RETS Sources Sought Notice_11102025_Final.pdf

SOURCE SOUGHT NOTICE

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

DEPARTMENT OF WAR

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

ACQUISITION DIRECTORATE

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST AND EVALUATION (RDT&E) ENGINEERING

AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT (RETS)

This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts or quotations. This Sources Sought Notice (SSN) is being issued for market research purposes to gain knowledge regarding the availability and capabilities of business concerns. The SSN shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or as an obligation on the part of the requestor to acquire any products or services.

If an RFP or Request for Quote (RFQ) is issued, it will be issued by the appropriate Government Contracting Office and posted to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) SAM.gov by the appropriate Government Contracting office, unless an exception to synopsize exists. It is the responsibility of the potential responders to monitor SAM.gov for additional information pertaining to this subject. Interested firms may also ask the Contracting Officer (CO) for a copy of the solicitation in accordance with FAR 19.202-4(c). The requestor does not intend to pay for the Information requested herein. All information provided is for Government planning use only.

If proprietary Information is provided, please mark as Proprietary for Government Use Only.

The Department of War (DoW), Washington Headquarters Services Acquisition Directorate (WHS/AD) is performing market research to determine availability, interest, and capability of potential firms to provide services as outlined in the attached draft Performance Work Statement

(PWS).

The Government encourages responses from all interested, capable sources including small business concerns (8(a) Certified concerns, Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) concerns, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Businesses (EDWOSBs)) are encouraged to respond to this notice. Small businesses are defined based on the size standard associated with the NAICS code. For more information, visit:

https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards, and check your size using the SBA Size Standards Tool: https://www.sba.gov/size-standards/index.html

The CO must determine if there is a reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and delivery in accordance with FAR 19.502-2(b) and FAR 19.203. When responding as a small business, please also include any capabilities that will be performed through teaming arrangements (i.e., subcontracting and/or joint ventures).

The CO will use the responses received from this SSN to determine the appropriate acquisition strategy such as, if it is appropriate to either solicit as a small business set-aside or an unrestricted competition through SAM.gov, an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ), or Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) government wide contract vehicle. If at least two (2) qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, any competitive procurement that may result will be conducted as a small business set-aside.

The work anticipated may require contractors to comply with Security Clearance requirements by the time of a proposal for contract performance to start. Please review this notice and draft PWS closely. WHS does not sponsor any clearances.

Important Notice to Small Business Concerns: While not responding to this Sources Sought Announcement does not preclude participation in any future RFP if one is issued, it is highly recommended that all interested and capable firms respond in order to be considered during this market research and acquisition planning phase.

1. Introduction and Background

This SSN is being released by DoW, WHS/AD on behalf of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) serves as the primary advisor to the Department of War (DOW) leadership on all matters pertaining to the Department's Research and Engineering (R&E) enterprise, technology development and transition, developmental prototyping, experimentation, and administration of testing ranges and activities. USW(R&E) has the lead responsibility within the Department for synchronizing Science & Technology (S&T) efforts across the DOW, the Joint Staff, and the Services.

2. Procurement History for Similar Services This requirement was solicited as a total small business set-aside on April 20, 2020, and subsequently awarded as a Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract on November 19 - 20, 2020. The contract has a shared ceiling of $916 million and a period of performance from November 19, 2020, through May 16, 2026. The applicable NAICS code is 541715 “Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology). The following companies, serving as incumbents, were awarded contracts under this IDIQ:

HQ0034-21-D-0002: Modern Technology Solutions, Inc (cage: 0X988).

HQ0034-21-D-0003: American Systems Corporation (cage: 61443) HQ0034-21-D-0004: Applied Research Associates, Inc. (cage: 7W7770)

3. Description The (USW(R&E)) requires coverage of a full spectrum of professional technical and engineering support of the Office of the Under Secretary of War, Research and Engineering OUSW(R&E) and other associated DoW-sponsored mission requirements. This support encompasses seven specific areas of expertise: mission engineering, systems engineering, software engineering and developmental test and evaluation (T&E); prototyping, experimentation, and demonstration;

modeling & simulation; operations research, science and technology (S&T) research and assessment research; data management & analysis; and ad-hoc surge support, all assets critical to the security of the United States (US).

WHS/AD contemplates a Multiple Award IDIQ contract to provide participating organizations with responsive, flexible, adaptive, and timely services and capabilities.

