Attachment 1- SOW Research and Development Survivability and Fire Protection Systems Development May 2025.pdf

Statement of Work

Research & Development (R&D) for Survivability and Fire Protection Systems Development

Vision Statement 3

1 Introduction

1.1 Mission

1.2 Background

1.3 Scope

2 General Requirements

2.1 Business Relations

2.2 Contract Administration and Management

2.2.1 Contract Management

2.2.2 Contract Administration

2.2.3 Personnel Administration

2.3 Subcontract Management

2.4 Contractor Personnel, Disciplines, and Specialties

2.5 Location and Hours of Work

2.6 Travel / Temporary Duty (TDY)

3 Task Performance Requirements

3.1 Evaluate and Develop Fire Extinguishing Agents and Delivery Systems

3.2 Analyze Fire Hazards, Vulnerability, and Passive Fire Safey

3.3 Small Scale and Large Scale Testing

3.4 Firefighting Doctrine Development

4 Special Requirements

4.1 Security and Safety

4.2 Transition

4.3 Government Furnished Equipment

5 Deliverables

Vision Statement

Advancement of safety and survivability of United States Navy (USN) surface ships, submarines, aircraft, and shore-based facilities by preserving and enhancing a strong technology base for the introduction of advanced fire protection concepts to the Fleet.

1 Introduction

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) anticipates negotiation of a competitive contract, with Firm Fixed Price (FFP) task orders, for research and development (R&D) for a wide range of survivability and fire protection research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) projects for the Navy and other Department of Defense (DoD)/Government organizations for surface ships, submarines, aircraft, land vehicles and land-based military installation fire protection applications. The inherit technical research work will require collaborative work with NRL engineers and scientists for development of new fire protection technology and evaluation of fire extinguishing agents, hardware systems, firefighting and damage control equipage, tactics and doctrine development, as well as fire and environmental hazard assessments.

1.1 Mission

The mission of the United States (US) Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Navy Technology Center for Safety and Survivability (NTCSS) is to conduct applied research and development studies to help solve current and future Navy problems in the field of combustion, fire modeling, fuels, personnel protection, and environmental hazards.

This applied research effort applies to both (1) short-range Navy problems— issues of both Department of Defense (DoD) and national concern—and the (2) long-range development of scientific expertise and knowledge relevant to future Navy and DoD fire protection systems.

1.2 Background

The NTCSS is responsible for a wide range of applied research efforts for the development of new firefighting technology, evaluation of fire extinguishing agents, conducting fire hazardous analysis, firefighting doctrine development, and conducting small and large-scale fire testing.

Recent NTCSS efforts have included studies related to passive fire for structural materials, fire hazard assessments for various naval platforms, fire & smoke transport/structural modeling development, and live fire test and evaluation (LFT&E) surrogate testing. The RDT&E efforts have also included the development of new military specifications for firefighting agents.

In FY20-25, the major RDT&E effort involved conducting numerous Small-Scale and Large- Scale firefighting performance testing for Fluorine-Free Foam (F3) products, which then led to the development of the new MIL-PRF-32725 “Fire Extinguishing Agent, Fluorine-Free Foam (F3) Liquid Concentrate, For Land-Based, Freshwater Applications” qualification test standard for DoD land-based military installation applications. The predominate RDT&E efforts expected in the FY26-30 timeframe will be to conduct the requisite Small-Scale and Large-Scale firefighting performance testing for F3 products using saltwater solutions, which will enable the development of a new military specification and transition of F3 products for shipboard applications.

In addition to firefighting testing, in FY26 NRL will also be commissioning a new Large Volume Fire Research Facility, which will require assistance for developing instrumentation plans and a data acquisition (DAQ) system such as LabVIEW to capture the generated real-time signals and converting the digital data for post-test follow-on-analysis.

1.3 Scope

These research efforts require the expertise of skilled and experienced contractor engineers with high technical qualifications to carry out the work.

This Statement of Work (SOW) defines the tasks, deliverables, and general goals for the R&D services for survivability and fire protection systems development in the areas described below:

• Fire Extinguishing Agents and Delivery Systems

• Fire Hazard & Vulnerability Analysis, and Passive Fire Safety

• Small-Scale and Large-Scale Fire Tests

• Firefighting Doctrine Development

The required personnel qualifications and experiences to perform individual tasks are defined with each task description.

