FA852208202024 RFI Sam.docx

ALR-56M Frequency Converter Buy (5963-01-604-5192EW) 20 August 2024

Overview

This is not a solicitation, but rather a Request for Information (RFI) to determine potential sources for information and planning purposes ONLY.

This request does not constitute a Request for Quotation (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP) or an Invitation for Bid (IFB), nor does this issuance restrict the Government's acquisition approach. There is no solicitation available at this time. Contractor proposals will receive no response. Your response to this RFI will be treated as information only and shall not be used as a proposal. Contractors and/or Institutions responding to this RFI are placed on notice that participation may not ensure participation in future solicitations or contract awards. The Government will neither award a contract solely on the basis of this synopsis nor will it reimburse the contractor for any costs associated with preparing or submitting a response to this notice. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

This RFI is being conducted to identify potential sources. Potential sources that possess the data, expertise, capabilities, and experience to meet qualification requirements to manufacture the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW). The National Stock Numbers (NSN) and Part Numbers (PN) are as follows:

1. Below is a document containing a description of the RF Switch Buy requirement and a Contractor Capability Survey.

2. If, after reviewing these documents, you desire to participate in this RFI and market research, you should provide documentation that supports your company’s capability in meeting these requirements. Failure to provide documentation may result in the government being unable to adequately assess your capabilities. If you lack sufficient experience in a particular area, please provide details explaining how you would overcome the lack of experience/capabilities in order to perform that portion of the requirement (i.e., teaming, subcontracting, etc.) Identify any areas of work that your organization believes should be broken out exclusively for Small Business and any potential competition barriers.

3. Both large and small businesses are encouraged to participate in this Market Research. Joint ventures or teaming arrangements are encouraged.

4. Questions relative to this market survey should be addressed to Mr. Broderick Lowe as indicated on the last page of this RFI.

Purpose

This RFI is being conducted to identify different potential sources in determining if a future contract effort can be competitively awarded and/or awarded on a total or partial Small Business Set-Aside basis. The applicable North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this effort is 334111 (Electronic Computer Manufacturing) with the Small Business Size Standard of 1,250 employees.

If the Government decides to award a contract for this or related effort, a solicitation will be published and posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website. The Government will use this information solely to determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for this procurement. The Government is interested in all small business concerns.

Description

The Government is conducting market research to identify potential sources that possess the expertise, capabilities, and experience to meet qualification requirements to provide depot-level testing of the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW). Participation in this requirement is limited to DoD and U.S. DoD Contractors only.

This survey covers the following item:

AMC = Acquisition Method Code

AMSC = Acquisition Method Suffix Code

AMC 3 = Acquire, for the second or subsequent time, directly from the actual manufacturer.

AMSC B = This part must be acquired from a manufacturing source(s) specified on a source control or selected item drawing as defined by the current version of DoD-STD-100. Suitable technical data, Government data rights, or manufacturing knowledge are not available to permit acquisition from other sources, nor qualification testing of another part, nor use of a second source part in the intended application. Although, by DoD-STD-100 definition, altered and selected items shall have an adequate technical data package, data review discloses that required data or data rights are not in Government possession and cannot be economically obtained. If one source is available, AMCs 3, 4, or 5 are valid. If at least two sources exist, AMCs 1 or 2 are valid.

The original equipment manufacturer for this item is Herley Industries, Inc. (11332 CAGE), which maintains its configuration by part number and software version. The Government does not own any production level technical data in support of this requirement. As a result, Ultra-Industries, Inc. is the only known source with adequate knowledge of the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW) performance requirements and possession of the required technical data and capabilities needed to manufacture this item and ensure compatibility of the equipment. Furthermore, the costs associated with qualifying another buy source as well as the verification costs would be prohibitive and significantly delay the timeline to put a buy contract in place.

Contractor shall furnish all material, support equipment, tools, test equipment, and services. The contractor is responsible for providing, maintaining, and calibrating all equipment required at their facility or a subcontractor’s facility. Contractor furnished material or parts used for replacement shall equal or exceed the quality of the original material or parts.

Contractors/Institutions responding to this market research are placed on notice that participation in this survey may not ensure participation in future solicitations or contract awards. The government will not reimburse participants for any expenses associated with their participation in this survey.

Interested sources may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirements. Interested sources must maintain facilities and cleared personnel for manufacturing, handling, storing, and maintaining information and operating systems with security classifications up to and including Secret.

ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW), currently use on the F-16 C/D and the C-130J A/C. The current production status of the ALR-56M Weapon System is that the system is in production by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) BAE Systems with components being provided by OEM qualified and approved suppliers. The only known supplier for the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW) is General Microwave.

The FIDL must meet form, fit, function, and interface requirements as referenced in per T.O. 12P3-2ALR56M-4. However, the Government does not own the data or the rights to the data needed to compete the repair of this part. It has been determined to be uneconomical to reverse engineer the data, qualify a new source, or buy the data and/or data rights. Herley Industries Inc. is the only known supplier for this NSN.

