Sources Sought_ARAT_MAR2026.docx

DISCLAIMER

THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO SOLICIT OR AWARD A TASK ORDER AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS A MARKET RESEARCH TOOL BEING USED TO DETERMINE POTENTIAL AND ELIGIBLE BUSINESS FIRMS CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE SERVICES DESCRIBED HEREIN PRIOR TO DETERMINING THE METHOD OF ACQUISITION AND ISSUANCE OF A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL.

Sources Sought Synopsis Aviation Rapid Action Team (ARAT)

N68520-26-RFPREQ-F000000-0029

Controlled by: DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY Controlled by: COMFRC CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition and Source Selection Distribution/Dissemination Control: FEDCON POC: kirk.b.whorton.civ@us.navy.mil

1.0 INTRODUCTION

a. The Commander Fleet Readiness Center (COMFRC), Patuxent River, MD announces its intention to procure services to support the Aviation Rapid Action Team (ARAT) mission of sustaining current readiness and advancing future warfighting capabilities.

This Sources Sought does not constitute an invitation for bids, a request for proposal, a solicitation, a request for quote or an indication that the Government will contract for the services provided by responder. The Government will not reimburse responders for any costs associated with the preparation or submission of the information requested. Response to this notice is strictly voluntary and will not affect any potential offeror's ability to submit an offer if a solicitation is released. The Government will disregard any requests for a solicitation package. The results of the Sources Sought will be utilized to develop the acquisition strategy and determine if any Small Business Set-Aside opportunities exist. Additionally, this source sought is being used to gather constructive information from industry to improve the RFP.

This ARAT Support Services serves as a follow-on to the current contract. Additionally, the Government anticipates this requirement will have security clearance requirements for Secret. While the core mission remains stable, the Government has introduced critical updates to address modern security and technological demands as follows:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Proficiency: All relevant labor categories must possess demonstrated expertise in AI design, development, tuning, and deployment. This includes the application of both commercial and government-specific AI technologies to meet mission-critical objectives. Personnel shall be capable of designing, developing, tuning, and deploying AI models and related components appropriate to mission requirements.

2. Cybersecurity Compliance (CMMC Level 2) Self-Certification: This procurement is subject to Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 requirements. Offerors are notified that they must demonstrate compliance with the 110 security requirements derived from NIST SP 800-171.

This requirement is not subject to bundling or consolidation.

1. Interested business can request access to the SOW via SAM.gov, immediately before/after your request, submit an approved DD2345 JCP cert to Lori Sinclair at (lori.b.sinclair.civ@us.navy.mil), and Meghan Huett at (meghan.e.huett.civ@us.navy.mil).

Draft Statement of Work (SOW) Attachment 1

b. The following dates are anticipated time frames associated with this requirement:

1. Estimated RFP Release: 2nd Quarter FY26

2. Estimated Award Date: 4th Quarter FY26

c. Primary Work Location/Place of Performance: Primary Work Location or Place of Performance is detailed in Attachment 1, SOW, paragraph 3.1.3.1 Table 3.

Table #3

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

2.0 DISCLAIMER

THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY.

3.0 ANTICIPATED CONTRACT TYPE

a. The Government is anticipating this follow-on contract to be a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) with CLINs for associated Other Direct Costs (ODCs). The estimated total number of labor hours is 89,760 man-hours.

b. The incumbent contract information is as follows:

1. Incumbent Contractor: PIONEERING DECISIVE SOLUTIONS, INC.

2. Contract Number: N00421-20-D0013_N68520-21-F-0078

3. Contract Type: Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF)

4. Previous Set-Aside Designation: Small Business Set-Aside

5. Number of FTEs on the contract: 8.5 FTEs

Program Background: Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC), Patuxent River, Maryland intends to procure Contractor Engineering Technical Services (CETS) for the Aviation Rapid Action Team (ARAT); to include engineering and technical support services, component repair services, and logistics support analyses that will be in the following areas: capability analysis, design and development; component testing and repair; component reverse engineering analysis; diagnoses and resolution of software and hardware failure modes; material obsolescence mitigation; technical documentation; workforce training; support equipment management; facilities and infrastructure planning; and logistics analysis of U.S. Naval Aviation maintenance and supply systems data.

4.0 SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AND REQUIRED CAPABILITIES

Any anticipated special requirements and required capabilities are detailed in Attachment 1, Draft SOW. This document details security clearance requirements for personnel, facility requirements, and any specific certifications that are required for the performance of this requirement.