Efforts in support of the tasks delineated in Section 3 will be conducted in coordination with Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) led research teams that may include Government Scientists and Engineers, and other Contractors. Quality and timeliness of the provider’s contribution to the work will be evaluated in terms of its impact on the success of the overall project.

2 General Requirements

This section describes the general requirements for this effort. The following subsections provide details of various considerations on this effort.

Accomplishment of the results contained in this SOW requires work to be performed at NRL and at various contractor, subcontractor, and Government facilities (mainly in the continental United States) such as the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD- China Lake) located in Ridgecrest, CA.

The period of performance of this contract will be a five-year ordering period from the date of contract award.

2.1 Business Relations

The Contractor shall successfully integrate and coordinate all activity needed to execute the stated requirements.

The Contractor shall manage the timeliness, completeness, and quality of problem identification.

The Contractor shall provide corrective action plans, proposal submittals, timely identification of issues, and effective management of subcontractors.

The Contractor shall seek to ensure customer satisfaction and professional and ethical behavior of all contractor personnel.

2.2 Contract Administration and Management

The following subsections specify requirements for contract, management, and personnel administration.

2.2.1 Contract Management

The Contractor shall establish clear organizational lines of authority and responsibility to ensure effective management of the resources assigned to the requirement.

The Contractor shall maintain continuity between the support operations at NRL/DON facilities and the contractor's corporate offices.

2.2.2 Contract Administration

The Contractor shall establish processes and assign appropriate resources to effectively administer the requirement.

The Contractor shall respond to Government requests for contractual actions in a timely fashion.

The Contractor shall have a single point of contact between the Government and contractor personnel assigned to support contracts and/or task orders.

The Contractor shall assign work effort while maintaining proper and accurate time keeping records of personnel assigned to work on the requirement.

2.2.3 Personnel Administration

The Contractor shall provide the following management and support as required:

● The Contractor shall provide for employees during designated Government non-work days or other periods where Government offices are closed due to weather or security conditions.

● The Contractor shall maintain the currency of their employees by providing initial and refresher training as required to meet the SOW requirements.

● The Contractor shall make necessary travel arrangements for employees.

● The Contractor shall provide any necessary infrastructure needs to support contract tasks conducted at NRL-CBD and NAWCWD- China Lake fire test facilities, or during technology demonstrations in the field.

● The Contractor shall provide administrative support to employees in a timely fashion (e.g., time keeping, leave processing, pay, and emergency needs).

2.3 Subcontract Management

The Contractor shall be responsible for any subcontract management necessary to integrate work performed on this requirement.

The Contractor shall be responsible and accountable for subcontractor performance on this requirement.

The prime contractor will manage work distribution to ensure there are no organizational conflict of interest (OCI) considerations.

Contractors may add subcontractors to their team after notification to and approval by the contracting officer or the contracting officer’s representative (COR). The Government reserves the right to permit or not permit cross teaming.

2.4 Contractor Personnel, Disciplines, and Specialties

The Contractor shall accomplish the assigned work by employing and using qualified personnel with appropriate combinations of education, training, and experience.

The Contractor shall match personnel skills to the work or task.

The Contractor shall ensure the labor categories as defined in the labor categories document (see Attachment 1), labor rates, and person-hours used in the performance of each SOW line item issued hereunder will be the minimum necessary to accomplish the task.

The Contractor shall provide the necessary resources and infrastructure to manage, perform, and administer the contract.

Given the technical research nature and varied scope of the contract, the contract provides provisions for program management.

2.5 Location and Hours of Work

Accomplishment of the results contained in this SOW requires work at NRL Chesapeake Bay Detachment (CBD), located in Chesapeake Beach, MD and at various contractor, subcontractor, and Government facilities (mainly in the continental United States) that will include the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division - China Lake, Ridgecrest, CA. Normal workdays for NRL are Monday through Friday except U.S. federal holidays. NRL workers typically work eight (8) hours per day, forty (40) hours per week. All employees are expected to be available during core hours. Core hours are from 1000 to 1100 and 1300 to 1400 daily. In the event of severe weather conditions, the contractor should refer to the top banner of the NRL website (www.nrl.navy.mil) for NRL operating status or refer to the Office of Personnel Management website (www.opm.mil) for the operating status of the U.S. Government offices in Washington, DC area for additional information.

