RFI_question_FBO_spreadsheet_2014_08_06_(2).pdf

Specific Section/ Paragraph

Page Number Clause or Citation Requiring Clarification Question Answer

Task E, Advanced Minuteman Batteries

Can you provide a copy of the RV Arming and Fuzing Assembly (AFA) Battery Specification for a technical evaluation?

Yes. See updated SOO and request documents as appropriate.

Task H The advanced ordnance initiation system is to be compatible with mission/flight computers. Can the Government provide interface descriptions for current and future ICBM systems?

An ICD will be provided for the existing interface.

A future computer interface has not been determined and will not be available for this effort.

General In viewing the CDRL list we don’t see any regarding financial reporting, what, if any, kind of financial reporting will be required on this contract?

Format 1 defines cost and schedule performance data by product-oriented Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

Section C, Para III.D 55 If an offeror has a comprehensive subcontracting plan, the offeror shall so state in their Business/Price proposal and provide a copy of the signature page of the comprehensive subcontracting plan and any supplements to the plan, the identification number thereof, and any pages identifying the subcontracting goals.

Request the government add the DFARS Clause 252.219-7004 Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Test Program), which invokes an offeror's comprehensive subcontracting plan, to Section I of the GBSD Dem/Val solicitation/contract and to Para VI of the Introduction (Page 4), to be consistent with this requirement.

Clause will be added to the model contract and only applicable in awards requiring a small business plan.

Section D, Para 4.A.1.b.1

58 The Government will evaluate the extent to which the Offeror's open system architecture approach incorporates hardware and software open system architecture design requirements, as documented in the Offeror's Open Systems Management Plan (OSMP), is thorough, complete, adequate, feasible, and represents an understanding of the RFP requirements

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28 of 28 A015

Section A, Para K Additional Tasks 1. a.

44 Program Reviews/Technical Interchange Meetings Item a. (kickoff meeting) under the Program Reviews/Technical Interchange Meetings tasks is missing additional detail for "The agenda for the meeting shall include the following:" Request the government include the missing items required for the kickoff agenda meeting.

Added requirements for section a, Para K additonal tasks 1.a. On page 44. Clarrified requirements in all studies.

ICBM NC2 Apps What is the purpose of the NC2 Application Part 1 study?

a. SOO says, "Produce doucmentation as the ICBM NC2 system exists today."

b. Is existing documentation insufficient? If so, how so?

the NC2 study has been changed significantly.

Please reference changes in amended SOO.

ICBM NC2 Apps What documentation is required for the NC2 Application Part 2 Study?

a. SOO says, "Produce doucmentation as the ICBM NC2 system exists today." It also says, "Items to be included are, but not limited to, fuctional descriptions of all sub-systems, mechanical/electrical interfaces and data transfer protocol.

the NC2 study has been changed significantly.

Please reference changes in amended SOO.

CDRL A015 requires submission of an Open System Management Plan (OSMP) 30 days after contract award. Proposal Evaluation Criterion 2 part 1) states “The Government will evaluate the extent to which the Offeror’s open system architecture approach incorporates hardware and software open system architecture design requirements, as documented in the offeror’s Open System Management Plan (OSMP), is thorough, complete, adequate, feasible, and represents an understanding of the RFP requirements.” Since the OSMP is submitted after contract award, are you referring to evaluating the proposal’s narrative description of the OSMP?

Yes. We clarified the evaluation requirements.

See amended SOO.

We have clarified FFRDC to be Aerospace Corporation. Request contact information for NDA's from the contracting officer.

Which "FFRDC's" do we need NDA's with?

a. Soo Section F.7. says, "Non-Geverment personnel from BAE Systems, BAE subcontractors, FFRDC, and Tecolote may have access to proposals for the purposes specified above. All proposal submissions will require an NDA with the contractors

ICBM NC2 Apps Pages 3 and 4 of the Model Contract says Clins 0001 and 0003 are Cost Plus Fixed Fee, but the BAA SOO Section B - Award Information says, "Contractor may propose Cost Plus Fixed Fee or Firm Fixed Price for each study proposed." Are either contract types accepable for CLINS 0001 and 0003?

Contractors may propose as they see fit at this point the government encourages the contractors to propose CLIN 0003 as NSP.

