Q A.pdf

RFP-OSCU-DSU1502

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Posted June 9, 2015

The following questions and answers are provided for informational purposes only.

Nothing contained in the below questions and answers constitutes a change to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. Any change to a term or condition will be issued through an amendment to the solicitation. Upon review of the answers provided below, if additional clarification is needed, please forward questions to the attention of Jennifer Unger, Contracting Officer, at Jennifer.Unger@ic.fbi.gov by COB, June 12, 2015.

1. Reference B 1.0 Do we have to submit for all three categories?

[See Amendment 1]

2. Reference C 4.2 Is it preferred the weight of the training ammunition match the service ammunition?

There is no requirement to match the projectile weights for service and training ammunition.

3. Reference C 4.4 Is the year on the head stamp required?

Pursuant to section C.4.4 "the cartridge case shall bear the head stamp of the manufacturer and the caliber of the round. The year of manufacturer or, alternatively, a code letter to indicate the year of manufacture, is required."

4. Reference C 4.4 Are we penalized if we do not nickel plate our service ammunition. Example – If there is a tie score would the nickel plate take precedence? Can the case be identified in another manner?

No penalty for not having nickel plating on service ammunition.

mailto:Jennifer.Unger@ic.fbi.gov

5. Reference C 4.6 Does it have to be HS Precision or can it be a SAAMI qualified barrel with correction?

It is permissible to use a SAAMI qualified barrel.

Regarding Average pressure – since it is shot conformal, is the pressure barrel corrected to the SAAMI reference.

FBI barrel will be corrected to SAAMI reference ammunition.

Is it calibrated and correlated to offsets for pressure and velocity?

FBI will obtain the offset for each type of brass tested.

How are you qualifying/calibrating the 5.56 Barrel?

Pursuant to the "Voluntary Industry Performance Standards for

Pressure and Velocity of Centerfire Rifle Sporting Ammunition for the use of Commercial Manufacturers," Section II, Procedures, Qualification of Velocity and pressure barrels (page 109).

6. Reference C 6.3 Do we have to submit our service ammunition in a 500 or

1000 round case?

7. Reference C 6.7 Since we currently do not have the capability to stripper clip our training ammunition, is this necessary to submit for the contract? If so, are the stripper clips required to be metal, or can they be plastic?

Pursuant to section C.6.7 “ all training and training reduced lead ammunition shall come on stripper clips.”

Metal or plastic stripper clips are permitted.

8. Can we shoot the gelatin from the 11.5” Superior Arms Rifle?

Yes

9. Which barrel is to be used on page 53 for production group size?

Offerors may utilize either an 11.5" Superior Arms barrel or an 11.5" test barrel.

10. Which 11.5” barrel is to be used on Page 54 for averages?

Offerors may utilize either an 11.5" test barrel or 11.5" FBI carbine (or surrogate).

11. Which barrel is to be used on Page 54 for velocity parameters?

Instrumental velocities can be obtained utilizing either an 11.5"

Superior Arms barrel or a 11.5" test barrel. The FBI will use an 11.5" test barrel during procurement evaluation.

12. Can we use the FBI carbine on page 55 for the gelatin testing?

13. What distance is used on Page 55 for the accuracy testing with the KTB?

100 yards

14. What distance is used on the instrumental velocity for #6 on Page 56?

Three (3) Oehler model 57 screens (2.5' spacing) with the center screen

15' from the muzzle.

15. Does it have to be HS Precision or can be a SAAMI Qualified barrel with correction?

If conducting SAAMI conformal pressure/velocity testing a SAAMI qualified barrel with correction is acceptable.

16. The enhancements on #12 show a 50 round carton? Is there a 50 round option?

17. What are the parameters and criteria for the evaluation on Page 56 #13?

Refer to section 13, on page 103, of the solicitation.

a. Is this an average, a max high/max low, etc? For each one – 1 hot/1 cold

Refer to section 13, page 103, of the solicitation.

