL) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) on the research effort described in Section B. Proposals in response to this BAA shall be submitted by 8 Jan 97, 1500 hours Eastern Standard Time, addressed to (Attn: Dawn Ross), WL/AAKE, Building 7, 2530 C Street, WPAFB, OH 45433-7607. Proposals shall not be submitted via facsimile transmission. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Small businesses are encouraged to propose on all or any part of this solicitation. Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. Proposal receipt after the cutoff date and time specified herein shall be treated in accordance with the restrictions of FAR 52.215-10, a copy of this provision may be obtained from the contracting point of contact cited in Section F. There will be no other solicitation issued in regard to the this requirement. Offerors should be alert for any BAA amendments to this solicitation that may be published. This BAA may be amended to allow subsequent submission of proposal dates. Offerors should request a copy of the WL Guide for Industry. This guide was specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the PRDA/BAA proposal process. Copies may be requested from the contracting point of contact or obtained via the Word Wide Web site: www.wl.wpafb.af.mil/contract. B--REQUIREMENTS: Technical Description: Lasers are needed in US Air Force aircraft for applications such as laser designation, infrared countermeasures, laser radar, and communications. There is a need to develop low-maintenance laser resonator designs for use in operationally stressing environments where large variations in temperature and pressure occur, and the laser is subjected to vibration and shock far beyond that of the laboratory environment. The objectives of this procurement are: (1) Develop novel resonator concepts with few alignment points and reduced alignment sensitivity compared to standard laboratory lasers, low maintenance requirements, reduced number of optical components, reduced reliance on complex optical coatings, and graceful degradation characteristics. (2) Demonstrate the proposed concepts in a laboratory environment where laser response to noise, vibration, and harshness environmental testing and alignment tolerances can be explored. Any algorithms or materials developed as a part of the robust resonator program will become government property. (2) Deliverable Items: (a) The following deliverable data items shall be proposed: (i) Status Report, DI-MGMT-80368A/T, monthly, (ii) Funds and Man-Hour Expenditure Report, DI-FNCL-80331, monthly, (iii) Project Planning Chart, DI-MGMT-80507A/T, monthly, (iv) Contract Funds Status Report (CFSR), DI-MGMT-81468A/T, quarterly, (v) Presentation Material, DI-ADMN-81373A/T, as required, (vi) Scientific and Technical Reports, Contractor's Billing Voucher, DI-MISC-80507A/T, monthly and (vii) Scientific and Technical Reports, DI-MISC/80507A/T, (Draft and a Reproducible Final). The offerors shall include in their proposal a kickoff meeting at Wright Patterson AFB approximately two weeks after contract award. Technical reviews shall be conducted every six months with half at the contractor's facility and half at Wright Lab. Informal technical interchanges will occur as needed. (3) Security Requirements: This program will be conducted at the unclassified level. (4) Other Special Requirements: None C--ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (1) Anticipated Period of Performance: The total length of the technical effort is estimated to be 36 months. The contractor shall also provide for an additional 4 months for processing and completion of the final report. (2) Expected Award Date: 25 May 97 (3) Air Force Funding Estimate: The funding profile is $23k in FY97, $300k in FY98, $190k in FY99, and $174k in FY00 for $687k total. This funding profile is an estimate only and is not a promise for funding as all funding is subject to change due to the discretion of the Air Force and availability of funds. (4) Type of Instrument: Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) contract or Cost contract (no fee), or Assistance Instruments. Any grant(s) or cooperative agreement(s) awarded will be cost (no fee) or cost share. Any Other Transactions awarded will be cost share. (5) Government Furnished Property: None contemplated. (6) Size/Status: For the purpose of this acquisition, the size standard is 500 employees (SIC 8731). (7) Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to immediately notify the contracting point of contact upon deciding to respond to this announcement. Foreign contractors should be aware that restrictions apply which could preclude their participation in this acquisition. D--PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: General Instructions: Offerors should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the provision at FAR 52.215-12, Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, to trade secrets or privileged commercial and financial information contained in their proposals. Proposal questions should be directed to one of the points of contact listed below. Offerors should refer to the instructions contained in the WL ''PRDA and BAA Guide for Industry'' referenced in Section A of this announcement. Separate technical and cost proposal volumes are required and must be valid for 180 days. Proposals must reference the above BAA number. Proposals shall be submitted in an original and six (6) copies. