Ceramic Plates QA.pdf

RFP 15F06722R0000143

BALLISTIC PROTECTIVE ARMOR

Rifle Resistant Ceramic Plates

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Posted 26 April 2022

The following questions and answers are provided for informational purposes only.

Nothing contained in the below questions and answers constitutes a change to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. Any change to a term or condition will be issued through an amendment to the solicitation. Upon review of the answers provided below, if additional clarification is needed, please forward questions to the attention of Nell Hitchye, Contracting Officer, at ELHITCHYE@fbi.gov by close of business on 28 April 2022.

Note: In some instances, questions have been abbreviated or additional context has been added to clearly describe the question for all potential Offerors.

QUESTION 1:

Is the Contractor responsible for all costs regarding payment and shipping of test plates?

ANSWER 1:

YES

QUESTION 2:

[Offeror] has ceramic plates that meets the specifications of the solicitation but are available in 10”x12” SAPI and not the requested 10”x13” SAPI size. Will the FBI accept sample plates that are 10”x12” SAPI?

ANSWER 2:

YES.

FOR THE PURPOSES OF TESTING, EXACT MEASUREMENTS ARE NOT

REQUIRED. THE FBI REQUESTED 10”X13” SAMPLE PLATES BASED ON

THE SIZE OF THE FBI’S LEGACY PLATE AND ITS ABILITY TO FIT WITHIN

THE FBI’S CARRIERS.

THE WEIGHTS AND MEASUREMENT SCORES WILL ACCOUNT FOR

SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SIZES BY SCORING OFF OF A PER SQUARE INCH

MEASUREMENT. FOR BALLISTIC RESISTANCE TESTING, THE FBI

STRIVES FOR A FAIR COMPARISON OF ARMOR PLATES BY HAVING

EQUAL SHOT SPACING ACROSS THE MANUFACTURERS. IF SAMPLES ARE

SUBMITTED THAT ARE SMALLER, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE SHOT

SPACING WILL BE MODIFIED TO ACCOMMODATE THE DIFFERENT SIZE.

SECTION C.5.1 LISTS FOUR (4) CARRIERS THAT ARE IN USE WITHIN THE

FBI. THE MAJORITY OF THE CARRIERS IN USE ARE THE POINT BLANK

FBI TACTICAL PLATE CARRIER AND THE TYR TACTICAL EPIC FED.

BOTH HAVE AN INTERNAL SYSTEM DESIGNED TO SECURELY HOLD A

RANGE OF DIFFERENT SIZED PLATES. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE

CONTRACT WINNER HAVE PLATES AVAILABLE THAT FIT SECURELY

INTO THESE CARRIERS. UPON AWARD, THE CONTRACTOR SHALL

WORK WITH THE FBI TO ENSURE A PROPER FIT IN FBI CARRIERS.

QUESTION 3:

Due to supply chain issues, we would request an extension to the solicitation.

ANSWER 3:

THE DEADLINE STANDS AS WRITTEN IN THE SOLICITAION.

QUESTION 4:

Is there a time limit between removing the sample from the conditioning chamber (hot or cold) and completing the 6-shot pattern?

ANSWER 4:

NO. THE FBI CONDITIONS THE SAMPLE ARMOR FOR A PERIOD OF TIME

BETWEEN 14 AND 24 HOURS, THEN REMOVES THE SAMPLE ITEM

IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO TESTING. IT IS THE EXPERIENCE OF THE TEST

PERSONNEL THAT THE SIX (6) TEST SHOTS ARE TYPICALLY COMPLETED

WITHIN TEN (10) MINUTES, BUT THERE IS NO SET TIME LIMIT AND THE

ARMOR WILL NOT BE RE-CONDITIONED OR RE-INSERTED INTO THE

ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBER DURING TESTING.

QUESTION 5:

What is the particular lot/source for the Mild Steel Core projectile?

ANSWER 5:

THE FBI UTILIZES 123 GRAIN MILD STEEL CORE PROJECTILES MANUFACTURED

BY ARSENAL JSCO. THE PROJECTILES ARE HANDLOADED TO MEET THE

VELOCITY REQUIREMENTS STATED WITHIN THE SOLICIATION (2,380 FPS +/-

50 FPS).

QUESTION 6:

Can alternative shades (black) be used for source selection samples?