CONTRACTOR CAPABILITY SURVEY

Part I. Business Information

Provide the following business information for your company and for any teaming or joint venture partner.

Company/Institute Name:

Address:

Point of Contact:

CAGE Code:

· Phone Number:

· E-mail Address:

· Web Page URL:

Size of business pursuant to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code: 334111

Based on the above NAICS Code, state whether your company is:

· A statement as to whether your company is domestically or foreign owned (if foreign, please indicate the country of ownership).

Part II Capability Survey Questions and Requested Information General Capability Requested Information

1. Describe briefly the capabilities of your facility and nature of the goods and/or services you provide. Include a description of your staff composition and management structure.

2. Describe your company's past experience on previous projects similar in complexity to this requirement. Include contract numbers, a brief description of the work performed, period of performance, agency/organization supported, and individual point of contact (Contracting Officer or Program Manager).

3. Describe your company’s experience in manufacturing the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW) generating technical data, engineering drawings and manuals. Identify what software programs are utilized to generate these data products and what formats are available for delivered items.

4. Describe your company's capabilities for generating, handling, processing and storing classified material and data. Are there specific requirements in the documentation that we provide that would currently preclude your product from being a viable solution to our requirement?

5. For the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW), what is your company’s current maximum production capacity per month for this particular type of requirement? Provide information on any facility reserves you may possess to increase capacity in the event of an immediate need do to critical operational mission requirements.

Hardware Production Requested Information

1. Describe your capability and experiences in the repair/manufacturing/fabrication of the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW).

2. What quality assurance processes and test qualification practices does your company employ? Please provide a description of your quality program (ISO 9001, QS-9000, EIA-599, or otherwise)?

3. Demonstrate your ability and experience in the manufacture of the same or similar components, which are currently utilized in the commercial or military environment by providing the following information on the same or similar items:

Contract Number Procuring Agency Contract Value Number of assets shipped

4. Describe your capabilities and experience in test, evaluation, and other buy processes/procedures.

5. Discuss your process for addressing any fit, form, and or function issues that may arise out of the requirements of this effort.

6. Describe your process for maintaining inventory records and reporting on hand/work-in-process balance and buy status to your customer.

7. Include a detailed listing of facilities and equipment, including quantities, required to satisfy the requirements of this effort.

8. How will your organization address the absence of drawings, specifications, technical data, test procedures, etc.

9. State any technology insertion ideas for the item that would be suitable for this effort.

10. Discuss any reverse engineering or item replacement opportunities that may be present.

Requested information

1. Describe your configuration management processes and how you identify and resolve parts obsolescence and diminishing manufacturing source’s problems.

2. Describe you company’s past experience on previous projects similar in complexity to this requirement. Include contract numbers, a brief description of the work performed, period of performance, agency/organization supported, and individual point of contact.

3. Describe your ability to manufacture the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW).

4. Describe your testing ability to determine the fault condition(s) of the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW).

5. Describe your ability to test assets, provide test plans, and test data/results.

6. Describe testing equipment used to perform such testing.

7. Describe your ability to obtain the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW).

8. Describe your level of expertise and confidence to manufacture these ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW).

9. Do you anticipate the need for any GFE? If so, please provide detailed information.

10. On a specific note, has your company had any working involvement with the ALR-56M Frequency Converter (5963-01-604-5192EW)? If so, please provide detailed information.

Commerciality Questions:

1. Are there established catalog or market prices for our requirement?

2. If you offer this product and/or service to both U.S. Government and commercial sources, is the same workforce used for both the U.S. Government and general public?

3. Describe your standard warranty and return process for goods and services furnished to the government for items similar in nature to this requirement.

4. Describe your standard warranty and return process for goods and services furnished to the government for items similar in nature to this requirement

Submissions in response to this RFI

1. Responses must be submitted to both Mr. Broderick Lowe, Contracting Officer, AFSC/PZABB at broderick.lowe@us.af.mil, and Ms. Kylie Ordoyne, contracting specialist, AFSC/PZABB at kylie.ordoyne@us.af.mil no later than 4:00 PM Eastern, 19 September 2024. Late submissions will not be considered.

2. Files may not exceed 5 MB and must be submitted in Adobe PDF format.

3. If the response includes proprietary information, mark the information in accordance with regulatory guidance.

4. Please do not include company brochures or other marketing information.

All correspondence related to this RFI must be submitted electronically; phone calls will not be accepted. Correspondence regarding this RFI may be submitted to both Mr. Broderick Lowe, Contracting Officer, AFSC/PZABB at broderick.lowe@us.af.mil and to Ms. Kylie Ordoyne, Contracting Specialist, AFSC/PZABB at kylie.ordoyne@us.af.mil no later than 4:00 PM Eastern, 19 September 2024.