ICBM NC2 Apps As an interface between part 1 and part 2, are you desiring an analysis that dexcribes how the existing architecture has evolved to satisfy stringetnt nuclear surety, safety, hardness, survivablibity constraints?

The NC2 study has been changed significantly.

Please reference changes in amended SOO.

How should we request document in the applicable documents section for each study?

Could the Air Force please provide or tell us how to access SDL-62-2014-01, 02 and 03 so we may review the specific requirements for the BAA target areas?

BAA Topic B is it appropriate to proposed only one or two of the TPS materials identified, assuming that other manufacturer(s) are better suited to others?

Specifically, FMI would be interested mainly in nosetip (per prior RVAP efforts), but also in the antenna window material (per RSAP experience). We would not plan to offer Heatshield unless specifically directed.

Further, should the proposal separate the two materials, in the event that only one is selected by the government?

Yes. You can propose separately and provide separate proposals per material.

CLIN 0001 identifies that a receiving report is required for the inspection/acceptance report. Is the receiving report meant to apply to study areas that require hardware deliverables? Block 7 in CDRLs A001 through A015 identifies that letters of transmittal are required.

Yes.

CLIN 0002, which is for travel, identifies that a receiving report is required for the inspection/acceptance report. Is the receiving report requirement applicable to CLIN 0002?

Yes

CLIN 0003 identifies that a receiving report is required for the inspection/acceptance report. However, Block 7 in CDRLs A001 through A015 identifies that letters of transmittal are required. Is the receiving report requirement applicable to CLIN 0003?

Model contract will be changed to LT for CLIN 0003.

CLIN 0003 seems to indicate that an estimate total cost is required. Prior to release of the BAA, it was the bidder’s understanding that CLIN 0003 would be NSP and that the costs to execute CLIN 0003 would be bid into CLIN 0001. Will CLIN 0003 require bidders to specify a price? If not, are bidders required to complete Blocks 17 and 18 for CDRLs A001 through A015?

Model Contract

4 CLIN 0003 Data CLIN 0003 (Data) is identified as CPFF. Typically Data is Not Separately Priced (NSP).

Please confirm CLIN0003 should be CPFF.

The list of FAR and DFAR clauses in Section II of the Solicitation appear to exclude FAR 52.227-11 (Patent Rights – Ownership by the Contractor). Would it be possible to include this clause in the Solicitation?

Yes. IAW FAR 27.303, patent right clause FAR 52.227-11 will be added

Contractors may propose as they see fit. At this point the government encourages the contractors to see CLIN 0003 as NSP.

BAA wording has been clarified. Please request any documents through the contracting officer.

The List of FAR and DFAR clauses in Section II of the Solicitation appear to exclude DFAR 252.227-7014 (Rights in Noncommercial Computer Software and Noncommercial Computer Software Documentation). Would it be possible to include this clause in the Solicitation?

Yes. The list in Part II-Contract Clauses Section I

(pp. 7-17) has been amended to include:

252.227‐7014 Rights in Noncommercial Computer Software and Noncommercial Computer Software Documentation ((Feb 2012)) 252.227‐7015 Technical Data--Commercial Items (Dec 2011) 252.227‐7019 Validation of Asserted Restrictions-- Computer Software (Sep 2011) 252.227‐7025 Limitations on the Use or Disclosure of Government-Furnished Information Marked with Restrictive Legends (Mar 2011) 252.227‐7027 Deferred Ordering of Technical Data or Computer Software (Apr 1988).

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14 of 28 A006 CDRL A006 requires QAPP be submitted 30 days after Contract Award, followed by a review period by the Government. Then the updated QAPP is to be submitted “30 Days after Contract Award” (same day as the original submittal)? Please provide clarification between the original and updated QAPP submittal due dates.

"change the CDRL to read "Contract shall submit revised Quality Assurance Program Plan incorporating Government comments, if applicable, NLT 30 days after recite of Government comments."

Statement of Objectives, Section D

58 of 71 Para e. Criterion 5 – Past Performance Criterion 5-Past Performance Item 1) refers to “…propulsion technology development program.” Is reference to propulsion an artifact of the cut and paste process and Past Performance is based on relevant technology development programs?

See amended BAA.

Statement of Objectives, Section C, Para II

54 of 71 Paragraph B. Government Furnished Property

(GFP)

Last Paragraph of Section II Labeled “B. Government Furnished Property (GFP):”

Seems to be a typo and should be “G. Government Furnished Property (GFP):”

See amended BAA.