2.6 Travel / Temporary Duty (TDY)

Travel to other government facilities or other contractor facilities may be required during the period of performance of this contract.

The Contractor shall submit all travel requirements (including plans, agenda, itinerary, and dates) for preapproval to the Government and is on a strictly cost-reimbursable basis.

The Contractor shall bill costs for travel in accordance with FAR 31.205-46, Travel Costs (subject to local policy and procedures).

3 Task Performance Requirements

The following section specifies the performance objectives and performance elements for the contract.

3.1 Evaluate and Develop Fire Extinguishing Agents and Delivery Systems.

3.1.1 The Contractor shall conduct applied research, development and test & evaluation of fire extinguishing agent technologies.

NRL has a long history of developing various firefighting foam/dry chemical agents, fixed Gaseous and Water Mist total flooding agents and portable fire extinguishing agents for DoD fire protection applications. This research is also focused on the understanding of mechanisms for combustion, fire suppression and the environmental impact based on Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), Global Warming Potential (GWP) and emerging regulatory standards related to Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances. This fire research includes the development of alternative fire extinguishing agent technologies for both Class A, Class B and Class D fire threats and improved methods to help mitigate the fire hazards associated with energy storage systems (ESS). The research requires development of test protocols and an intimate knowledge of the governing National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Underwriters Laboratory (UL) test standard requirements, germane Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) handbooks and have an intimate knowledge of U.S. Navy ship designs and military specifications for shipboard fire protection/HVAC systems.

http://www.nrl.navy.mil/ http://www.opm.mil/

3.1.2 The Contractor shall conduct experimental and theoretical studies in firefighting agent delivery systems.

The NRL is responsible for conducting applied research focusing on identifying short falls in current fire protection agent delivery system designs and developing solutions for optimum performance for DoD fire protection applications. Recent NRL system design studies have included platform specific water mist, gaseous agent, firefighting foams, aerosol generator, and smoke ejection system designs for U.S. Navy platform applications. The research requires a proven record of achievement in developing military specific system design and analysis, and a thorough understanding of afloat, aircraft, ground vehicles and shore-based equipment fire protection system design requirements.

3.2 Analyze Fire Hazards, Vulnerability, and Passive Fire Safety

3.2.1 The Contractor shall conduct fire hazard/vulnerability assessments and modeling.

The NRL is routinely responsible to conduct fire hazard assessment and vulnerability research studies for various DOD platforms and facilities. These types of research studies require a proven record of achievement in developing and executing risk management methodologies, fire scenario development, maximum credible event development and evaluation that may include explosive event analysis, calorimetry material analysis and the use of fire and smoke modeling and simulation (M&S) analysis tools. With regard to M&S analysis tools, the research will also require the use of Fire and Smoke M&S tools that are applicable for shipboard and manned/unmanned vehicle geometries, have the requisite expertise in developing M&S code, and completing the germane verification, validation and accreditation (VV&A) processes.

VV&A is the primary mechanism used to establish the necessary credibility of an M&S modeling tool, and is required by DOD 5000.61 for M&S used in Live Fire Test & Evaluation (LFT&E) research fire hazard vulnerability studies.

3.2.2 The Contractor shall characterize passive fire materials and applications for passive fire safety.

NRL has been responsible for researching acceptable materials to help limit fire spread and reduce toxic atmospheres. NRL also is interested in pursuing applied research to help identify light weight and low-cost alternative fire insulation materials to help limit fire spread potential and enhance recoverability operations and maintainability. This research will require demonstrated experience and knowledge of passive fire technology and the requisite test protocol requirements. It is also required the contractor have access to the requisite fire test apparatus to conduct component level specimen testing and knowledge of shipboard structural requirements and to have extensive knowledge and experiences with various energy storage systems that may be used for shipboard, aircraft, land-based vehicles, and unmanned UUV/UAV vehicles.

3.3 Small-Scale and Large-Scale Fire Testing

3.3.1 The Contractor shall conduct applied research that centers on design, engineering, and data collection for small-scale and large-scale fire studies to meet DoD fire test mission requirements.

