Solicitation_Questions and Answers_FA9451-21-S-0001 Call 0006 20210901.pdf

Questions and Answers for:

MJÖLNIR

Closed One-Step Call

Issued Under

Directed Energy Technology Experimentation Research (DETER)

Advanced Research Announcement (ARA)

FA9451-21-S-0001 Call 0006

01 September 2021

Question: 1

Document: Solicitation, Page 2 of 21 and SOW Page 7 of 12 Section: II.D and SOW 9.0

Solicitation II.D, Schedule "The anticipated period of performance is 33 months technical effort with an additional 3 months allotted for final reporting". However, SOW 9.0 states "The program is intended to be a 30 month technical effort".

Please provide the correct performance period. Is the Period of Performance (PoP) 30 / 33 / or 36 months?

Government Response: The end of technical effort is 30 months after contract award with an additional 3 months for the final report preparation, for a total contract period of performance of 33 months. Solicitation, II.D and Attachment 1, Statement of Work (SOW), Paragraph 9.0 are amended to reflect the correct period of performance.

Question: 2

Document: Solicitation, Page 3 of 21 Section: III.C

Should offerors treat the projected estimated funding as a Not to Exceed (NTE) price?

Government Response: The funding profile provided in Section III.C of the Call is only an estimate of anticipated funding.

Question: 3

Document: Solicitation, Page 6 of 21 Section: IV.E

Will Offerors have access to AFRL RD test equipment and test facilities to support testing of THOR unique subsystems and SW?

Government Response: Access to AFRL/RD test equipment and facilities will not be granted to offerers for subsystem or software testing.

Question: 4

Document: Solicitation, Page 6 of 21 Section: IV.E

Will Offerors have an opportunity to test updates to THOR sub-systems using AFRL developed HPM technology related to THOR since the initial prototype?

Government Response: No. The MJOLNIR bidder’s library has the most up to date configuration for the first generation demonstrator system.

Question: 5

Document: Solicitation, Page 8 of 21 Section: IV.G.2

Please confirm that the "non-Government" advisors providing proposal support to the Government have current and signed Non-Disclosure Agreements in place.

Government Response: All required non-disclosure agreements and conflict of interest statements will be in place prior to proposal data being provided to any non-government advisor.

Question: 6

Document: Solicitation, Page 8 of 21 Section: IV.H.

Would the Government provide historical ACA agreements related to AFRL’s existing Tactical High- Power Microwave Operational Responder (THOR) cUAS prototype?

Government Response: No, the government will not provide historical contractual information.

Question: 7

Document: Solicitation, Page 14 of 21 Section: VII.F.1.a

May offerors use as the equivalent of two 8 ½x11 pages an 11x17 for illustrations, flowcharts, drawings, and diagrams only, and not to circumvent formatting requirements or page count limitations by including lengthy narratives on 11x17 sheets?

Government Response: In accordance with the solicitation VII.F.1a, only 8 ½x11 pages shall be used.

Question: 8

Document: Solicitation Page 14 of 21 Section: VII.F.1.e

Understanding that information (e.g. captions, restrictive markings) shall not be smaller than Arial 10 point font or equivalent, will the Government allow Arial Narrow 8 point font for all graphics?

Government Response: Yes. Pursuant to the Solicitation Section VII.F.1.e font requirements do not apply to illustrations, flowcharts, drawings, and diagrams. The only requirement for text in graphics is that it is clearly legible.

Question: 9

Document: Solicitation, Page 14 of 21 Section: VII.F.1.g(1)

As part of tables of contents, may offerors include a cross-walk of the Governments solicitation requirement to the corresponding proposal response location(s)?

Government Response: The cover page shall include at a minimum, the requirements outlined in the solicitation. Additional information may be included if an offeror deems it necessary to ensure understanding/flow of their proposal.

Question: 10

Document: Solicitation, Page 17 of 21 Section: VII.G.8

Would the Government please clarify what “segment” refers to in the term “Segment Leads”.

Government Response: Segment Lead refers to personnel that will play a lead technical role in the proposed management structure.

Question: 11

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW

Request working copy of the work statement.

Government Response: The SOW was included as a PDF document (Attachment 1), a working copy will not be provided.

Question: 12

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Page 1 of 12 Section: SOW 3.1.2

"Operation on a ground based transportable platform." Does this require operators to be able to operate the system from the vehicle?

Government Response: There is no requirement for the system to operate from a mobile platform. All Program requirements are found within the Functional Requirement Document (FRD) and the Statement of Work (SOW).

Question: 13

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Page 3 of 12 Section: SOW 3.4

Who decides where field test suite per "Field Test" table will be performed? If USG, can customer please identify intended CONUS test range (if already selected)?

Government Response: In accordance with Attachment 1, paragraph 3.4, field test ranges are “selected by the contractor so that the prototype can be evaluated against the FRD requirements with full power and the tracking requirements verified.”

Question: 14

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Pages 3 and 7 of 12 Section: SOW 3.4 and 9.0

Please clarify what prototype validation/verification activities the government intends will extend past the suite of factory testing listed in "Factory Test" Table (per milestone dates listed in Sxn 9.0).

Government Response: This information was provided in the Bidder’s Library ‘Test Objectives’.

Question: 15

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Page 6 of 12 Section: SOW 5.0

The SOW references CLIN 0003 for hardware and 0004 for software but there are no instructions in the Call whether or not these are separately priced CLIN’s. Normally in similar AFRL contracts these types of CLIN’s are NSP. Could you confirm whether or not these CLIN’s should be separately priced?