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28 of 28 A015 CDRL A014 Requires a Risk Management Status Report Quarterly, but there is no requirement for a Risk Management Plan. Our interpretation is that a risk plan is not a deliverable. Do you agree with this interpretation?

Yes. We agree that you do not need a formal Risk Management Plan. If a risk management Status Report is required, include your risk management approach in your PMP.

Statement of Objectives, Section A

Study B Strategic TPS Materials Development and Testing

No applicable documents have been identified in “Study B, Strategic TPS Materials and Testing”. What Mk5/MK21 data/requirements will be made available to support proposal development?

Please specify what specific data/documents the contractor requires to complete the proposal.

Could the Air Force please provide detailed Data Item Descriptions (DIDs) for each of the identified CDRL items A001 through A015?

See http://quicksearch.dla.mil/

For BAA Technology Area G., could the Air Force provide additional definition for the terms “Open Architecture”, Modular design”, “Scalability” and “Interoperability” as they see it with respect to TVC systems across the missile stages?

Open Architecture: The bidder is to propose a ‘vendor agnostic’ system architecture that the Air Force could give to any qualified vendor or vendors and they could propose any or all of the modules of the system. The Air Force requires unlimited data rights to the interfaces, the envelope, the inputs, and the outputs of each module.

This gives the Air Force maximum flexibility, while still allowing a vendor to protect their critical intellectual property.

Modular design: The design shall be such that the TVC system can be subdivided into smaller parts or modules that can be independently created and then used separately to create the entire system. A modular design facilitates multi-sourcing. Only the envelope, the inputs, and outputs shall be controlled or common in the system.

Scalability: The best example of scalability as it relates to a TVA/TVC system is the actuator. Obviously with different sized stages, it makes no sense to employ a common actuator. However, having a common design that can be sized to fit each stage of the booster makes a lot of sense.

The same is true for TVC power. See the BAA.

Interoperability: The architecture described above shall be such that each module can be replaced by a module with the same inputs and outputs and operate the same as the original.

PenAids

There are two unclassified documents referenced that are available for use and are specific to one of the tasks we are bidding. This is a request for the EAWG Final Report and the TAWG Final Report. If you cannot send them to me electronically then the address in my signature block can be use to send a CD.

Neither final report will be available for distribution and will be deleted under Applicable Documents in SOO.

The DD254 has Block 11 c. “Receive and generate classified material” checked as a requirement for the BAA awards. However on page 48, Paragraph E of the BAA it notes that “it is anticipated that all information generated under this contract will be UNCLASSIFIED”. Can you please confirm if the generation of classified material under any award is required/anticipated?

We do not need to amend the dd254, but we will have to change the wording in the BAA. I would change it to read, "it is anticipated that most of the information generated under this contract will be UNCLASSIFIED". Also, we are fine with you just telling them the total funding for the BAA.

Is funding currently appropriated for this BAA? If not, when do you anticipate funding?

The Government has adequate funding to award all studies.

What level of funding is available/potentially available for the BAA and how will it be allocated amongst the 11 BAA areas?

The Government has adequate funding to award all studies.

The outline for the Technical/Management Proposal given in the SOO Proposal Instructions does not directly correlate to the outline given as a template in the BAA Guide (Ref: BAA Guide, Section B, Proposal Table of Contents/Checklist, p. 16). The order of the sections is different, and some sections aren’t mentioned (e.g., Executive Summary; Technical Approach). Since the SOO Proposal Instructions state that they take precedence over the BAA Guide (Ref: SOO, Section C, I, General Instructions, Para. A, p. 50) and also direct us to follow them as closely as possible (Ref: SOO, Section C, II, Technical/Management Proposal Instructions, p. 51), can you please confirm that the outline given in the instructions is what we should follow for the Technical/Management Proposal? Or are we to use the BAA Guide outline as a template to respond to the SOO Proposal Instructions?

Propose as directed in the BAA/SOO

For BAA Technology Area G

On Page 30 of the BAA it notes that “In addition to the design package the interested parties shall include: Estimated cost to develop prototype hardware/software. Does the proposal need to include firm pricing for the Phase 2 effort (procure/build/test) the representative TVC system? Or is ROM sufficient for the Phase 2 effort?

