APD MAC IDIQ Sources Sought.pdf

NOTICE ID NUMBER: APDIDIQSS-1

NOTICE TYPE: SOURCES SOUGHT

RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 3:00 P.M. (ET) ON 21

February 2025

A. PURPOSE:

Air Force Propulsion Directorate Advanced Propulsion Development (APD)

1. This Sources Sought (SS) synopsis request is for planning purposes to gain insight into contractors/vendors who meet capabilities listed below for future Program Executive Officer (PEO) Propulsion efforts. The Department of Defense, United States Air Force (USAF), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC)/Air Force Air Dominance Systems Center (AFADSC), Air Force Propulsion Directorate (LP), Advanced Propulsion Development Branch (APD) is currently conducting market research by seeking capability statements from potential sources, including both Large and Small Businesses (SB), 8(a) certified business, HUBZone, Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small business (EDWOSB), Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), and/or Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB); as described in FAR Part 19. Responses to this market research will aid in the identification of potential sources and determination of the market’s ability to respond to a potential future solicitation for a Multiple Award Contract (MAC) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The Agency is considering the inclusion of on and off ramping of vendors to enable the Air Force to rapidly compete and award Delivery Orders (DOs) or Task Orders (TOs) to emerging and advanced propulsion technologies, materials, components, and capabilities for all types of propulsion systems.

2. All interested vendors shall submit a response demonstrating their capabilities to the Points of Contact (POCs) listed in Section D. Proposals are NOT being requested or accepted at this time. As stated in FAR 5.207(c), responses to this SS are used to identify contracting opportunities and are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The decision to solicit for a contract shall be solely within the Government’s discretion. Not responding to this SS does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any are issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this SS is voluntary and should not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government reimburse any costs associated with the submission of information in response to this notice. The Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received nor provide feedback to the respondents with respect to any of the information submitted under this SS.

3. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code primarily assigned, but not limited to this anticipated acquisition is 336412, Aircraft Engine and Engine Parts Manufacturing. The Government anticipates using a MAC IDIQ contract; however, information received will be utilized to assess if a forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as: full and open, as a set-aside for small business, or other than full and open. No set-aside decision has been made at this point. Note that a key factor in determining an acquisition to be a small business set aside is that small business prime contractors (and any similarly situated small business subcontractors) must perform at least 50 percent of the cost of manufacturing the supplies, not including the cost of materials, as defined in FAR Clause 52.219-14, Limitation on Subcontracting. For services (except construction), the small business prime contractor (and similarly situated small business subcontractors) must perform at least 50 percent of cost paid by the Government for contract performance.

B. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES: The Propulsion Directorate seeks to implement an agile and responsive means to contract for technology advancement across the Propulsion family of engine systems, including:

Advanced Propulsion Development Platforms & Characteristics

Engine Types Platforms Characteristics

Large Support Engines Tanker, Transport, Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and Airborne Command Post (ABCP) aircraft

High bypass engines

Large Military Engines Fighter/Bomber Aircraft Low–medium bypass engines

Unmanned Platform Engines ISR, weapon platforms, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)

Long endurance, potential expendable

Small Engines - Munitions Standoff Air-Launched munitions Disposable, flexible production volume

Hypersonic Engines / High Mobility Ground Targets (HMGT) / High Mach Turbine Engines (HMTE)

Long-range Cruise Weapons Mach 3-6+

Turboprop/Turboshaft Engines Medium lift, Special Mission, Helicopter Turbine-driven propeller

1. FOCUS AREAS: The Air Force envisions establishing a Multiple Award Contract (MAC) IDIQ with qualified contractors that possess the capability to support some, or all, of the following PROPULSION-related “technology maturation” focus areas:

1. Components; concepts, repair, restoration, support and technologies

2. Digital material management

3. Digital twin technologies

4. Fuel Efficiencies

5. High temperature technologies

6. Maintenance, manufacturing and repair technologies

7. Material solutions and applications

8. Modeling and simulation

9. Power and thermal technologies

10. Signature technologies

11. Software concepts and development solutions

12. Support equipment

13. Survivability Approaches

2. TECHNOLOGY AREAS OF INTEREST: The proposed contract is anticipated to contain a wide range of military aircraft propulsion related delivery or task orders that may be ordered using fair opportunity procedures (FAR Subpart 16.5) to competitively award delivery or task orders, including, but not limited to:

