19GE5026Q0131.pdf

COMBINED SYNOPSIS & SOLICITATION

United States Consulate General Frankfurt, Germany

Acquisition of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) for U.S.

Embassy Quito, Ecuador

SOLICITATION NO. 19GE5026Q0131

Issued by:

American Consulate General

Regional Procurement Support Office

Giessener Strasse 30

60435 Frankfurt am Main

Germany

Combined Synopsis and Solicitation

Solicitation Number 19GE5026Q0131

(i) Description

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with FAR Part 12. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Offers are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.

Solicitation number 19GE5026Q0131 is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ), for

Firm Fixed Priced Purchase Order (PO) for Acquisition of Group 3 Unmanned

Aircraft System (UAS) on behalf of U.S. Embassy Quito, Ecuador.

This solicitation incorporates provisions and clauses by reference. The full text of provisions and clauses may be accessed electronically at www.acquisition.gov.

(ii) List of line-item number(s) and items, quantities, and units of measure

CLINS Description

CLIN No. Vehicle Unit Unit Cost Qty Total Cost

CLIN 001

Unmanned Aerial (UA)

(it shall be a Group-3

UAS),

As described in the SOW

Ea

CLIN 002

Fully Integrated Payload

Sensor

(One per UA)

CLIN 003

Payload – Overwatch PT-

6, CLIN 004

Ground Control Station and support equipment, CLIN 005

UAS Transportation

Cases per aircraft/UA.

(whatever the required number of cases needed per UAS, Lt http://www.acquisition.gov/

As described in the SOW)

CLIN 006

Consumables for 2K+ flight hours, CLIN 007

Spares for 2k+ flight hours, CLIN 008

Pilot/Maintainer: Training

Customer equipment, CLIN 009

Value Added Tax (VAT), if applicable

CLIN 010

Delivery (F.o.b.

Destination)

CLIN 011

Defense Base Act

Insurance (DBA), TOTAL

*Shipping costs shall include all costs associate it with delivery including International Insurance

Container & Customs clearance.

THE CONTRACTOR SHALL STATE CURRENCY: ________________________

Prices

The contractor shall complete all labor, material, equipment and services, unless otherwise specified herein, required under this contract for the firm fixed unit prices indicated below and within the time specified herein. These individual prices shall include all labor, materials, profit, and, if applicable, value-added tax (VAT).

Any costs not separately priced will be considered to be included in the individual prices as overhead or other indirect cost. No additional sums will be payable on account of any escalation in the cost of materials, equipment or labor, or because of the contractor's failure to properly estimate or accurately predict the cost or difficulty of achieving the results required by this contract. Nor will the contract price be adjusted on account of fluctuations in the currency exchange rates.

The currency shall be fixed and cannot be changed by modification to the contract.

VAT

• Definitions

“VAT” or “IVA” (Impuesto al Valor Agregado) means the value-added tax imposed under the laws of the Republic of Ecuador on taxable transactions within Ecuador.

“Host-Country VAT Reimbursement”: Means the process by which the United

States Embassy / Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

(INL) seeks and receives a refund or reimbursement of paid VAT from the

Government of Ecuador pursuant to bilateral agreements, international law, and the

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“Output VAT” means value-added tax, goods and services tax, sales tax, or similar indirect tax that the Contractor is legally authorized and required under the laws of the country of performance to assess, collect from the customer (here, U.S.

Government), and remit to the applicable host-country taxing authority in connection with services provided under this contract.

“Input VAT”: Means VAT or similar indirect tax paid by the Contractor to its own subcontractors, suppliers, or vendors on purchases, imports, materials, supplies, equipment, overhead, or other business inputs incurred in the performance of this contract.

• VAT Application and Proposal Inclusion

- Separate Line Item Requirement

If VAT is applicable under the Offeror’s proposed execution structure, the

Offeror/Contractor shall identify Output VAT as a strictly separate, standalone line item in Section (ii) (List of line-items, CLIN 009). Offerors shall not blend, bundle, or include Output VAT within service/ supplies prices, labor rates, or material costs.