4. Estimated Value: The acquisition has an estimated dollar value range of $1.0B - $1.7B

5. Anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code: 541715:

“Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)” with a size standard of 1000 Employees

*Visit www.sba.gov to learn more about small business size standards and Federal Contracting programs.

6. Anticipated Product Service Code: AJ13, General Science & Technology R&D SVCS;

General Science & Technology; Experimental Development

7. Anticipated Place of Performance: The work to be performed under this IDIQ contract will be performed at both Contractor and Government Facilities (within and outside of the National Capital Region as defined in 10 USC § 2674). In addition, a task order may require Contractor performance in other Continental United States (CONUS) locations, and in foreign countries, outside the CONUS (OCONUS).

8. Anticipated Contract Award Date: August 2026

9. Anticipated Contract Start Date: The IDIQ has a five-year ordering period, with a 6-month extension of services option.

10. Anticipated Security Requirement(s): Please refer to the draft PWS Sections 1.6.7 and 4.2 for further information on the security requirements.

• Personnel Clearance: Designated contractor employees involved in this contract will be required to perform duties that require favorably adjudicated Tier 3 or Tier 5 Level investigations to access Secret and/or TS/SCI information.

• Facility Clearance: At the time of proposal, the Contractor shall possess an active Top- Secret Facility Security Clearance (FCL) and maintain the level of clearance for the life of the contract.

11. Critical Task Elements: This SSN seeks to determine whether capable vendors can execute services related to the Critical Task Elements. Firms submitting a response to this Notice should demonstrate via their capabilities statement their ability to perform the following six

(6) Critical Task Elements (see also Subtasks) as outlined in the draft PWS, Part 5.

Please describe your organizations experience in providing the following services.

http://www.sba.gov/

1. Task 1: Mission Engineering, Systems Engineering, Software Engineering & Developmental Test and Evaluation (T&E)

2. Task 2: Prototyping, Experimentation, and Demonstration

3. Task 3: Modeling & Simulation

4. Task 4: Operations Research

5. Task 5: Science and Technology (S&T) Research and Assessment Research

6. Task 6: Ad-Hoc Surge Support

12. Capability Statements and Submission Instructions:

All interested firms having the experience, skills and capabilities necessary to perform the services outlined in this notice and the attached draft PWS are requested to submit a tailored capabilities statement electronically no later than Friday, December 10, 2025 at 11:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time) to the following email address:

whs.ncr.ad.mbx.ered-tasb-branch@mail.mil

The Subject line of the email must be: “Sources Sought Notice: Research, Development, Test And Evaluation (RDT&E) Engineering And Technical Support (RETS) | <Name of Your Firm>”.

To facilitate a timely and comprehensive review of all submitted responses, firms should respond using the format requested to this Notice. Deviations from this format may lead to having “insufficient information” to determine capabilities.

Capabilities statements shall not exceed 10 pages in “Times New Roman” 12-inch font on 8.5 x 11 paper, left justified and one-inch margins all around. Respondents must submit documents in Word or PDF format. Zipped files will not be accepted.

Response to this notice will be reviewed for their applicability to the Government’s need and may be determined “capable” or “not capable”. The CO may deem incomplete/insufficient responses received from an interested firm as “not capable”. At a minimum, the interested firm should provide complete/sufficient responses to the information requested below in Section A.

Administrative Information, B. Technical Capability, and C. Subcontracting Information.

Capabilities statements should address as many of the critical task elements/technical areas identified above to demonstrate the firm’s ability to perform the majority of the work based on capabilities and any experience.

***To help the government in its assessment of technical capabilities please be as detailed and specific as possible in your response. It is highly recommended that your response cover experience, staffing, and technical capabilities. It is also highly recommended that firms include as much of the following information as possible:

• contract type (FFP, CPFF, etc.),

• contract award amount,

• contract number,

• period of performance, and

• Government Point of Contract name and email address, if any.

A. Administrative Information:

Please fill out the table below with information about your firm and answer all the questions in this section.

***Please note in order to do business with the U.S. Government as a prime contractor your firm must be registered in SAM.gov by the time of award of any resultant contract.