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be evaluated against the criteria set forth below in Section E-- Basis of Award. Offerors are advised that only contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the Government. (2) Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. Additional information on prior work in this area, descriptions of available equipment, data and facilities, and resumes of personnel who will be participating in this effort should also be included as attachments to the technical proposal and are included in the page limit discussed below. The technical proposal shall include a Statement of Work (SOW) detailing the technical tasks and phases proposed. The technical proposal must be suitable for instrument incorporation. Offerors should refer to the WL Guide to assist in SOW preparation. Any questions concerning the technical proposal or SOW preparation should be referred to the technical point of contact cited below. (3) Cost Proposal: Adequate price competition is anticipated. The accompanying cost proposal/price breakdown shall be furnished with supporting schedules and shall contain a per-hour breakdown per task and also by calendar year. (4) Page Limitations: The technical proposal shall be limited to 75 pages (12 pitch or larger type), double-spaced, single-sided, 8.5x11 inches. The page limitation includes all information (indices, photographs, appendices, etc.) Pages in excess of this limitation will be removed from the proposal and will not be evaluated by the Air Force. Cost proposals have no page limitation, however, offerors are requested to limit cost proposals to 20 pages. (5) Preparation Cost: This announcement does not commit the Air Force to pay for any proposal preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this BAA is not an allowable direct charge to any resulting award, or any other procurement instrument. However, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. E--BASIS FOR AWARD: The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an evaluation of an offeror's technical and cost proposals to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to the announcement. The technical proposal, which is ranked as the first order of priority, shall be evaluated based on the following criteria listed in descending order of importance: (1) Innovation - The offeror's proposal will be evaluated for innovation and uniqueness. Novel approaches which promise significantly improved resonator performance in terms of reliability and maintainability are desired. The proposal will be evaluated on the degree to which approaches are shown to be theoretically feasible, if not yet demonstrated experimentally. (2) Understanding the Problem - The offeror's proposal will be evaluated on the degree to which it demonstrates theoretical and experimental understanding of all laser and nonlinear techniques, devices, and materials to be used. The proposal will also be evaluated on the degree to which it demonstrates an understanding of the requirements for airborne operation of laser devices. (3) Soundness of Approach - The offeror's proposal will be evaluated with respect to the soundness, scalability, reliability, and simplicity of the approach. (4) Compliance with Requirements - The offeror's proposal will be evaluated on the degree to which all reporting requirements have been addressed as well as demonstration of efficient and effective management of technical activities. Cost and/or price, which includes consideration of proposed budgets and funding profiles, is a substantial factor, but is ranked as the second order of priority. No other evaluation criteria will be used. The technical and cost proposals will be evaluated at the same time. The Air Force reserves the right to select for award any, all, part, or none of the proposal(s) received. Award of a grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction in lieu of a contract will be considered and will be subject to the mutual agreement of both parties. F--POINTS OF CONTACT: (1) An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors and potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. The purpose of the Ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the contracting officer but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations to the appropriate Air Force personnel. All potential offers should use established channels to voice concerns before resorting to use the Ombudsman. When requested, the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the source selection. The Ombudsman should only be contacted with issues or problems that have been previously brought to the attention of the contracting officer and could not be satisfactorily resolved at that level. These serious concerns only may be directed to the Ombudsman, Mr. Daniel L Kugel, ASC/SY, Bldg 52, 2475 K St, Suite 1, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7642, email kugeldl@sy.wpafb.af.mil, phone (513) 255-3855. (2) Technical Point of Contact: Capt Jason Baumbach, WL/AAJL, 2241 Avionics Circle, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base OH 45433-7304, email baumbajg@aa.wpafb.af.mil, phone (513) 255-4174 x4033. (3) Contracting/Cost Point of Contact: Ms Dawn Ross, WL/AAKE, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base OH 45433-7607, (513) 255-3379. (0324)

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