- Prohibition On Double Recovery

The fixed contract price established in Section (ii) is deemed to include all costs of performance. VAT reimbursement under the respective CLIN is separate from and in addition to the fixed contract price and is available solely for legally required Output VAT as defined in “Double recovery of VAT” through any combination of price inclusion, separate billing, input VAT credit, or any other mechanism is prohibited and shall constitute a basis for recovery and disallowance.

• VAT Framework - INL Contracts in Ecuador

- Government Reimbursement Framework

To enable the INL, U.S. Embassy Quito to successfully claim and receive host-country reimbursement for the Output VAT paid to the Contractor, the

Contractor must function as a legally compliant tax conduit in Ecuador. This pathway is available only to Contractors that are legally registered to conduct business in Ecuador and hold a valid registration as required by local law.

Offerors are advised that VAT registration status in Ecuador directly affects eligibility for the VAT exemption and, accordingly, the pricing structure of proposals submitted under this solicitation.

- Requirements to Enable Government Reimbursement

In order for INL, U.S. Embassy Quito, Ecuador, to receive reimbursement for

VAT, the Contractor must satisfy all of the following conditions:

(a) The Contractor must be in possession of a valid Ecuadorian VAT registration number, and the registration number must be included in all payment requests and invoices.

(b) The Contractor’s invoices must be issued by the exact Contractor entity identified in Block 7 of the award document (OF347), and the Contractor must have obtained formal authorization to operate and conduct business in

Ecuador.

(c) The Contractor’s invoices must explicitly reflect Output VAT as a separate line item.

(d) VAT costs incurred by Subcontractors or suppliers and billed to the prime

Contractor do not represent value addition by the Contractor; such costs are considered Input VAT and shall not be included in the separate VAT Pricing

Schedule (CLIN 009).

Unsubstantiated, inaccurate, or non-compliant invoicing that causes the host government to reject the U.S. Embassy's reimbursement claim shall result in the immediate disallowance of the associated invoice amounts and trigger potential recovery actions by the U.S. Government.

• VAT Treatment For Contractors Not Registered In Ecuador

A Contractor that does not hold a valid RUC and does not meet the local registration requirements prevents the U.S. Government from recovering VAT under Ecuadorian law. In such cases, the following strict rules apply:

(a) Mandatory Disclosure: The Offeror shall clearly disclosure its non-registered status within its initial technical and price proposals.

(b) Pricing Integration: The Offeror shall include in its price proposal all applicable Ecuadorian taxes at the legally binding rate as a separate, clearly identified cost element.

(c) Evaluation Treatment: The U.S. Government will evaluate such proposals with the full VAT amount included in the total evaluated price. Because this VAT cannot be recovered by the U.S. Government, it will be factored as a permanent cost, which may negatively affect the competitiveness of the offer relative to locally registered Contractors.

(d) No Government Recovery: The Contractor acknowledges that host-country

VAT reimbursement is legally unavailable to the U.S. Government where the

Contractor does not hold a valid local registration.

• Input VAT And Subcontractor Cost Limitations

- Contractor Responsibility for Input VAT

Input VAT incurred by the Prime Contractor on materials, supplies, equipment, subcontracts, imports, overhead, or other business inputs shall not be separately billed, itemized, or charged to the U.S. Government.

The recovery, credit, offset, or refund of Input VAT is strictly a commercial and regulatory matter between the Contractor and the host country, in accordance with Ecuadorian tax law. All such net costs must be natively incorporated into the Contractor’s base price proposal under the applicable cost elements.

- Subcontractor VAT Restrictions

If the Contractor engages subcontractors pursuant to DOSAR 652.242-73(b), and those subcontractors charge VAT to the Prime Contractor, such charges constitute Input VAT to the Prime Contractor.

(a) Subcontractor VAT does not represent value addition by the Prime

Contractor, therefore, such costs shall not be passed through to or separately billed under the separate VAT Pricing Schedule (CLIN 009).

(b) Such costs must be absorbed and incorporated into the Contractor’s base price proposal under the applicable design, construction, or operational cost elements.