1. Business name:

2. Business Address:

3. Business Point of Contact (POC):

4. POC Telephone:

5. POC E-mail :

6. Business Website:

7. Commercial and Government Entity

(CAGE) Code (if any):

8. SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) (if any):

9. Business size for NAICS 541715 – “Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

10. All socioeconomic categories as defined in FAR Part 19 (e.g., 8(a), SDB, HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.):

11. Identify if your firm has any pre-existing contract vehicles related to the scope of this requirement and provide the contract number for similar services. Responses may be used to determine whether a government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC) can be used.

12. Indicate if your firm would submit a proposal if a Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued and whether the vendor desires to participate in this requirement as a prime contractor, teaming agreement, subcontractor, or joint venture.

B. Technical Capability

Please submit a tailored capability statements addressing your firm’s capability to support the work outlined in the draft PWS. Please provide response to the following information and a point of Contact, phone number, and email addresses of individuals who can verify the capabilities discussed in the responses:

1. The main objective for this acquisition is to provide professional technical and engineering support. Describe your firm’s experience performing requirements/tasks with the same or similar scope to those addressed in Section 11 of this notice and outlined in the draft PWS, Part 5.

2. Provide your firm’s recent experience, similar in scope to the Requirement, and relevant capabilities used to successfully perform the requirement.

A. Identify if your firm was the prime contractor or a subcontractor for these contracts.

B. Evidence of experience within the past 3-5 years is highly preferred.

3. This acquisition has a timeline to get personnel on board to became familiar and comply with performance and delivery requirements:

A. Describe you firm’s capability to acquire a trained workforce to support the level of effort described in the PWS.

4. Indicate your firm’s ability to satisfy the Facility Security Clearance requirements noted in Section 10 of this notice and corresponding to Section 1.6.7 and 4.2 of the draft PWS. All submissions must include verifiable information about its firm’s ability to comply with the security requirements for this effort.

i. If the firm does not hold the required facility clearance, indicate that no facility clearance is held, including a statement for how your firm will meet the clearance requirement within the timeframes outlined in this notice.

ii. Discuss your firm’s capability to provide personnel who possess, or can obtain, the Security Clearances required to comply with the anticipated contract timeline outlined in this notice, and through the completion of the contract.

C. Subcontracting Information

The following information will assist WHS/AD in establishing a basis for developing set-asides and/or subcontracting opportunities, if necessary.

A. Identify which, if any, critical task areas that your firm will collaborate with a subcontractor or team partner (i.e., small business) (if applicable).

B. Explain the reason for performing those areas identified in the draft PWS as a prime and/or collaborating with a subcontractor, i.e., teaming arrangements and or joint ventures. For example, for any task areas where your firm does NOT have experience on a commercial or government contract to demonstrate specific capabilities, explain how you would attain those abilities. (Example: If you anticipate utilizing subcontractors, please highlight for which specific tasks and the percentage of subcontracting contemplated to fulfill the requirement.)

C. If you intend to subcontract, please include the estimated percentage for Small

Business subcontracting opportunities for each critical task area.

Example table to be used:

Task Categories

Self-perform Anticipated % of

Subcontracting

If known, potential subcontractor, teaming partner, joint venture arrangement, etc.

Task 5.1: Element Descr.

Task 5.1: Element Descr.

Totals

D. Supplemental information requested:

This Supplemental Information Section will assist the government to refine the requirement, if appropriate, and it does not count toward the page limit or capabilities assessment.

1. Recommended NAICS codes and/or PSC Codes for this effort with justification.

2. Highlight any information missing from the PWS that would provide a better understanding of the effort desired.

3. Highlight any information that is unduly restrictive to small business as listed in the draft

PWS.

4. Indicate how much time your firm would need to prepare a competitive response to an RFQ.

5. Would your firm need a transition period? If yes, how long? e.g.: 15 days / 30 days.

6. Identify any task areas considered potentially as moderate to high risk in providing the support services required.

7. Identify anything in the draft PWS considered a potential deviation from industry standard.

8. Recommended/suggested contract type (i.e., FFP, Cost, T&M, LOE, etc.), based on the draft

PWS.

9. State whether these services are commercially available, yes or no, and state why.

10. Provide feedback or questions regarding the requirements of the Draft PWS.

13. Additional Information and Questions Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. All correspondence shall be via email.

Any questions for clarification may be emailed to whs.ncr.ad.mbx.ered-tasb-branch@mail.mil by the closing date of this notice. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information.

mailto:whs.ncr.ad.mbx.ered-tasb-branch@mail.mil