ESBD_461403_1761919064905_BCDC-26-254 Addendum 1.pdf

THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

Office of Procurement & HUB Program

ADDENDUM NO. 1

Date: October 31, 2025 RFP Due Date: November 6, 2025 New RFP Due Date: November 13, 2025

RE: RFP01-BCDC-26-254 – High Power Laser

Respondents shall acknowledge receipt of addendum(s) on the Execution of Offer (Exhibit A).

RFP Extension:

The due date of the RFP has been extended to November 13, 2025. The first sentence of Section 2.3 shall now read as follows, “All proposals must be received by A&M System no later than 2:00:00 p.m. Central Time, November 13, 2025 electronically via email to soprocurement@tamus.edu with the subject line of “BCDC-26-254 – High Power Laser.”

As such, the dates within Section 1.4 - Calendar of Events have been revised as below:

Release of Final Addendum October 31, 2025 Deadline for Receiving Proposals November 13, 2025 Anticipated Award Date TBD

Questions/Responses:

1. Will the resultant contract award be Cost Plus Fixed Fee or Firm Fixed Price?

Response: Firm Fixed Price

2. Is the cost proposal required to contain certified cost and pricing data (solicitation references FAR 52.215‐10 Price Reduction for Defective Certified Cost or Pricing Data)?

Response: Cost and pricing data are not required and clause 52.215-10 will not be a flow down.

3. What is the anticipated contract period of performance?

Response: Ideally, less than 6 months. Refer to item E in Section 4.2.

4. When do you anticipate respondent questions to be answered? Is that the “release of addendum” referenced on Oct 27th?

Response: Yes, all questions will be answered according to Section 2.5 of the RFP.

5. The solicitation mentions a desired M2 < 1.5 (M2 < 1.7 is acceptable). Is there a preferred spot size at range? Or minimum and maximum aperture diameter requirements? Or desired irradiance at range?

Response: Spot size and maximum aperture diameter are 1 in and 12 in respectively.

6. Are there any pointing or jitter requirements?

Response: No requirements.

mailto:soprocurement@tamus.edu

7. Do you need a tracker developed?

Response: No

8. Do you need a tracking algorithm developed?

Response: No

9. Do you need a gimbaled/motorized pointing system?

Response: Not necessary

10. Is this a follow-on opportunity?

Response: No. There may be follow-on opportunities after this one but not guaranteed.

11. Is there a preferred design in mind?

Response: Spectral beam combination with multiple wavelength channels in the specific wavelength range via grating or dichroic.

12. Are there any weight and volume requirements?

Response: No

13. Do you need it to be mobile?

Response: Transportable is preferred (pallet mounted) but not necessarily mobile.

14. Do you prefer SBC (Spectral Beam Combining) or CBC (Coherent Beam Combining)?

Response: SBC for now. Future work may investigate CBC.

15. Spectral Beam Combining Requirement. The RFP specifies that the high-power laser (HPL) shall utilize spectral beam combining technology. Could you please confirm whether this is a mandatory requirement or if The Texas A&M University System would consider an alternative laser architecture that achieves equivalent or superior performance through a different approach, such as Coherent Beam Combining (CBC)?

Response: For this RFP, the goal is to have an SBC system.

16. Beam Diameter Specification. The RFP does not appear to include requirements regarding the output beam diameter. Could you please clarify whether there are any specific constraints or preferences for the beam diameter at the system output or after the telescope?

Response: The output beam diameter of the telescope should fall within a 10-inch diameter.

17. Sect 3.2: “The HPL must include a telescopic focusing optic capable of focusing the beam over adjustable ranges between 350 meters and 1 kilometer.”

Will the telescopic focusing optic be statically mounted and firing at a stationary target along a horizontal path or will there be a need for elevation and azimuth adjustments?

Response: The requirement is for the focusing optic to be statically mounted, however Respondents may include azimuth/elevation adjustments as an option. If submitted as an option, include this feature within the breakdown of the Cost Proposal as an add-alternate.

18. Should focusing be automated or manual?

Response: Manual, however, Respondents may provide automated as an option. If submitted as an option, include this feature within the breakdown of the Cost Proposal as an add-alternate.

19. Section 3.3 F: “The HPL telescope should provide for a combined post beam quality of M² < 1.5 (preferred), M² < 1.7 (acceptable).”

Assuming this requirement is saying that at the output of the telescope beam quality is <1.7. Current state of the art High Energy Laser Beam Directors (telescopes) are unable to achieve beam qualities <1.7. Are we understanding this requirement correctly?

Response: If beam qualities in the RFP cannot be achieved, please provide beam quality you can obtain for your respective system/telescope.

20. Will the HPL be operated in a lab environment or have a need to operate outdoors?

Response: We anticipate using this primarily indoors.

21. Sec 3.4 B: “The last site visit shall be conducted following the initial stand-up of the laser architecture and demonstrate system operation.”

Would a correct understanding of this requirement be “the last site visit will be during the factor acceptance testing of the HPL?

Response: Yes. We want to make sure the system is working at specification at the build facility before shipment and delivery to our facility.

22. Sec 3.4 D: “Following approval by BCDC of the HPL architecture”

Assume this is following the factory acceptance testing of the HPL System?

Response: Yes

END OF ADDENDUM NO. 1