(c) The Prime Contractor is solely responsible for managing subcontractor

VAT treatment in accordance with Ecuadorian law.

• VAT Invoice Requirements

- Rate Changes During Performance

The VAT rate applicable shall reflect the legally required rate under host country law at the time of invoicing. In the event of a change in the applicable

VAT rate during contract performance, the Contractor shall notify the

Contracting Officer Representative and the contracting Officer in writing within 15 calendar days of the effective date of the rate change, providing the legal citation for the new rate and the effective date of the change. The

Contractor shall not invoice at a rate other than the legally applicable rate and shall not use a rate change as a basis for claiming additional compensation beyond the adjusted VAT amount itself.

- Documentation and Compliance

The Contractor shall:

a) Maintain complete records of registration, filings, VAT remittances or exemption documentation, and subcontractor invoices throughout contract performance and for the retention period required under applicable law and FAR 4.703;

b) Submit VAT compliance documentation at intervals consistent with applicable host country filing periods

c) Make all records available to the Contracting Officer upon request.

d) Non-compliance with host-country VAT registration, filing, or remittance requirements, or failure to safeguard the U.S. Government's reimbursement interests under this contract, may be reflected in the

Contractor's performance assessment under the Contractor Performance

Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) in accordance with FAR 42.1503.

Such documented non-compliance may also be considered by future contracting officers in making responsibility determinations under FAR

9.104-1

e) Prior to contract closeout, the Contractor shall submit a final VAT compliance certification, signed by an authorized representative, confirming that: (1) all VAT amounts reimbursed by the Government under this contract have been remitted to the respective authority; or (2) identifying any amounts for which remittance obligations remain pending.

f) The Contractor is advised that submission of a false certification under this provision may constitute a violation of the False Claims Act, 31

U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, and 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and may subject the

Contractor and its principals to civil and criminal liability.

Defense Base Act (DBA) Insurance

a. The Department of Labor has waived the DBA insurance for the countries in paragraph

(c) of this subsection. United States citizens or residents and individuals hired in the

United States, regardless of citizenship shall be required to obtain DBA insurance.

Evidence of DBA insurance shall be submitted within 15 days of award. The DBA

Insurance shall be obtained from any U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) authorized DBA insurance broker. A list of DOL-authorized insurance brokers is available at the following address:

http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dlhwc/lscarrier.htm.

b. DBA insurance cost will be evaluated as part of the total evaluated firm fixed price and included in the firm fixed price. The Contractor shall be reimbursed for the cost of DBA insurance only upon providing proof of payment.

c. The DOL has waived DBA insurance for the following countries of performance under this contract: https://www.dol.gov/owcp/dlhwc/dbawaivers/dbawaivers.htm

d. Ecuador is not listed on the DOL Active DBA Waiver list and therefore DBA

Insurance is required for all of the Contractor’s employees working on this project.

http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dlhwc/lscarrier.htm https://www.dol.gov/owcp/dlhwc/dbawaivers/dbawaivers.htm

e. The Contractor will be reimbursed for DBA insurance only to the extent the Contractor provides documentary proof that DBA insurance has been paid and only to the extent quoted in the Pricing Schedule.

NOTE 1: Defense Base Act insurance is required for all subcontractor employees performing under this contract. The Government will not reimburse subcontractors directly for DBA insurance. Subcontractors shall recover DBA insurance costs through their pricing to the prime contractor, and the prime contractor is responsible for managing all subcontractor DBA-related costs.

(iii) Description of requirements

The complete statement of work shall be found under Attachment 1-Scope of Work.

Shipping Condition:

All bid prices shall include shipping F.o.b. Destination. No partial shipments are permitted, unless otherwise specified by Contracting Officer at time of award.

Payment Schedule and Invoice Submission (Fixed-Price):

Payment to the Contractor can only be made once the goods have been customs cleared and delivered to the agreed final destination, respecting all the conditions listed here in this solicitation, and upon confirmation and acceptance by means of a receiving report from

Post. Thereafter, payment will be processed within 30 days. Unless a separate remittance address is specified, payment shall be made to the contractor’s address as specified on the cover page of the issued contract.

