Questions and answers from One-on-Ones and from Industry on Fighter OTES PWS - spencer 10 Sep 10.docx

Questions and Answers Fighter Operational Test and Evaluation Services One-on-One Meetings 2 June 10 Responses to Draft Performance Work Statement – 15 Jul 10

Q1) What are the approximate number of contractor FTEs at each location envisioned to be required in the steady state (i.e. after the effects of Government in-sourcing and ramp-up of JSF OTE at Det 1)?

A. Government estimates of contractor Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) and location for Det 1 will be available through the Bidder’s Library. Additional information will be in the RFP. There are no Det 6 task orders at this time.

Q2) Recent DoD multiple award contracts (such as MDA’s MiDAESS contract) have prohibited full and open primes from being subcontractors to small business primes supporting the same customer. Will there be any restrictions on large businesses teaming on the small business OTES and priming on Fighter OTES?

A. This is a single award ID/IQ contract. AFOTEC does not foresee a requirement to restrict teaming arrangements.

Q3) Recommend you hold an Industry Day for this solicitation at each of the Det locations to provide familiarization with these operating locations. The proximity of the locations would permit the Industry Day to be held at one location on one day and the other location the following day.

A. Additional Industry Days are not planned for this acquisition.

Q4) Recommend you release a draft RFP for this substantial and important effort to permit ample interaction to fully understand the requirement. This is especially important since one-on-one discussions with technical personnel are no longer allowed.

A. A draft RFP will be released.

Q5) Timely staffing and personnel stability are key factors in achieving a high performance workforce. Would you consider adding a requirement in the Service Summary for filling 95% vacant positions within 30 days?

A. No. A Service Summary requirement for filling vacancies within a specific timeline is not planned.

Q6) Will the current task orders transitioning to Fighter OTES from ETS be made available along with any performance and staffing information to aid in transition planning?

A. Yes Q7) Would it be correct to assume that the Organizational Conflict of Interest clause anticipated to be used would not restrict or pertain to Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS) contracts in support of the Government and funded with developmental funding from the System Under Test program office?

A. A&AS contractors must consider OCI when submitting proposals for Fighter OTES. AFOTEC role as an independent test agency increases the importance of scrutiny for Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI). AFOTEC will follow the restrictions under federal law, including the Title 10 prohibition on contractors providing support to Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP), other restrictions in Title 10, FAR Subpart 9.5 and 3 November 2009 guidance issued by Mr. Correll, SAF/AQC. AFOTEC recommends potential offerors carefully review Title 10 U.S.C. § 2399 and the sections following it. Companies which are currently serving as A&AS contractors to System Program Offices (SPOs) and inherently governmental Developmental Test (DT) Organizations are not categorically excluded from participating in Fighter OTES competition. Each case will be evaluated individually, and AFOTEC will endeavor to provide early review of proposed mitigation plans.

Q8) Has the acquisition strategy been developed for this fighter effort?

A. Yes. This will be a Best Value acquisition and will be in accordance with FAR 52.215-1.

Q9) Has the evaluation criteria related to this effort been developed?

A. Yes, refer to Section M of the draft RFP.

The following comments from industry were noted.

Industry recommends the following:

· Knowledge of how the systems under test contribute to the overall air dominance doctrine of the Air Force – this could be rated on a decreasing sliding scale from “Contractor exhibits full knowledge of Air Armament Center programs and how they apply to the Expeditionary Air Force” to “Contractor exhibits some knowledge of Air Armament Center programs and how they apply to the Expeditionary Air Force” to “Contractor exhibits little knowledge of Air Armament Center programs and how they apply to the Expeditionary Air Force” to “Contractor exhibits no knowledge of Air Armament Center programs and how they apply to the Expeditionary Air Force” Industry believes that the technical approach should be evaluated based on System Engineering process discipline versus knowledge of current hardware/software.

· Cost Reasonableness – this could be rated on a decreasing sliding scale from “Highly confident that the contractor could deliver quality services and products at this price” to “Confident that the contractor could deliver quality services and products at this price” to “Some confidence that the contractor could deliver quality services and products at this price” to “No confidence that the contractor could deliver quality services and products at this price”.

Q10) Will current AFOTEC ETS fighter TOs be extended?

A. Task Order 0017, F-22 FOT&E, was extended due to test execution schedule. No other Det 6 task orders are anticipated to be extended. Task Order 0038, JSF Support was extended to bridge services through source selection for Fighter OTES.

Q11) Has the Government made a decision if this requirement will be large or small business?

A. This requirement will be full and open competition.

Q12) What are the locations for personnel for this requirement?

A. Edwards AFB CA, Nellis AFB NV, Fort Worth TX, and Norfolk VA.

Q13) Since the area of effectiveness and suitability are so separate for these types of aircraft, as part of the organization structure will an estimate be provided for each?

A. Refer to QA 1 Q14) Will there be any involvement with the Tactics Development and Evaluation (TD&E) tactical personal at Nellis?

A. No Q15) What is the scope of the Fighter OTES solicitation?

A. The RFP will cover all of Det 1 and Det 6 fighter programs.

Q16) Will Fighter OTES currently use distributed mission capability with operational pilots?

A. No Q17) Do you anticipate subcontracting goals?

A. Yes. Refer to draft RFP.

Q18) What type of award is anticipated?

A. An ID/IQ with Cost Plus Fixed Fee Task Orders award.