18. Can you please provide clarification on the training ammunition and the reduced lead training ammunition in regards to the same questions which were presented above as to which barrel, distance, etc.

See above replies for service ammunition.

19. B1.0 and L8.0 are in conflict reference service, training, and reduced lead all needing to be submitted.

20. On L7.0 #10 are we allowed to submit our quality control plan, which was submitted for the 9mm and the 45 contracts?

21. On page 99 #5c what is the range of the accuracy testing?

100 yards

22. On page 103 #12 is the 50 round packaging an option?

Refer to Section C.6.3, under Amendment 1, where it is permissible to provide ammunition in 20 or 30 round packs.

23. On Page 103 #13 environmental (hot average Hi/Lo and cold Average

Hi/Lo). Is there a minimum?

There is no minimum pressure.

24. Function Testing – Full Auto vs. Semi Auto % of testing.

There is no Full Auto testing.

25. How many firearms are being utilized during the phase 3 portion of the function testing?

Minimum of 5 not to exceed 10 firearms will be used.

26. What was the total of the last 5.56 contract $$$ per type of ammunition?

This contract is still active through September 2015; therefore, the following figures represent approximate per year averages:

2,280,000 Service rounds 2,410,000 Training rounds 155,000 Reduced Lead Training rounds

27. If round “x” is the highest scoring round and has shown acceptable functional reliability with a standard buffer vs. an “H” buffer, will the use of a standard buffer be considered?

Only the standard configuration (i.e., H buffer) of the FBI weapon system will be used for this evaluation.

28. What setting of the Adams Arms RA-11.5-C-TEVO-LLP-556 gas block will be used during the functional reliability testing of Phase 3?

Viewing the gas block from the muzzle end of the carbine the selector is set to the far left position (most open).

29. What defines expansion during test event 7 of section 4 – FBI protocols penetration?

The same guidelines for measuring expansion (average of minimum and maximum diameter) apply to event 7 as it does in events 1 - 6.

30. C.6.3 Ammunition box/case size (Page 12) – It is stated that the ammunition shall be contained in cases of 500 or 1,000 rounds. Are 900-round cases, such as those currently being supplied to the FBI acceptable?

[See Attachment 1]

31. C.4.6 Pressure (Page 10)– It is stated that the average chamber pressure shall not exceed 58,500 psi with no single shot in excess of 66,150 psi. It is stated that offerers are permitted to submit pressure test results in either NATO (EPVAT), SAAMI (Conformal), or outlined above. It is assumed that the pressure limits mentioned are in accordance with the 5.56mm conformal pressure test system outlined in the RFP. What pressure limits, both MAP and maximum individual, are allowed in both the NATO and SAAMI systems for the purpose of this solicitation?

Refer to method outlined under C.4.6 PRESSURE (page 10), the FBI will be using SAAMI conformal testing with the only relevant pressure limits in this section for the 20 rounds tested as stated in the RFP: "…shall not exceed 58,500 PSI with no single shot in excess of 66,150 PSI." Offerors are afforded the option of submitting pressure test results via EPVAT methods and are not required to submit data using the FBI method outlined above.

32. M.3.6 Phase I – Item #7 Pressure (Page 101) - It is stated that the BRF will evaluate all submissions in a 24” H.S. precision test barrel chambered in 5.56mm NATO that is equipped with a PCB117B30 transducer. It is also indicated that the transducer will be calibrated to each submission’s brass prior to testing. Per SAAMI methods for conformal transducer pressure measurements, reference rounds are used to verify that the data is within inclusion limits for the given barrel/transducer combination. Will reference rounds be fired prior to testing to ensure accurate data collection of the transducer once installed in the barrel? If so, what cartridges will be utilized?

Current SAAMI .223 Remington reference loads (SAM223B) from Federal Cartridge Company will be fired to qualify the pressure test barrel.