Duty-Free Clearance

The U.S. Government will assist the Contractor in obtaining customs clearance and tax exemption certificates from the Government of Ecuador.

Duty-free clearance shall include all imported materials, equipment, and all shipping containers or otherwise related to this contract. The Contractor shall follow the instructions in the purchase order regarding the proper marking and labeling the shipping containers or otherwise processing shipments of imported materials in order to obtain, or continue to receive, duty free customs clearance. The Contractor shall be solely responsible without right of reimbursement from the Government, for the payment of customs duties, if any, which:

1. are imposed on items which are not labeled and processed in accordance with the contract instructions,

2. Are imposed on vehicles, spare parts, accessories, or related items imported under this contract that are not eligible for duty-free entry; or3. Are otherwise determined by

Ecuadorian customs authorities to be ineligible for duty-free entry.

The Contractor shall estimate a reasonable number of days for customs clearances and delivery.

In the event that the contractor fails to provide any required paperwork for the customs clearance process to the U.S. Embassy Quito Shipping Office, and the customs clearances procedure is delayed, the Contractor shall be responsible to pay any additional costs incurred (e.g., storage fees). When the goods are imported to Ecuador, the U.S. Embassy

Quito can provide a letter for customs clearance and exemption for customs import taxes.

To avoid rejection, coordination with POC prior to shipping is required.

To obtain a free entry for the goods the contractor shall provide the COR with the following documentation 30 calendar days prior to the delivery of goods:

• Detailed description of goods

• Approximate weight

• Number of crates

• Approximate value of goods

• Mode of shipment

INL Quito will assist to obtain this exemption as soon as the Government receives copies of the commercial invoice, packing list and rated ocean bill of lading (OBL) from the shipper.

The contractor shall contact and coordinate with the COR and INL, U.S. Embassy Quito, Ecuador before shipping any goods.

TAX-EXEMPT NUMBER:

Department of State Tax Identification Number: DOS 54-1352940

Inspections:

The Government shall conduct inspections of the equipment upon delivery.

Unauthorized work:

No payments will be made for any unauthorized supplies or services or for any unauthorized changes to the work specified herein. This includes any services performed by the Vendor of its own volition or at the request of an individual other than a duly appointed Contracting Officer (CO). Only the duly appointed CO is authorized to change the specifications, terms, and/or conditions of this contract.

(iv) Date and Place of Performance/ Delivery

Period of Performance/ Delivery: delivery shall be made within 180 calendar days from the date of award.

Place of Performance/ Delivery: All performance testing in Ecuador will be conducted at the ECUNAV/COGUAR’s Squadron of UA at the Eloy Alfaro International Airport in

Manta, Ecuador. The exact delivery address in Manta, Ecuador will be provided and coordinated with the vendor prior to delivery.

Delivery Place:

Delivery shall be made F.o.b. Destination (Final delivery Manta, Ecuador) no later than

180 calendar days after the date of the contract award. Delivery shall be coordinated with the COR.

The exact delivery address will be provided and coordinated with the vendor prior to delivery.

The Equipment shall be delivered on F.o.b. Destination in accordance with FAR clause

52.247-34, F.o.b. Destination (Nov 1991).

TO AVOID REJECTION OF THIS ORDER AT POINT OF DELIVERY IT IS

ESSENTIAL:

A) NOT TO CONSOLIDATE THIS ORDER WITH ANY OTHER

B) TO ENSURE THAT THIS ORDER IS CORRECTLY AND CLEARLY MARKED

ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE PACKAGE/

CRATE WITH (a) THE ORDER NUMBER, (b) THE REQUISITION NUMBER, AND

(c) THE REQUISITIONING OFFICE ADDRESS; AS PROVIDED IN BLOCKS 3, 4

AND 10 ON PAGE ONE OF THE PURCHASE ORDER.