It is anticipated that any resultant contract will have the following specialist requirements and required capabilities:

a. Security Classification Level: Secret

b. Compliance with the McNamara-O’hara Service Contract Act (SCA)

5.0 ELIGIBILITY

CLASSIFICATIONS

Size standards in Number of Employees

a. Businesses of all sizes are encouraged to respond; however, each respondent must clearly identify their business size in their capabilities statement. Note: FAR 52.219-14 Limitation on Subcontracting requires a small business prime on a Set-Aside to perform at least 50% of the cost of contract performance. Small business primes may now count “first tier subcontracted” work performed by similarly situated entities as if it were performed by the prime itself. Please read the full text of the clause deviation (52.219-14 Class Deviation 2021-O0008, Rev 1 dated Feb 2023.)

To assist in our market research and determination of any applicable small business set-aside for this effort, if you are a small business interested in priming this effort and plan to utilize “similarly situated entities” to meet the Limitations on Subcontracting, please identify the name & CAGE Code of the specific firm(s) you intend to partner/subcontract with to meet the requirements as well as their SB size status under the NAICS that you as the prime would assign for their workshare. Information regarding any planned similarly situated entity should be included in answering any questions outlined in the Sources Sought Notice (SSN) in order to assist the Government’s capability determination.

6.0 SUBMISSION INFORMATION

a. Interested parties should address the following questions in their response. The responses to these questions will aid the Government in determining whether a company is capable of performing the requirement, so it is important to address these areas with sufficient and specific details to permit agency analysis to establish bona fide capability to meet requirements.

If the company finds itself not capable of performing, please specify which portions it cannot accomplish. If the company is teaming or utilizing subcontracts, please include information regarding which work the subcontractor will be responsible for and how the prime will determine the subcontractor can accomplish the work. If your company has any questions about the requirement, please also identify those in the response.

REQUESTED INFORMATION:

Capability statement packages should demonstrate the ability to perform the services. Information provided should include specific technical skills your company possesses, which ensures capability to perform the tasks. This documentation must address, at a minimum, the following: Reference to the solicitation number N68520-26-RFPREQ-F000000-0029 being referenced.

1. Describe past or current Department of War (DoW) and/or commercial experience performing efforts of similar size and scope within the last five (5) years, including contract number, organization supported, indication of whether as a prime or subcontractor, contract values, Government point of contact with current email and telephone number.

2. Describe experience and capabilities regarding your company's ability to manage DoW tasks of this nature and size as it relates to the services described in the ARAT’s Attachment 1 Draft SOW.

3. Has your company managed a team of subcontractors before? If so, please provide details.

4. Provide details on your intended management approach for meeting the requirements of a contract of this scope/complexity/magnitude.

a. How will you staff this effort with qualified personnel?

b. A description of your team with roles and responsibilities.

5. Provide a statement including current small/large business status and company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office locations, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), etc.

6. Respondents to this notice also must indicate whether they qualify as a Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, HUBZone, or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern under the NAICS code identified for this requirement.

7. What experience does your company have supporting the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE), specifically aviation engineering and repair activities across its Organizational, Intermediate, and Depot levels of maintenance?

8. Please describe your experience with the following:

a) Design, development, and integration of automated and semi-automated test systems, in particular Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS) Automatic Test Equipment (ATE), supporting aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activities.

b) Test system prototyping, demonstration, and validation in laboratory, depot, and field environments.

c) Delivery, installation, and configuration of test systems.

d) Development of technical documentation, training material, and DoW maintenance instructions.

e) Component repairs across electrical, electronic, structural, and hydraulic domains.

f) Providing custom test solutions including:

1. Developing test fixtures, schematics, and Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs).

2. Programming firmware and EEPROMs.

3. Repairing complex components, including damaged flex print connectors and surface-mount devices.

b. In addition to the above, the Government is requesting feedback on the draft SOW and associated Level of Effort. If there is any feedback on the SOW, please include that within the capabilities statement submission. Specific details are requested to help in supporting the feedback. This feedback DOES NOT count against the page limitations for the capabilities statement and should be submitted as a separate file at the same time as the capabilities statement submission. The Government may or may not reach back out to the companies to discuss the feedback in depth.

c. Interested parties shall adhere to the following instructions for the submittal of their capabilities statements.

0. Page Limit and Format: Fifteen (15) 8.5 X 11inch pages in Times New Roman font of not less than 10 point.

0. Document Type: Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF.

0. Delivery: Electronic submission via email.

0. Response date: Responses are due by 2:00PM EST on 25 March 2026.

0. Classified Information: No classified information shall be submitted in response to this Sources Sought.

0. Phone Calls: No phone calls will be accepted.

0. All responses shall include Sources Sought Notice name/number, Company Name, Cage Code, Company Address, Company Business Size, and Points of Contact (POC), including names, phone numbers, and email addresses.

0. All data received in response to this Sources Sought Notice that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government.

0. Any information or materials provided in response to this Sources Sought Notice WILL NOT be returned. Classified material SHALL NOT be submitted. The Government is not committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided, and no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought Notice.

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