We want you to propose to everything in Phase 1 and Phase 2. We believe that proposers will have a reasonable idea as to what all of the costs will

be. That said, while your total proposed cost, for both phases, is binding, your proposed prototype estimate is non-binding (it just helps us get a feel for the prototype (procure/build/test) cost. We reserve the right to award the study to multiple offerors and exercise Phase 2 to all, some or none.

Also, remember that while your preliminary design must be rad hardened or rad hardenable, your prototype does not need to be.

For BAA Technology Area G

Please confirm if the design package at the end of Phase 1 is for a Conceptual design or a preliminary prototype design sufficient to support the procurement and build of prototype hardware.

We are looking for a preliminary prototype design sufficient to support the procurement and build of prototype hardware.

Strategic TPS materials

Area B

Will the flight test hardware (heat shields, window, nosetip) be manufactured to existing Mk5 "classified" drawings? Contractor generated unclassified drawings?

Contractor generated classified drawings?

Yes. Anticipate to design against existing Mk5 drawings whether it is unclassified or classified. If classified, contractor generated drawings should match classification.

Strategic TPS materials

Area B

Will the Navy, Mk5 material specifications and manufacturing processes be required for producing the heatshield flight hardware?

Yes. See last paragraph in Task Descriptions and Objectives.

Strategic TPS materials

Area B

Page 11, B. 1. TC Plugs - How many plug blanks will be provided for development of the finishing plugs?

Pending Navy and Air Force Reentry System Working Group decisions. See last paragraph in Task Descriptions and Objectives.

Strategic TPS materials

Area B

Page 11, B. 2. & 3. Fwd & Aft Heatshields (plural) - How many heatshields of each configuration are to be manufactured and delivered for integration into the vehicle?

One Fwd and one Aft heatshield.

Strategic TPS materials

Area B

Page 12, B.a.3 CFTE Milestones and meetings - meeting dates extend beyond a 24 month POP. What POP should be used for Study Area B? Start date?

Contractor should bid for a PoP of 36 months for the Strategic TPS Materials Development and Testing (Paragraph B) SOO. The start date is contract award - estimated Jan 2015.

Strategic TPS materials

Area B

Page 12, B.a.3 CFTE Milestones and meetings -SRR, PDR, CDR, FRR are these meetings being held at Hill AFB? If not, where?

Meeting locations are TBD. It can be estimated that these meetings will be held at Sunnyvale, CA and/or the Washington DC area.

PSRE Can the Government provide key interface and specification goals for next generation PSRE? This includes the following information: S-133-1004-51 PIDS, Current PSRE TDP, Third Stage Interface Requirements, Payload Shroud Interface Requirements.

For next generation PSRE, concentrate on technologies outlined in the study and others you think might be benefical to a new generations misssile system. S-133-1004-51 will be in the bidders library. Other documents should be listed in the GFP/GFI section of the proposal.

TVA Can the government provide insight on radiation environment requirements on open architecture TVA.

Appropriate documentation is available in the classified bidders library. See BAA for directions on how to access the classified bidders library.

Strategic TPS materials

Area B

We are wondering whether the intent is to respond at a prime contractor level, managing those materials and services which are outside Fiber Materials Incorporated (FMI) capability (Heatshield, arc jet testing).

Yes, that is the intent. Proposing at the prime contractor level is desireable, but will not impact evaluation scoring. You can propose separately and provide separate proposals per material.

Strategic TPS materials

Area B

Are the technical requirements for the individual TPS elements defined by Air Force or Navy legacy? The Mk-5 heatshield is called out, but the overall solicitation is offered by USAF, so some clarification is appreciated.

The primary technical requirements are defined by Air Force legacy, but the contractor will also need Navy requirements to adequately support the CFTE.

Strategic TPS materials

Area B

Will Air Force requirements be made available to us before the proposal deadline?

Specifically, we’re interested in the thermal protection system (heatshield, antenna window, and nosetip) material manufacturing requirements.

No, material manufacturing processes will not be delivered prior to proposal deadline.

Statement of Objectives, Section A

Page 44 of 72 Study K Guidance Instrumentation flight Test Safety System Study

Clarification question:

The Task Descriptions state:

- "Consider and prototype miniaturized electronics for FSS/RTS, instrumentation, and telemetry system."

- "Consider and demonstrate potential improvements to data compression and encryption scheme."