(v) List of solicitation provisions that apply to this acquisition:

FAR52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial

Services (Sep 2023) (RFO DEVIATION 01/30/2026)

As specified in FAR52.212-1, offers shall provide the following:

Submission of offers. Submit signed and dated offers to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. As a minimum, offers shall include—

(1) The solicitation number;

(2) The name, address, telephone number of the Offeror;

(3) The Offeror’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and, if applicable, Electronic Funds

Transfer (EFT) indicator;

(4) Information necessary to evaluate the factors contained in the provision at 52.212-2 or as described in the solicitation;

(5) Responses to provisions that require Offeror completion of information, representations, and certifications (other than those collected via the System for Award

Management (SAM)); and

(6) A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation and any solicitation amendments.

Addendum to FAR52.212-1

Preparation and Submission of Quotation.

The offeror shall provide the following information with their quotation:

Volume 1 (Price Volume) containing the following:

1. Pricing - Pricing Table in paragraph (ii): All applicable portions of this form shall be completed in each relevant category. The Currency shall be stated.

2. Representations and Certifications - Completed Attachment 3

3. Trafficking in Persons Plan – As per FAR52.222-50 Trafficking in Persons and

FAR52.222-56 Certification Regarding Trafficking in Persons & Compliance

Plan, the contractor shall provide a Trafficking in Persons compliance plan and a certification stating that the offeror, nor its agents or subcontractors, have engaged in any human trafficking related activities.

4. Proof of active SAM registration

Volume 2 (Technical Volume) containing the following:

1. A technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail and the delivery schedule compliance confirmation to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. The Contractor shall provide color photographs and specification sheets of the proposed items along with a detailed Delivery

Plan, outlining the procedures for procuring, transporting and delivering all the items directly to the delivery address. The proposal shall also include product literature, or other documents and terms of any express warranty.

2. Past Performance Information - Completed Attachment 2 to include three (3) recent and relevant contracts, over the past five (5) years, for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information)

Simply repeating or paraphrasing solicitation sections is not compliant and may cause the USG to give the offeror a non-compliance rating.

VAT Impact on Evaluation

Offerors are advised that their local VAT registration status in Ecuador directly impacts the U.S. Government’s legal ability to reclaim paid VAT from the host country. Accordingly, registration status affects the total cost evaluation and competitiveness of proposals submitted under this solicitation. The Government will evaluate proposals based on total evaluated cost, including any non-reimbursable VAT, which may impact the competitiveness of non-registered

Offerors.

52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021)

(RFO DEVIATION 01/30/2026).

(a) Evaluation factors. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered.

The following factors will be used to evaluate offers: Evaluation factors other than price when combined are significantly more important than price.

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate quotations for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement.

The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. The evaluation of options does not obligate the

Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) Notice of award. A written notice of award or acceptance of a quotation furnished to the successful Offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the quotation, shall result in a binding Purchase Order without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept a quotation (or part of a quotation), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(End of provision)

COMPLIANCE REVIEW. The Government will perform an initial review of proposals/quotations received to determine completeness and compliance with the terms of the solicitation. Moreover, proposals valid less than 90 calendar days shall be rejected.

EVALUATION CRITERIA. Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of a direct comparison to other offers to discern if there is any kind of performance quality superiority that would support an award to a higher priced offer as described below.

1. Technical: Technical will be evaluated on the basis of a direct comparison to other offers to discern if there is any kind of technical quality superiority that would support an award to a higher priced offer.

2. Past Performance: Past performance will be evaluated on the basis of a direct comparison to other offers to discern if there is any significant past performance superiority that would support an award to a higher priced offer. Past performance as a discriminator may be appropriate where based on the offeror’s performance record, the Government has a high expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

3. Price: Price will be evaluated to ensure the proposed price is fair and reasonable.

The price will be determined by multiplying the offered prices times the estimated quantities in “Prices – Section (ii)”, and arriving at a grand total, including all options. The Government reserves the right to reject proposals that are unreasonably low or high in price. Price will be evaluated to ensure the proposed price is fair and reasonable. The Contracting Officer's selected method of determining price reasonableness will be informed by the degree of competition.

