BMS_Draft PWS QandAs.pdf

Notice ID# N00421-25-RFPREQ-54000MA-0059_NOI5 Requirement Battlespace Modeling and Simulation (BMS) Engineering Services

Q&A # Reference Document (PWS Language) Question Government Response

Approximately 30% of the work will be performed at the Government site located in Patuxent River, MD, 70% will be performed at the Contractor site(s) as defined in Section 3.1.2.2 for work at the SECRET or UNCLASSIFIED level.

70% of the 231 FTE is equal to approximately 160 personnel. Section 3.1.2.2 defines a Contractor Genser Secret laboratory with 30 workstations.

1. - Does this mean that the Contractor and their teammates are to provide space for 130 personnel to work in an unclassified environment?

2. - Is Patuxent River the only place of performance?

1. The Government intends to provide additional details, please see the Draft

RFP.

2.Yes, the primary place of performance is Patuxent River.

A listing of Government Furnished Property (GFP) to be made available to the Contractor at contractor facility(s) can be found in the Wide-Area Workflow GFP Module.

Is it possible to gain access to this GFP data as part of the RFP for those contractors without current access to WAWF? The Government intends to provide the GFP data as part of the Final RFP release.

3 N/A, General Question

Could the government confirm that the existing GENSER Secret laboratory space is using a government owned secret level network and hardware for RDT&E development and connnectivity? If not, could you detail the specific desired configuration for the contractor GENSER Secret laboratory?

The Government intends to redefine the requirements, please see all updates and changes with the release of the Draft RFP.

4 N/A, General Question

Can interested companies utilize classified contracts to document past performance and corporate experience? If so, what classification levels are permitted?

Since this contract requires TS/SCI support, including past performance up to TS/SCI ensures that the most relevant past performance can be included. Including TS/SCI past performance requires significant lead time.

Thank you for your question. The Government will take this into consideration.

5 Draft PWS , Page # 6, Section: 3.1.2.2 Contractor Location

The draft PWS indicates the contractor must "provide at least one facility within 20 miles driving distance of NAS Patuxent River that includes a GENSER Secret level laboratory space with at least 3000 feet of space and a Government or Contractor owned Secret Level network with a minimum of 30 workstations within 90 days of award." In the spirit of ensuring robust competition and bringing best solutions and resources to bear, including those currently utilized in commercial markets, will the Government work with the Contractor to sponsor and help ensure the Facility is in place within 90 days of award?

The Government intends to redefine the requirements, please see all updates and changes with the release of the Draft RFP.

6 Draft PWS , Page # 6, Section: 3.1.2.2 Contractor Location

The draft PWS indicates the contractor must "provide at least one facility within 20 miles driving distance of NAS Patuxent River that includes a GENSER Secret level laboratory space with at least 3000 feet of space and a Government or Contractor owned Secret Level network with a minimum of 30 workstations within 90 days of award." Given the scarcity of space meeting these requirements within 20 miles driving distance of NAS Patuxent River, would the Government modify the distance requirement from 20 miles to 100 miles so that space within the DC metro area could be utilized?

The Government intends to redefine the requirements, please see all updates and changes with the release of the Draft RFP.

7 Draft PWS , Page # 7, Section: 3.1.4.3 Shift Work Schedule "The Contractor must be prepared to conduct operations in shifts." To facilitate accurate pricing submissions, can the Government identify which tasks are likely to be completed in shifts and the frequency and duration of the required shifts?

The Government intends to redefine the requirements, please see all updates and changes with the release of the Draft RFP.

8 Draft PWS , Page # 14, Section: 3.2.12 Additional Security Requirements

"All Contractor personnel supporting SCI requirements must obtain a Top Secret clearance with a fully adjudicated investigation with the Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 704 prior to starting any SCI level work."

1. - To expedite onboarding, does the Government intend to work with the Contractor to sponsor and initiate these clearances?

2. - Can the Government specify the percentage of Contractor staff that need to be cleared at contract award and any expectations for the timeline for remaining staff to be cleared during transition and the period of performance?

1. The Government intends to sponsor and initiate TS/SCI clearances day one (1).

2. The Government intends to provide an estimate with release of the Final

RFP.

9 Draft PWS , Page # 15, Section: 3.2.12.3 Special Network Access "The Contractor shall require access to special networks in the performance of this requirement in accordance with the DD254." Can the Government confirm that they will work with the Contractor to obtain access to special networks?

The Government intends to redefine the requirements, please see all updates and changes with the release of the Draft RFP.

10 Draft PWS , Page # 24, Section: 3.3.6.1 Contract Material Purchases

"The Contractor shall obtain prior written approval from the COR/PCO prior to purchase of any material and ODC." Will ODC lines be included in the pricing exhibit so Contractors may include the price of assets they intend to leverage in the performance of the work described in the Draft PWS?

The Government has not finalized their evaluation strategy for this effort.

Please refer to the Draft RFP.

11 Draft PWS , Page # 25, Section: 3.4.1 Professional Labor Categories

Are there Key Personnel requirements for this program, and if so, will the Government provide the list of Key Personnel and their mandatory and desired qualifications?

The Government has not finalized their evaluation strategy for this effort.

Please refer to the Draft RFP.

12 N/A, General Question Does the Government intend to provide access to a reading room so Contractors will have insight into the Technical Environment?

The Government has not finalized their evaluation strategy for this effort.

Please refer to the Draft RFP.

13 N/A, General Question

Would the Government consider a hybrid contract structure, including some clins as FFP or potentially delivered via a managed service, so offerors can leverage their best practices/tools utilized on commercial engagements? For example, FFP or CPFF for Program Management, Event Support, and Development/Engineering while using a rate card with SLAs for Operations and Maintenance?

Thank you for your response. The Government will take this under consideration.

14 N/A, General Question Will Prime offerors be able to use subcontractor past performance to meet any past performance requirements associated with this contract?

The Government has not finalized their evaluation strategy for this effort.

Please refer to the Draft RFP.

15 N/A, General Question Will Prime offerors be able to use facilities owned and/or leased by a subcontractor to meet the facilities requirements associated with this contract?

The Government intends to redefine the requirements, please see all updates and changes with the release of the Draft RFP.

16 PWS 3.1.5- states “Additionally, consultants supporting the contractor are also considered subcontractors.”

Do all consultants need to be approved by the government as subcontractors or is this statement in the PWS focused on tasking/assignments?

The Government intends to redefine the requirements. The Government no longer has a requirement for consultants, please see all updates and changes with the release of the Draft RFP.

While there are references to security, there is no indication of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) as a requirement despite the inclusion of CMMC in the FAR as of Nov 2025

Will the government be requiring some level of CMMC compliance and certification for offerors and their subcontractor/teammates and how will that apply to consultants?

The Government intends to redefine the requirements, please see all updates and changes with the release of the Draft RFP.

The PWS does not include any explicit requirements derived from the Department of War’s Digital Engineering Ecosystem or AI usage mandates

Will this effort explicitly include Digital Engineering Ecosystem or AI/ML/RL tasking or is it implied in the PWS as written?

Thank you for your response. At this time the Government does not have a requirement for this at this time.

Industry feels the PWS could use some additional labor categories and qualification standards to facilitate industry performance requirements

Will the government consider modifications/additions to the labor qualifications section of the PWS? The Government will take these recommendations under consideration.

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