Responses_to_Questions_as_of_01.06.2025.pdf

RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

As of 01/06/2025

Request for Proposal (RFP) 47QFWA24R0017 Questions 35 – 57

(Received by 10am CST on 12/30/2024)

Question 35: What percentage of the overall ceiling is anticipated to be T&M for TD III?

Answer 35: The total ceiling value will include the following contract line-item numbering (CLIN) structure for this Base contract’s five-year period of performance, which is outlined in Section

B.4 of the PWS. The total for CLIN 0002 T&M Labor is $3,197,500.00, and the total for CLIN

0003 T&M ODCs/Materials is $67,500,000.00.

Question 36: What percentage of the overall ceiling was T&M for TD II?

Answer 36: The total ceiling used in summation of all multiple award TDII contract holders is

3.2% T&M Labor and 21.2% T&M ODCs.

Question 37: What percentage of the anticipated award is Materials?

Answer 37: The total ceiling value will include the following contract line-item numbering (CLIN)

B.4 of the PWS. For CLIN 0003, T&M ODCs/Materials is $67,500,000.00 which represents

67.5% of the award.

Question 38: What percentage of the anticipated award is Travel?

Answer 38: The total ceiling value will include the following contract line-item numbering (CLIN)

B.4 of the PWS. The total for CLIN 0004 Direct Reimbursable Travel is $1,300,000.00 which represents 1.3% of the award.

Question 39: PWS Section C.2, page 8 - This may involve the movement and modification of aircraft in order to design, develop and fabricate mock-up simulators. For Year One planning, what are the expected locations (OCONUS vs CONUS)?

Answer 39: As specific Year One requirements are currently unknown, expected locations are also unknown.

Question 40: PWS Section C.2, page 8 - This may involve the movement and modification of aircraft in order to design, develop and fabricate mock-up simulators. For Year One planning, how many are anticipated to be cockpit trainers vs. back-end trainers?

Answer 40: As specific Year One requirements are currently unknown, the Government currently has no plans for any training devices, cockpit, or rear aircraft.

Question 41: PWS Section C.3, page 8 - Acquisition of anything required for simulation and training activities, including but not limited to parts, assemblies, retired aircraft, and services.

Does the USG expect to provide all retired aircraft needed under this contract as Government

Furnished Equipment (GFE) or will retired aircraft be considered Contractor Acquired Property

(CAP)?

Answer 41: PWS Section C.6 has been updated with the following note: “Any military aircraft that is being retired or available from Davis-Monthan would be acquired by the government and provided as GFE. However, if retired aircraft are not available, the Contractor may be required to obtain a commercial aircraft to convert to a military training device or fabricate a fuselage for a training effort.”

Question 42: PWS Section L.3.4 - Is it the Government’s intent for the prime and subcontractors to use the same labor rate per labor category identified or does the Government anticipate having multiple rates identified for each labor category based on prime and subcontractor?

Answer 42: PWS Section L.3.4(b)(ii) has been updated with the following note: “The

Government’s intent is to have the offeror submit one labor rate per labor category (LCAT) for each Ordering Period. If multiple rates are submitted for the same LCAT and period on Tab A of the Pricing Spreadsheet, then the Government will evaluate the price proposal based on the highest rate submitted for that LCAT and period. If a multi-rate LCAT is also one of the LCATs utilized on the Sample Project - Tab B of the Pricing Spreadsheet, the higher of the two rates must be used on Tab B of the Pricing Spreadsheet.”

Question 43: PWS Section L.3.4 - The Government is requesting labor be proposed for both

CONUS and OCONUS work, however, OCONUS rates will be impacted by the location and duration of the OCONUS work and therefore is difficult to establish accurate rates without this information.

43a) Would the Government agree to allow the establishment of the OCONUS labor rates at the order level once an OCONUS effort is identified? If not, would the Government agree to an

Offeror proposing a CONUS rate and an OCONUS rate?

43c) Will Offerors be able to include the cost of country specific allowances as an ODC when pricing individual orders?

Answer 43: PWS Section B.9 has been updated with the following:

OCONUS work may entail simulator setup/delivery, maintenance efforts, and site surveys.

43a) - If an OCONUS location is cost-prohibitive for the contractor to perform, the Government may agree to allow the establishment of OCONUS labor rates at the order level for the specific location provided the contractor can adequately justify it rational for rate divergence and the

OCONUS pricing is determined to be fair and reasonable by the Contracting Officer.

43b) Yes, Offerors will be able to include the cost of country specific allowances as an ODC when pricing individual orders.

Question 44: PWS Section L.3.4 - Will Offerors who offer pricing discounts receive a higher rating that those who do not? How will proposing a discount affect an offeror’s total evaluated priced?

Answer 44: Discounts will not be factored into the Total Evaluated Price (TEP).

Question 45: PWS Section L.3.4.f - All proposal submission requirements in the preceding instructions to Offerors are applicable to all subcontractor submissions. To what level of detail are subcontractors required to submit pricing data or validations to the USG?

Answer 45: For the pricing aspect of this IDIQ contract, we are looking for Fully Burdened Labor Rates. The Government’s intent is to have the offeror submit one labor rate per labor category (LCAT) for each Ordering Period. If multiple rates are submitted for the same LCAT and period on Tab A of the Pricing Spreadsheet, then the Government will evaluate the price proposal based on the highest rate submitted for that LCAT and period. If a multi-rate LCAT is also one of the LCATs utilized on the Sample Project - Tab B of the Pricing Spreadsheet, the higher of the two rates must be used on Tab B of the Pricing Spreadsheet.”