A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

RESPONSIBILITY DETERMINATION: The Government will determine contractor responsibility by analyzing whether the apparent successful offeror complies with the requirements of FAR9.1, including:

• Adequate financial resources or the ability to obtain them;

• Ability to comply with the required performance period, taking into consideration all existing commercial and governmental business commitments;

• Satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics;

• Necessary organization, experience, and skills or the ability to obtain them;

• Necessary equipment and facilities or the ability to obtain them; and

• Be otherwise qualified and eligible to receive an award under applicable laws and regulations.

ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARD: To be eligible for award, offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, non-price and price instructions in paragraph (iii). Failure to comply with all or any specific solicitation requirements and instructions may result in the offeror being removed from award consideration.

The Government may reject, without consideration of past performance or price, any proposal that has been rated “non-compliant” under any non-past performance and non-price factor. Such proposal will be considered non-compliant.

The Government may reject any proposal from an offeror is determined to be not responsible. The determination of offeror responsibility will be made by the Contracting

Officer. The Government will make its determination of offeror responsibility in accordance with FAR9.1 by using information provided in the proposal and information available from other sources.

VAT IMPACT ON EVALUATION. The Government will evaluate proposals based on total evaluated cost, including any non-reimbursable VAT, which may impact the competitiveness of non-registered Offerors.

BASIS FOR AWARD

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION

The evaluation of offers will be based on best value using comparative evaluation authorized under RFO FAR12.203(c)(2). A comparative evaluation is defined as the act of comparing two or more offers in response to the RFQ. The line-by-line comparison is performed by comparing each offer directly to one another to determine which provides the best value to the Government. This is NOT a low price technically acceptable or trade-off process. While this is not a lowest-priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) or trade-off process, the process does not prohibit or rule out award on a low-priced quotation.

This selection process will utilize RFO FAR Part 12 procedures.

After preliminary consideration of all offers, the Department will no longer consider offers that do not meet basic standards to be eligible for award. The offers that remain will be subject to a comparative evaluation.

Provisions provided by reference:

FAR52.203-11, Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payments to Influence Certain

Federal Transactions (Sep 2024)

FAR52.203-18, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal

Confidentiality Agreements or Statements-Representation (Jan 2017)

FAR52.204-7, System for Award Management—Registration (RFO Deviation

1/31/2026)

52.209-12, Certification Regarding Tax Matters (OCT 2025)

FAR52.222-56, Certification Regarding Trafficking in Persons Compliance Plan (RFO

Deviation 1/31/2026)

52.240-90 Security Prohibitions and Exclusions Representations and Certifications (RFO

Deviation 1/31/2026)

DOSAR 652.225-70 Arab League Boycott of Israel (Aug 1999)

Provision provided by full text:

DOSAR 652.206-70 – ADVOCATE FOR COMPETITION / OMBUDSMAN (FEB

2015) (Deviation)

a. The Department of State's Advocate for Competition is responsible for assisting industry in removing restrictive requirements from Department of State solicitations and removing barriers to full and open competition and use of commercial items. If such a solicitation is considered competitively restrictive or does not appear properly conducive to competition and commercial practices, potential offerors are encouraged first to contact the contracting officer for the solicitation. If concerns remain unresolved, contact the Department of State Advocate for Competition at HYPERLINK

"mailto:cat@state.gov"cat@state.gov

b. The Department of State's Acquisition Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from potential offerors and contractors during the preaward and postaward phases of this acquisition. The role of the ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the contracting officer, the Technical Evaluation Panel or Source Evaluation Board, or the selection official. The purpose of the ombudsman is to facilitate the communication of concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations of interested parties to the appropriate Government personnel, and work to resolve them. When requested and appropriate, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of formal contract disputes. Interested parties are invited to contact the contracting activity ombudsman, Sharon D. James. For an

American Embassy or overseas post, refer to the numbers below for the Department

Acquisition Ombudsman. Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations which cannot be resolved at a contracting activity level may be referred to the Department of

State Acquisition Ombudsman at (703) 516–1680, by fax at (703) 875–6155, or write to:

Department of State, Acquisition Ombudsman, Global Acquisition (A/GA), Suite 603, SA–6, Washington, DC 20522–0602.