Government Response: Hardware Deliverable (CLIN 0003) and Software Deliverable (CLIN 0004) will not be separately priced (NSP).

Question: 16

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Page 7 of 12 Section: SOW 9.0

What test(s) does the government intend will be covered by the TRR review (DOA + 22 mo)?

Government Response: All field tests require a test readiness review.

Question: 17

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Page 7 of 21 Section: SOW 9.0

Bullet stating "Prototype Delivery: DOA +21 months

What paperwork will be used to transfer the property (e.g., DD 1149, DD250, etc.)?

What location will the property be delivered or will the offeror deliver in place at offeror's facility?

Government Response: After review of the milestone schedule, the Government determined the Prototype Delivery milestone was incorrectly labeled and should read Prototype Completion. The completed prototype will remain under Offeror’s control until delivery under the hardware deliverable (CLIN 0003). Hardware will be delivered to Kirtland Air Force Base via DD250 at the completion of the technical period of performance. Attachment 1, Statement of Work (SOW), Paragraph 9.0 is amended to reflect the correct milestone label.

Question: 18

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Page 7 of 12 Section: SOW 10.0

Section 10, Required Travel, first paragraph states that travel will be "on a cost- reimbursement basis."

Can you clarify if the government is excluding fee from travel costs?

Government Response: Travel will be on a cost-reimbursement basis and thus no fee will be applied to that cost element.

Question: 19

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Page 7 of 12 Section: SOW 10.0

Section 10, Required Travel, end of first paragraph states that "Billable travel costs are air fare, ground transportation, and per diem costs - not labor hours." Can you clarify if labor hours in this context means labor associated with the actual travel/transit time?

Government Response: Travel costs include those items identified in SOW paragraph 10.0. Labor hours are accounted for as a direct labor cost.

Question: 20

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Page 10 of 12 Section: SOW 12.0

Please provide a copy of AFRLI 61-103, Volume I, AFRL Flight Tests and Evaluation.

Government Response: AFRLI 61-103 Volume 1, AFRL Flight Test and Evaluation can be found at the link below:

https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/afrl/publication/afrli61-103v1/afrli61-103v1.pdf

Question: 21

Document: Solicitation Attachment 1 SOW, Page 10 of 12 Section: 12.0

Please provide a copy of RDOI 61-103, AFRL Research and Test Management.

Government Response: Provided as attachment.

Question: 22

Document: Solicitation Attachment 3 Data Item Deliverables

Forms 1423 for the DIDs - All forms have Block “A” associated with CLIN 0002. It is not apparent where the SOW mandated specific CLINs.

Is this an editorial error or does this imply all CDRLs should be in CLIN 0002? If the latter, what CLIN structure should Offerors use for the proposal response?

Government Response: Not all data item deliverables are associated with CLIN 0002, A019 and A020 reference CLIN 0004 in Block A. See question 25 for anticipated CLIN structure.

Question: 23

Document: Solicitation Attachment 3 Data Item Deliverables, Page 24 of 25 Section: CDRL A008, Box 2B

Native 3D model is specified as Solidworks. If an offeror uses software that does not convert to Solidworks as parametric (modifiable) geometry, is that acceptable?

Government Response: Native CAD formats other than Solidworks are acceptable, as long as additional 3D format is included (i.e. Step, iges, parasolid, etc.) and verified to operate in Solidworks.

Question: 24

Document: Solicitation Attachment 6 Cost Proposal Instructions

For subcontractors exceeding threshold, will the Government accept contractor price analysis and plan of action to complete formal Price/Cost Analysis Report (PCAR) (with DCMA assist audits) included in the Cost Volume submission, with the understanding that the PCAR will be provided prior to award based on DCMA audit time to complete?

Government Response: Regardless of the threshold, the subcontractor should provide a fully unsanitized cost proposal to the Government. In most situations, the subcontractor will not provide this level of cost detail to the Prime contractor. However, there is still an expectation of the Prime to perform a price/cost analysis of their subcontractors. The subcontractor should be able to provide to the Prime details of the proposed labor categories, number of hours, fully burdened labor rates, travel/material/ODC, and the proposed profit/fee. However, since the Prime will not be privy to the unsanitized rate information, Prime’s analysis may be supplemented by a Government price/cost analysis (if deemed necessary). Attachment 6 Proposal Instructions for the Non-FAR (on page 4, 2.a(2)) addressed the details on the subcontract analysis that is expected to be performed by the Prime.

Question: 25

Document: Solicitation Attachment 6 Cost Proposal Instructions Section: 2

We are unable to locate a CLIN list in the solicitation. Will the government provide a CLIN List, or are offerors to propose their CLINs?

Request clarification of contract type associated with each CLIN.

Government Response: Below is an example of the anticipated CLIN structure, however offerors are free to propose alternate CLIN structures.

In accordance with the solicitation III.A it is anticipated that an award under this Call will be a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) completion type award.

Anticipated CLIN Structure:

CLIN 0001 – MJOLNIR - $TBD (Anticipate CPFF)

CLIN 0002 – Data and Reports – NSP

CLIN 0003 – Hardware Deliverable – NSP

CLIN 0004 – Software Deliverable – NSP

CLIN 0005 –Contractor Acquired Property – NSP

Questions and answers pertaining specifically to the Bidder’s Library were sent directly (via DOD Safe) to the offeror’s who received a copy of the library.