CLEER_Questions_Answers.pdf

Cloud and Lightning Evaluation for Eastern Range

RFP: FA2521-20-R-0007

Vendor Questions and Answers, dated 30 July 2020:

Q1. Is the Government able to provide general specification requirements for the new CLEER IT system-level characteristics associated with hardware, software, communications and physical installation?

A1. The Government is not able to provide specifications beyond what is listed in Attachment 1 – Statement of Objectives.

Q2. We did not see in the solicitation the budget for this program. Can you provide the budgetary range of this project?

A2. The Government will not be providing a budgetary estimate or range.

Q3. We do not see where a warranty period is defined. What is the warranty obligation for on-going maintenance and support or will this be under a separate contract?

A3. On-going maintenance is out of scope for this effort

Q4. Can the customer provide the CLEER awardee with remote access?

A4. Not at this time

Q5. What are vendor requirements for the Risk Management Framework?

A5. The system must comply with applicable DoD cybersecurity requirements, including DoD Instruction 8510.01, NIST 800-53v4, and FISMA guidelines.

Q6. Is there a maximum or range for the budget for this solicitation?

A6. The Government will not be providing a budgetary estimate or range.

Q7. Should proposed pricing include the cost of end user software licenses for the use of the delivered Display System after the initial 12 month period of performance?

A7. If licenses are required beyond the 12 month PoP, this information should be included in the proposal.

Q8. May a small business subcontract the delivery of some of the solicitation requirements to a large business?

A8. To be eligible for award of a Small Business Set Aside, the Small Business Concern must comply with all the terms and conditions of the solicitation to include the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and its Supplements. DFARS Class Deviation 2020-O0008, Revision 1, is mandated when issuing solicitations and awarding contracts under FAR Part 19 to Small Business Concerns. 52.219- 14, Limitations of Subcontracting (MAR 2020)(Deviation 2020-O0008) provides compliance information to include percentages associated with subcontracting under Supply Type Contracts.

Amendment 2 updates the CLEER Combined Synopsis Solicitation to include FAR 52.219-14.

Q9. Can Foreign Nationals work on the development of this solution?

A9. See Amendment 1 to the RFP for clarification. Attachment 1 – Statement of Objectives, paragraph 7.1.1.2 was revised on 23 July 2020.

Q10. Can the developed solution be a cloud-based one that has no installation disk containing source code or executable software?

A.10. Solution may be “cloud based” but must be hosted on government HW. The network on which the solution will be installed does not have access to commercial computing assets.

Q11. Must the prime proposing firm be classified as NAICS Code 33451?

A11. Yes. The Small Business Administration (SBA) requires a prime contractor to be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to the contract award. As specified in FAR Part 19.301, to be eligible for award as a small business concern, an offeror is required to represent in good faith that it meets the small business size standard corresponding to the NAICS code identified in the solicitation; in the case of CLEER - 334519. Any vendor that is not classified under 334519 as part of their SAM Reps & Certs record can represent their size for the CLEER requirement by completing the FAR provision at 52.219-1 and including it as part of their proposal.

Q12. Can a proposer’s demonstrated record of past performance that meets the solicitation requirements include work with commercial customers?

A12. Yes

Q13. Can placement of the solution on the Approved Products List (APL)/Evaluated Products List (EPL) occur during the 12 month period of performance?

A13. Not likely, nor is this an objective. The APL/EPL is for service wide usage of products. We are pursuing an Authority to Operate on the local mission network.

Q14. Does the Assured Compliance Assessment Solution (ASCA) occur during the 12 month period of performance?

A14. Yes, as outlined in the Combined Synopsis Solicitation and the CDRL list, ASCA support is a required component of the cybersecurity portion of the SOO.

Q15. What will be the source / format of the temperature data uploaded to the system? E.g., is it a vertical sounding taken by a rawinsonde in the vicinity of the launch site?

A15. Temperature profile data from radiosonde released at Cape Weather Station, which will be inputted manually by the Launch Weather Officer at the required heights.

Q16. What is the desired platform for the application (Mobile, Desktop, etc.)?

A16. Application may be cloud based, or a resident on the operator’s desktop machine.

Q17. What Operating System (OS) is the application expected to operate on? Is this a new machine/setup or pre-existing infrastructure (and if so, what is the existing infrastructure)?

A17. No existing infrastructure

Q18. What is the current method of ingesting all the weather, lightning, and launch data and determining the infringements?

A18. Each weather systems’ data is separately ingested and displayed, e.g. radar data is displayed and controlled on a radar application; local lightning is displayed on a separate lightning application; 3D flight paths are currently not displayed on any system. The concept of this project is to integrate the separate displays into one application and perform requested capabilities. In the current method of operation for all launches, the Launch Weather Officer (LWO) manually determines a violation of the rules by calculating distance to the trajectory overlay on the weather display in 2 dimensions.

Q19. What is the biggest issue with the current method?

A19. The time to manually evaluate and identify violations.

Q20. If the current method of ingesting data isn't deemed suitable for the requirements, is it possible to update or change the input?

A20. No, there is no current method of ingesting data into one system.

Q21. How many responses were received for the sources sought in December?

A21. One

Q22. Will there be a follow on solicitation for upgrade, maintenance and training?

A22. Likely

Q23. Please verify that the submission is in electronic form.

A23. Yes.

Q24. What other vendors/Government Contractors will the awardee need to interface with?

A24. None anticipated

Q25. Is this scope of work new or related to another solicitation/work being performed?

A25. New

Q26. Is there a previous or incumbent vendor for this scope of work?

A26. No

Q27. What has triggered the change in scope/requirements since the sources sought?

A27. Further analysis of the operational requirements

Q28. Will the Government consider extending the response date another week?

A28. The Government is able to extend the response due date/time to Wednesday, 5 August 2020 at 4pm EDT; see CLEER Amendment 2 and Revision 1 to the Combined Synopsis Solicitation.