(End of provision)

(vi) List of Clauses that apply to this acquisition:

FAR52.212-4, Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services

(RFO Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.203-6 Alt I, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Jun 2020)

FAR52.203-13, Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct (Nov 2021)

FAR52.203-17, Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights (Nov 2023)

FAR52.203-19, Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or

Statements (Jan 2017)

FAR52.204-13, System for Award Management—Maintenance (RFO Deviation

1/31/2026)

FAR52.209-6, Protecting the Government’s Interest When Subcontracting with

Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (RFO Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (RFO

Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.219-4 Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business

Concerns (RFO Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.222-19, Child Labor—Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (RFO

Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (RFO Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.223-23 Sustainable Products (RFO Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.225-5, Trade Agreements (Nov 2023)

FAR52.226-8, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving

(May 2024)

FAR52.229-6, Taxes-Foreign Fixed-Price Contracts (Feb 2013)

FAR52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (RFO

Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.233-3, Protest After Award (RFO Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (RFO Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.240-91, Security Prohibitions and Exclusions (RFO Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.240-93, Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems (RFO

Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.244-6, Subcontracts for Commercial Products and Commercial Services (RFO

Deviation 1/31/2026)

FAR52.247-34, F.o.b. Destination (Nov 1991)

FAR52.252-6, Authorized Deviations and clauses (Nov 2020)

DOSAR652.232-70, Payment Schedule and Invoice Submission (Fixed-Price) (Aug 1999)

DOSAR652.237-72, Observance of Legal Holidays and Administrative Leave (Feb 2015)

DOSAR652.242-73, Authorization and Performance (Aug 1999)

DOSAR652.243-70, Notices (Dec 2013)

(vii) Due date and point of contact

Questions

Questions may be submitted as soon as possible but not later than 1500hrs Central European

Time (CET) on August 24, 2026, via email to Mr. Hakim Dyane at DyaneA@state.gov.

Due Date for Quotations

The offer shall be submitted as soon as possible but not later than 1500hrs Central European

Time (CET) on September 07, 2026, per email to Hakim Dyane at DyaneA@state.gov. The email subject line must read “Solicitation 19GE5026Q0131”.

Delivery via a cloud file storage service (e.g. Google Drive, etc.) is not allowed.

If the proposal is sent in multiple emails, the email shall be labeled accordingly (e.g. file 1 of

2). Individual emails may not exceed 50MB and shall not include compressed files (zip /rar).

Late submissions shall not be considered.

i) All documents shall be submitted in the Microsoft word or the Adobe pdf format and shall be named / numbered to appear in the e-mail(s) in the correct sequence. The only Exception is Pricing Document which may be submitted in Microsoft Excel format. The limit per e-mail is 50MB. Zipped files (zip or .rar) are not permitted. The Government shall not be responsible for an offeror being unable to successfully transmit emails due to due to any file size constraints of e-mail systems. Contractors shall ensure that emails have been transmitted and that messages have not been returned “undeliverable”.

USE OF ELECTRONIC DEPOSITORIES IS NOT PERMITTED (for example “We transfer”, google drive etc.).

Definition. “Electronic proposal,” as used in this provision, means a proposal, revision, or modification of a proposal, or withdrawal of a proposal that is transmitted to and received by the Government via electronic means.

Offeror shall submit electronic proposals as responses to this solicitation.

Individual file names shall include the offeror's name as well as a concise description of the file (e.g., "Company XYZ Technical Proposal"). In the event that the proposal is sent in multiple emails, the email shall be labeled accordingly (e.g., File 1 of 2).

(viii) Any other additional information required by FAR5.101 (c)

• This is not a set aside.

• PSC: 1550 – Unmanned Aircraft

• NAICS 336411 – Aircraft Manufacturing

• This is a Full and Open Competition acquisition mailto:DyaneA@state.gov mailto:DyaneA@state.gov

ATTACHMENTS:

• Attachment 1 – Scope of Work

• Attachment 2 – Past Performance Experience

• Attachment 3 – Representations and Certifications

END OF RFQ