Question_and_Answer_for_Posting_55_through_59.pdf

Question and Answers Solicitation HTC711-13-R-C003

Question 55 Section 1.4.3 of the PWS specifies that aircrew shall be air drop qualified in accordance with the contractors training program and approved by the FAA. In recent years, Army airdrop contracts in Afghanistan have been performed at a very low altitude (150 feet above the ground, or “AGL”). That is below the minimum regulatory altitude floor of 500 feet AGL, and thus required a special Operations Specification from the FAA. The FAA has expressed little enthusiasm for this type of airdrop. Airdrop at and above the regulatory altitude floor of 500 feet AGL requires a more scientific approach, and you may want to consider requiring that the training program and procedures be FAA approved for 500 feet AGL and above.

Answer 55 An Operations Specifications is required for airdrops regardless of altitude. The exact procedures for airdrop are specified in the Operations Specifications and may include data for different altitudes (i.e., 250 ft, 500 ft, and/or 1000 ft). The PWS does not specify a specific preferred altitude; the contractor may be required to perform airdrop services from varying altitudes depending on the requirement. The contractor shall have the necessary Operations Specifications in place to perform airdrop services. Updated paragraph 1.4.3 of the PWS via Amendment 0005 to clarify.

Question 56 Will the Government provide loadmasters for cargo and personnel drops or are loadmasters contractor provided?

Answer 56 Loadmasters shall be contractor-provided for cargo drops. The Government will provide jumpmasters for personnel drops; the contractor provides the equipment only (i.e., aircraft). Jumpmaster may direct the crew to circle and/or reposition for an inbound run from a different direction. Updated paragraphs 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 of the PWS via Amendment 0005 to clarify.

Question 57 Regarding radio equipment the PWS requires secure capable VHF, UHF and FM and SATCOM’s with a secure device. Research indicates the lead time to purchase and install these radios is 3-6 months. Request that the secure radio requirements be allowed a phase in schedule of 6 months (same time frame as the Night Vision capabilities phase in). Additional radio questions:

1) Can you confirm that encryption (secure) is not required for the HF radio?

2) Is there a list of radios with specifications and/or MIL specs available?

3) Does the UHF radio have to have guard capability and wide band Answer 57 A phase in schedule of 6 months for securing radio equipment IAW PWS is acceptable. Updated PWS paragraph 3.5 via Amendment 0005 to incorporate this change.

1) Secure encryption for HF radio is not required.

2) A simpler, widely available but older solid state VHF/UHF AM/FM transceiver (without SATCOM) is the AN/ARC-182. Common transceivers that have the full VHF/UHF/SATCOM capability with encryption are AN/ARC-210, AN/ARC-231 or AN/PRC-117.

3) UHF radio shall have capability to monitor guard. Updated PWS paragraph 3.5 via Amendment 0005 to incorporate this requirement.

Question 58 In previous contracts of this nature the Government has required Defense Base Act (DBA) Insurance and has compensated the contractor for the procurement of DBA Insurance. There is no mention that we can find regarding DBA Insurance in this solicitation. Can you confirm the DBA Insurance is not a requirement on this contract?

Answer 58 PWS paragraph 3.10.9 states, “All personnel performing duties in hazardous areas OCONUS shall be included in and insured with a policy covering Defense Base Act (DBA) requirements. DBA insurance for all personnel performing work OCONUS under this contract is required.” Per this paragraph, the contractor is required to have DBA insurance.

Question 59 In regards to force protection, is CRC a requirement? Is Weapons Qualifications required? What is the Military Weapons Authorization process?

Answer 59 CRC is a requirement; weapons qualification is not necessary. Carrying weapons is not needed or desired for this contract. The African theater of operations is a very political environment with complex policies that vary from country to country. Additionally, force protection will almost always be provided by the host nation airfield security personnel. As noted in question 16, for the vast majority of the missions, security is provided at ICAO airports by their respective host nation. Government will normally not provide security when landing at austere unimproved landing zones unless the threat is high enough to justify the deployment of a small security team.