1. Advanced propulsion manufacturing readiness and repair

2. Advance technology maturation and readiness

3. Component inspection technology

4. Component repair and restoration

5. Conduct experimentation

6. Conduct risk reduction activities

7. Demonstrate digital materials and lifecycle management methods

8. Design and develop new concepts, materials, products and prototypes

9. Develop producibility, reliability, & maintainability improvements

10. Energy savings concepts and recommendations

11. Engine control technologies Other Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommended approaches for consideration

12. Identify novel and enhanced manufacturing techniques

13. Identify and implement cost reduction initiatives

14. Increased fuel, efficiency, and range

15. Increased power, thermal management system approaches

16. Maintenance (repair and support)

17. Nontraditional propulsion approaches

18. Perform data analytics

19. Perform model-based systems engineering (MBSE)

20. Perform modeling and simulation

21. Perform software development

22. Perform studies and analysis

23. Perform systems engineering

24. Perform test and evaluation

25. Provide analyses of alternatives

26. Survivability approaches

27. Other Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommended approaches for consideration

C. CAPABILITY STATEMENT:

1. INTERESTED VENDORS: All interested vendors are invited to submit a capability statement that explicitly demonstrates their capability to satisfy the program objectives described in Section B of this Sources Sought request. Capability statements should be organized to address the thirteen (13) propulsion-related technology focus areas, listed above. Vendors are not required to provide capability statements for all thirteen (13) areas but should address those areas in which they possess the appropriate capability and experience. To demonstrate capability, experience, and clearly demonstrate the ability to meet the stated objective, please describe prior performance that addresses at least one (1) of the tasks listed in Section B, Paragraph 2 above for each applicable Technology Area of Interest. Prior performance may be summarized in terms of achieved result or outcomes, without identification of specific customers or products.

2. The capability statement should be concise (no more than seven (7) pages that clearly demonstrate an ability to meet the stated program objectives. Your response must also include answers to the following inquiries:

a. General Vendor Information: Please provide company information including:

1. Name of Company.

2. Address.

3. Points of Contact (to include phone number and email address).

4. Recent, relevant experience in all some or all related areas.

5. Planned Teaming and/or subcontracting arrangements and previous experience with those partners.

6. Firms responding to this announcement should indicate whether they are a Large

Business, Small Business (SB), 8(a) certified SB, historically underutilized business, HUBZone, Woman-Owned SB (WOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned SB (EDWOSB), Veteran-Owned SB (VOSB), or certified Service- Disabled Veteran-owned SB (SDVOSB).

7. Company size status and CAGE code.

8. Whether your company is domestically or foreign owned. If foreign owned, please indicate the country of ownership and any contemplated use of foreign national employees on this effort. In accordance with DAFFARS 5305.204, foreign participation may be permitted on this program, however, some task and delivery order fair opportunity competition opportunities may be limited to US-owned and controlled businesses.

9. Whether your firm has an established capability to receive, use, and store classified information and materials. If your firm has such capability, please indicate the applicable level of classification (e.g., CONFIDENTIAL (C), SECRET (S), TOP SECRET (TS), TS//Special Access Required (SAR)). The Agency does not plan to limit award to only cleared vendors, however, some fair opportunity competitions for orders may be limited to only firms holding the appropriate clearances.

10. Statement regarding the Agency’s use of non-Government advisors (see “Instructions for Submission” below).

11. Data Rights: The Government shall be granted license rights of valuable intellectual property including technical data of any recorded information of a scientific or technical nature (e.g., product design or maintenance data, computer databases, and computer software documentation); and computer software including executable code, source code, code listings, design details, processes, flow charts, and related material. The government requires delivery of technical data or computer software for all data or software, with the appropriate level of rights, necessary to meet the program’s requirements for the life cycle of the program.

b. Feedback and Other Information

1. Provide any feedback you have regarding the thirteen (13) Focus Areas in section B 1, and/or the twenty-seven (27) Technology Areas of Interest listed in Section B 2. Are these areas sufficient to enable the program objectives listed in section B? Would you recommend adding or modifying any focus areas to ensure success of the program objectives?

2. Provide any feedback you have regarding the proposed tasks. Are these tasks sufficient to enable program objectives of interest? Would you recommend adding or modifying any task to ensure success of the program objectives?