- "Conduct radio frequency link analyses for varying antenna configurations and prototype antennas matching predicted performance from link analyses."

It seems a prototype and/or demonstraton at this time is premature. Please clarify customer expectation for "prototype" and/or "demonstration". Are you expecting a functional demonstration for the elements listed above? If so, what level of fidelity is required?

The program office concurs that a prototype and/or demonstration is premature for new developmental technology. If however, existing technologies are commercially available, a demonstration is recommended in order to collect the data and report findings. As a study, the fidelity is considered low to moderate with informal documentation and/or engineering judgement.

New Questions below this line

Statement of Objectives, Section A

Study F ICBM Nuclear Command and Control (NC2) Application.

The only SOO reference to drawings is in paragraph F.4, which requires conceptual drawings/models be delivered IAW CDRL A009. Study F Exhibit A also includes reference to CDRL A011 for Interface Control Drawings, without a textual reference to ICDs. Is it your desire that the results of part one of the study (describing the as-is state) be delivered as 1) “conceptual” drawings, 2) in the form of an ICD or 3) strictly in the final report (A012)? If in the form of an ICD, could signatories be limited to contractor performing study F and AFNWC?

For phase one, the deliverable will be the conceptual design drawings/models IAW CDRL A009. The Interface Control Document (ICD) IAW CDRL A011 will be a deliverable in phase two. The ICD signatories will be limited to the contractor performing study F and AFNWC.

Statement of Objectives, Attachment 2, Guidelines for

Information Other than Cost or Pricing

Data

Page 64 of 71 Item 7 Cost Information

We are interpreting this requirement to be that whatever the output from the (CPS) is, will be acceptable. The (CPS) exported Excel reports do not contain embedded formulas. Pease confirm.

YES, the Common Pricing System (CPS) information will be acceptable.....below is the paragraph that was in question...

1. Cost Information: The offeror shall submit electronically encoded cost information using Microsoft Excel. Any cost information submitted must be consistent with the offeror's approved estimating system. Formulas should be accessible, not locked, and able to be edited by the government.

If the offeror includes a page of acronym definitions in the Tech/Mgt/PP volume, will the acronym pages count as part of the 50 page limit?

Are Attachments and the Acronym list included in the page count?

Per, the Tech/Mgt/PP Proposal Instructions “The offeror shall attach to the offer” DFARS lists -7017, -7028 and -7015. Are these lists to be part of the Tech/Mgt/PP volume? If so, will they count as part of the 50 page limit? If not part of the Tech/Mgt/PP volume, are the DFARS lists to be part of the Business/Price volume?

DFARS lists -7017, -7028, and -7015 shall be included as part of the Technical / Management proposal and will not account against the 50 page count.

Study B, Strategic TPS Materials, Amendment 1 added the last paragraph to “Purpose and Scope:” which includes the statement, “The offeror will meet all identified RVAP requirements”. Can the AF provide the “identified RVAP requirements”, or, a reference defining the requirements?

The "identified RVAP requirements" are the requirements listed in this SOO. The purpose of the added paragraph is to address confusion from some reviewers as to whether the RVAP efforts are solely in support of the CFTE or beyond the CFTE; it is to emphasize the RVAP efforts include, but extend beyond the CFTE.

The original NC3 SOO stated a desire to identify the existing NC2 architecture. The amended version eliminated this requirement on the first page but there appears to be a remnant on the second page (pg 26) where it states: “An ICBM NC3 system study shall be conducted and at a minimum describe and document individual subsystems and overall current NC3 system architecture and capabilities.”

The proposed NC3 system will need to envelop all current NC3 capabilities utilizing modern technology. A full study of the current system is not needed.

Acronym pages shall not count as part of the 50 page limit. Attachments are also not included in the page count.

Responses to bidders questions posted in Amendment 0001 did not appear to answer the following question:

The final sentence in Section V in the Introduction of the BAA Announcement states “All proposal submissions will require a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with the contractors noted in each proposal. The study areas identify the entities that NDAs need to be placed with, but do not appear to identify the specific individuals that should be contacted for placement of NDAs. Could the specific individuals along with their corresponding contact information be provided so that NDAs can be established in accordance with the requirements of the BAA?

At this time, we have only identified the entities that NDAs need to be placed with. We are currently working on the technical evaluation teams for each proposal, which will include the names of specific individual contractors.

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