ANSWER 6:

YES. SECTION L.9 OF THE SOLICITATION (PAGES 82-83) STATES THAT, “FOR

THE PURPOSES OF THIS EVALUATION, THE FBI WILL ACCEPT SAMPLES PLATES

IN ANY COLOR.”

QUESTION 7:

The RFP states, “C.3.4 The ‘ceramic’ tile used within the plate shall not be chamfered.”

All SAPI cut plates have a chamfer on the top of the plate to allow range of motion of the arms. Also, side plates (6x6, 6x8) have chamfer relief in each corner to not have a sharp corner chafe the carrier or user. Is it the Government’s request that the edge (perimeter) of the ceramic tile not be chamfered (i.e., the ceramic has the same thickness from front to back across the entire surface), or should offerors provide a true square side plate and true rectangular torso plate?

ANSWER 7:

THE REQUIREMENT OUTLINED IN C.3.4 PERTAINS TO THE UNIFORM

THICKNESS OF THE TILE USED WITHIN THE ARMOR PLATE, NOT THE OUTLINE

OF THE PLATE AS VIEWED FROM THE STRIKE FACE. THE FBI IS NOT SEEKING

TRUE SQUARE OR TRUE RECTANGULAR PLATES. THE TAPER FOR THE SAPI CUT

IS A REQUIREMENT. ROUNDED CORNERS AND ROUNDED EDGES ON THE TORSO

AND SIDE PLATES ARE ALLOWED.

THE FBI HAS SEEN INTERNAL TILES (BORON CARBIDE, ALUMINUM OXIDE, ETC)

WITH DRASTIC CHAMFERS OR BEVELS AROUND ALL EDGES. THE FBI BELIEVES

THAT SUCH A TAPER REDUCES THE BALLISTIC PROTECTION OF THE ARMOR.

NOTE: ROUNDED EDGES AND MICRO BEVELS ARE PERMITTED.

Example of chamfered tile edge While the rounded corner is acceptable, the chamfered edges are not.

QUESTION 8:

Can the same contractor be awarded the contracts for both categories (Standard and Special Mission)?

ANSWER 8:

YES

QUESTION 9:

The Section J, Attachment 4 Data Sheets (for both the Standard and Special Mission plates) require ballistic data for “Threat Projectiles and Impact Velocities Tested Against.”

a. Is there a specific requirement for what needs to be provided with respect to this data for each projectile?

b. Is there a “pass/fail” evaluation criterion for this data sheet?

ANSWER 9:

WITHIN THE MANUFACTURER DATA SHEETS (SECTION J, ATTACHMENT

4), THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT FOR THE THREAT PROJECTILES AND

IMPACT VELOCITIES TESTED AGAINST. THE FBI OUTLINES OUR

BALLISTIC REQUIREMENTS IN SECTION C.4.1. THE FBI ENCOURAGES

OFFERORS TO NOT SUBMIT ARMOR SAMPLES THAT CANNOT MEET

THESE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.

AS SPECIFIED IN SECTION M.3.4, “DATA SUBMITTED FOR VOLUME #1

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL MUST BE COMPLETE.” VOLUME #1 TECHNICAL

PROPOSAL INCLUDES THE MANUFACTURER DATA SHEETS. AS SUCH,

THE “PASS/FAIL” CRITERIA IS LIMITED TO COMPLETION OF THE DATA

SHEET.

INCLUSION OF ADDITIONAL TEST DATA TO SUPPORT THE

MANUFACTURER DATA SHEET (THREAT TYPE, VELOCITY, BACKFACE

DEFORMATION, V50, ETC.) IS ALLOWED BUT NOT REQUIRED.

QUESTION 10:

Section M.3 states that Twelve torso plate samples are required in SAPI cut, size Large (~10” x 13”). We produce the SAPI Large at a 10.25” x 13.25” nominal size. Is that size acceptable for submittal purposes?

ANSWER 10:

YES. PLEASE SEE ANSWER #2 FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.

QUESTION 11:

Section B.3 states that the maximum threshold for each established IDIQ shall be as follows: Standard $5,000,000 and Special Mission $2,000,000. Is this the maximum for the base year or the maximum for the base year plus four possible one-year option periods?

ANSWER 11:

THE MAXIMUM THRESHOLD OUTLINED IN SECTION B.3 SPECIFIES THE

LIFETIME MAXIMUM FOR THE CONTRACT (BASE YEAR PLUS FOUR

OPTION YEARS).