Question 46: PWS Section L.3.4.f - The Contractor is required to provide the Government with the contract-type arrangement proposed for each proposed subcontractor.

Is the Government expecting subcontract agreements to be in place prior to proposal submission or requesting offerors to identify the type of subcontract we anticipate executing?

Answer 46: PWS Section L.3.4.f has been updated with the following note: “Subcontract agreements are not required to be in place prior to proposal submission. However, rate ceilings are locked in at award of the IDIQ, any subcontract made after award cannot be invoiced with rates which exceed the maximum payable rate for each proposed LCAT and associated ordering period identified in TAB A of the Pricing Spreadsheet.”

Question 47: PWS Section L.3.4.h – “The Offeror shall assume an estimated award date of

Monday, 31 January 2025 for proposal purposes”. January 31, 2025 is a Friday; please confirm this date is correct for proposal purposes.

Answer 47: PWS Section L.3.4.h has been updated to read “The Offeror shall assume an estimated award date of Friday, 28 February 2025 for proposal purposes.”

Question 48: PWS Section L.3.4.h – “The Offeror shall assume an estimated award date of

Monday, 31 January 2025 for proposal purposes”. If the contract is awarded on January 31, 2025, why does the IDIQ period of performance (B.6) not begin until February 28, 2025?

Answer 48: PWS Section L.3.4.h has been updated to read “The Offeror shall assume an estimated award date of Friday, 28 February 2025 for proposal purposes.”

Question 49: PWS Section M.1.5.1 – “The Government will determine the strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies, if any, and then assign a technical rating as listed below”. Could the USG please provide definitions for the terms "strengths," "weaknesses," and "deficiencies"?

Answer 49: PWS Section M.1.5.1 has been updated with Technical Approach ratings definitions and the definitions for strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies.

Question 50: PWS Section M.1.5.1 – “The Government will determine the strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies, if any, and then assign a technical rating as listed below”. Could the USG provide the measures from the Source Selection Plan of how they will determine a technical rating for each evaluation criteria?

Answer 50: PWS Section M.1.5.1 has been updated with Technical Approach ratings definitions and the definitions for strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies.

Question 51: PWS Section M.1.5.1 – The technical rating reflects the degree to which the proposed approach meets or does not meet the minimum technical requirements. Please clarify the definition of "minimum technical requirements" and how they are measured.

Answer 51: PWS Section M.1.5.1 has been changed from "minimum technical requirements" to

“minimum PWS requirements” for consistency in the evaluation.

Question 52: PWS Section M.1.5.2 – The government must have confidence in the offeror's ability to complete a project with similar scope, size, and duration with minimal risk. Please define "risk" as it relates to the measurement of Previous Experience.

Answer 52: PWS Section M.1.5.2 has been updated with a note indicating Technical Approach ratings definitions and the definitions for strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies for Previous

Experience are listed in PWS paragraph M.1.5.2. Risk is outlined in these definitions.

Question 53: PWS Section 1.5.2 – The Government will determine the strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies, if any, in the PE presented, and then assign an overall combined technical/risk rating as listed below. Could the USG please define "risk" as it relates to the Technical Volume and how it will be measured?

Answer 53: PWS Section M.1.5.2 has been updated with a note indicating Technical Approach

Ratings definitions and the definitions for strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies for Previous

Experience are listed in PWS paragraph M.1.5.2. Risk is outlined in these definitions.

Question 54: PWS Section 1.5.2 – The technical rating reflects the degree to which the PE meets or does not meet the minimum requirements. Could the USG please clarify what experience requirements are considered "minimum" and how they will be measured?

Answer 54: PWS Section M.1.5.2 has been changed from "minimum requirements" to

“minimum PWS requirements” for consistency in the evaluation.

Question 55: Attachment 1_Pricing Spreadsheet (1) - The following labor categories appear in

Attachment 5 but not in Attachment 1. Please add them to the pricing file:

Mechanical Engineering Support

Computer and Network System Support

Electrician/Electrical Engineering Support

Answer 55: Attachment 1_Pricing Spreadsheet has been updated to include the labor categories listed above.

Question 56: The following labor categories appear in Attachment 1 but not in Attachment 5.

Please provide descriptions for these LCATs:

Computer Operator I

Computer System Analyst

Electrical Engineering Technologist

Electrician, Maintenance

Electronics Technician Maintenance I

Answer 56: Attachment 5_Labor_Category_Descriptions has been updated to include the descriptions for the LCATs.

Question 57: Attachment 6_Tax Liability Letter - Are offerors required to submit this letter with the IDIQ proposal? If so, could the USG please provide clarification instructions on volume requirements and page limitations?

Answer 57: PWS L.3.5 has been updated with a Tax Liability Letter section noting that:

“The Offeror shall sign and submit Attachment 6 – Tax Liability Letter certifying that your company does not have any unpaid federal tax delinquencies or, within the preceding 24 months, has a felony criminal conviction under any federal law or state law.” The volume table under PWS L.3.0 has also been updated to note that there is no page limitation limit for the

Attachment 6 – Tax Liability Letter.