NRL is responsible for conducting small and large-scale fire test studies to validate and quantify fire protection system performance and vulnerabilities. These requisite fire tests additionally provide opportunity to research the appropriate firefighting response to enhance recoverability operations and provide critical data for future military performance specifications for future platform designs. The fire research testing also enables the DoD to develop and validate fire protection technology solutions to mitigate recognized fire protection shortfalls related to DoD combatant assets and shore-based facilities. This research requires a proven record of achievement in developing and executing DoD specific fire test protocols, a thorough understanding of fire test instrumentation requirements, date collection methodologies, and access to fire protection engineers that are qualified and experienced firefighters. Due to recent Congressional National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requirements to transition away from the use of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), the contractor must have extensive knowledge and experiences with conducting the MIL-PRF-32725-type Fluorine-Free Foam (F3) screening/qualification testing conducted at the NRL-CBD fire test facility and the Large-Scale validation Flight Deck testing, which is conducted at the NAWCWD-China Lake fire test facility using both fresh and saltwater foam solutions.

3.4 Firefighting Doctrine Development

3.4.1 The Contractor shall develop and validate new firefighting doctrine for DoD applications.

Emerging fire technology research and transitions additionally require the development of the appropriate applied doctrine to ensure that the enhancements provided by the technology can be fully realized in the environment for its intended use. Accordingly, specialized research and development is needed to identify and validate the optimum tactics and procedures to promote effective technology application and manned responses that are coherently integrated to promote efficient firefighting response operations. Personnel safety and survivability is also a major thrust. This research will require a thorough understanding of DoD firefighting procedures, systems, and equipage and a clear understanding of the potential fire induced environments that may be present during DoD specific fire attack operations.

4 Special Requirements

This section describes the special requirements for this effort. The following subsections provide details of various considerations on this effort.

4.1 Security and Safety

All Contractor personnel who require NRL-CBD base access or access to NRL-CBD unclassified material and/or unclassified systems shall possess a favorably completed DoD National Agency Check with Law and Credit (NACLC). Contractors who require access to Secret material must have, at a minimum, a favorably completed DoD National Agency Check with Law and Credit (NACLC) and final DoD granted Secret security clearance. The Contractor shall ensure that all classified material is handled in accordance with the issued DD 254, the National Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) (DoD 5220.22M) and all NRL and applicable Security Program Guides/Directives.

All contractors (including subcontractors) identified in the Statement of Work shall supplement their current security practices by requiring any personnel involved in executing the contract to complete Government-sponsored and administered Operations Security (OPSEC) training, OPSE-1301.

All onsite work has to meet the requirements for NRL safety. Personnel working in serve/high heat fire test environments will need Self-contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) training & fit test certification and have the appropriate firefighting protection ensembles for structural and proximity work apparel that meets the NFPA 1970 standard requirements.

4.2 Transition

The Contractor shall submit a draft transition plan as part of the proposal and a transition plan within 30 days of contract award.

As applicable, this plan should describe the contractor's transition in to service at the beginning of the contract and how work would be transitioned to a different contractor or contract vehicle at the end of the contract. It should include a staffing and training plan for new personnel. The contractor should plan for the transfer of work control and information, addressing any security issues, the transfer and accountability of government-furnished equipment, inspections and acceptance, and delineating the method for processing and assigning tasks during the phase-in/phase-out periods. The plan should address how the contractor will implement adequate measures to coordinate communications with the incumbent contractor and NRL staff in order to ensure uninterrupted workflow and minimal mission impact during the transition process.

The contractor shall follow the transition plan and keep the Government fully informed of status throughout the transition period.

4.3 Government Furnished Equipment

The Government will make available the materials and information for use by the contractor in the performance of this contract at Government facilities. It is anticipated that Government property will be used by the contractor in the performance of that portion of the contract performed on site at NRL, at the contractor’s facilities, or at NAWCWD-China Lake, or designated field demonstration sites. Such use will be on a rent-free basis and all such property shall be considered to remain in the possession and control of the NRL for property responsibility and accountability purposes.

5 Deliverables

Deliverables are specified with format instructions and delivery schedule in the DD 1423, Exhibit A.

Identifier Name Description

A001 Monthly Progress and Funds Status Report Indicates the progress of the contractor's work and the status of the program and of the assigned tasks, reports costs, and informs of existing or potential problem areas.

A002 Studies Final Report Provides fully documented results of studies or analysis performed.

A003 Oral Briefings and other interim progress reports as required