3. Identify and provide any significant risks you foresee related to achieving the desired program objectives.

4. Provide input regarding any customary commercial practices that may apply to achieving the program objectives.

5. The Agency is considering the inclusion of on and off ramping of vendors following the award of the initial contract in the form of Delivery Orders (DOs) or Task Orders (TOs). Provide any input you feel should be considered in the implementation of this plan.

6. Provide any ideas for potential business strategies for new and/or legacy technology insertions, or other areas of interest.

7. Provide any other feedback you wish to submit regarding the Agency’s Focus Areas, Technology Areas of Interest or other objectives.

D. POINTS OF CONTACT:

Any questions regarding this anticipated procurement shall be addressed to the Procurement Contracting Officer (PCO) Tanner Alley (Tanner.Alley@us.af.mil) and the Contract Specialist, Benjamin Fink (Benjamin.Fink.2@us.af.mil).

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION:

1. Please provide written responses to the above questions. Responses are not expected to require the submission of classified information but may contain controlled technical information, export-controlled information, small business research and technology, or proprietary business information. If so, submissions should be marked as containing Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in accordance with the guidance provided at: https://www.archives.gov/cui/registry/category-marking-list. If you believe it is necessary to include classified information in your response, please contact the POC listed below for instructions on how to proceed.

2. Use of Non-Government Advisors. Respondents are advised that submissions to the Government in response to this Sources Sought may be released to non-Government advisors to support review and analysis activities. All non-Government advisors will have signed non-disclosure statements. The non-government advisor support will be provided by the DTIC Team (HII Mission Technologies – prime; Guidehouse – subcontractor; and Dayton Aerospace Inc. – subcontractor).

a. All submissions shall include a statement by the vendor regarding the Agency’s use of non-government advisors. Include either paragraph i or ii below, completed as applicable, within the general vendor information section of your submission:

1. I understand that information contained herein and submitted to the Government in response to this Sources Sought may be reviewed by support contractors (as named in this RFI) that have signed NDAs with the Government as part of their contract. I consent to review by these non-Government advisors of proprietary, confidential, or privileged commercial data provided in response to this Sources Sought to support Government review and analysis. Provide the name and title of your representative, authorized to commit your firm, who approved this consent.

2. Any objection to granting consent to the use of the named contractors who may serve as non-Government advisors, must be expressly stated and shall include a detailed statement of the basis for the objection. The detailed statement shall identify the specific portions of the proposal the Offeror objects to disclosure to non-Government advisors, or specific support contractors identified in this RFI.

Provide the name and title of your representative, authorized to commit your firm, who approved the identified limitations on consent.

RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 3:00 P.M. EASTERN TIME ON 21

February 2025.

All responses shall be submitted via DoD SAFE - https://safe.apps.mil/ to the Procurement Contracting Officer (PCO) Tanner Alley (Tanner.Alley@us.af.mil) and the Contract Specialist, Benjamin Fink (Benjamin.Fink.2@us.af.mil).

The correct DoD SAFE passphrase to download the response must be provided by email to the PCO and Contract Specialist no later than the date and time identified above. The Offeror shall input the Notice ID Number and the name and address of the Offeror in the Short Note to the Recipients block in DoD SAFE. The time and date specified in the automated DoD SAFE email shall document receipt of the submission.

To submit via DoD SAFE, a drop-off request is required. To receive a DoD SAFE drop-off, email both the PCO and Contract Specialist identified above no less than 24 hours prior to the submission deadline. Responses shall not be submitted by email.

All correspondence sent via email shall contain a subject line that includes the Notice ID Number. If this subject line is not included, the e-mail may not get through e-mail filters at Wright Patterson AFB. Attachments with files ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be deleted. Ensure only .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xsls, or .xls documents are attached and uploaded to DoD SAFE. All other attachments may be deleted. RESPONSES SHALL NOT CONTAIN CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. Proprietary information shall be identified with distribution authorized to DoD Components only (Distribution Statement E).

The Government reserves the right to contact the submitting parties as required for further clarification on material provided. The Government will evaluate the information provided, include it in within our market research, and use it as needed during solicitation development. In addition, the Government will use its evaluation of the information and other research to determine which sources appear qualified to perform the work required by the Government. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.

Note: All contractors doing business with the Federal Government must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database. The website for registration is www.sam.gov. Future information about this acquisition, including issuance of a solicitation and/or applicable amendments, will be issued through SAM. Interested parties are responsible for ensuring they have the most up-to-date information regarding this acquisition.