UNCLASSIFIED

Distribution Statement A: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. OPSEC 2026-467.

Sources Sought Notice

Chemical Agent Resistant Coating – Enhanced

DESCRIPTION: Product Manager Vehicle Protection Systems (PdM VPS) is performing market research on capabilities to reduce or eliminate the signatures on various US Army Combat Vehicles. This sources sought is seeking to identify potential sources to provide a Chemical Agent Resistant Coating - Enhanced (CARC-E) paint system which incorporates specific signature management capabilities into a fully compliant palette of U.S. Army Topcoats.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: This Request for Information (RFI) is for informational purposes only; it is not a Request for Proposal, or announcement of a forthcoming solicitation and no award will be made as a result of this RFI. No solicitation document exists and a formal solicitation may or may not be issued by the Government as a result of the responses to this RFI. The Government will not be liable for payment of any preparation expenses in response to this RFI and is in no way obligated by the information received. Any costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement will NOT be reimbursed. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing a future acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement, Statement of Objectives and/or Performance Based Specification(s). Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response.

RESPONSE TO RFI: Responses to the RFI are due on 20 October 2026 at 1200 EST.

Electronic responses are required in Microsoft Word 2016 or earlier or Adobe Acrobat.

RFI responses shall not exceed 10 pages. Submittal will be in text format only. Do not send pictures, graphics, etc. NO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION SHALL BE SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS RFI. Responses shall be submitted electronically via email to the Contract Specialist, Terrell Cheathem at terrell.m.cheathem.civ@army.mil with the title: “Chemical Agent Resistant Coating - Enhanced” along with the company name in the subject line. Respondents wishing to submit proprietary information may request a link to submit the proprietary data through the DoD SAFE (Secure Access File Exchange). Contact Terrell Cheathem at terrell.m.cheathem.civ@army.mil for a link to transmit files through DoD SAFE. Please CC Ms. Lauren Wagner (lauren.e.wagner10.civ@army.mil) to your response and all other email traffic.

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION: It is the responsibility of Industry, when providing any comments/responses, to properly mark such information that is considered proprietary or is otherwise restricted. The United States Government (USG) is not obligated to protect unmarked data, nor is the USG obligated for like data in possession of third parties or for data, which is afterwards placed in the public domain by the contractor or by third parties through no fault of the USG. Data already in the possession of the USG will be protected in accordance with the USG’s rights in that data. Should the USG need to reproduce the protected data for distribution purposes between USG offices, all such data will be reproduced with restrictive legends in place.

The USG acknowledges its obligations under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) 3.104-4 to protect confidential information provided to the Government (18 U.S.C.

§1905). Pursuant to this statute, the USG is willing to accept any trade secrets or proprietary restrictions placed upon qualifying data forwarded in response to this RFI and to protect such information from unauthorized disclosure, subject to the following:

Qualifying data must be clearly marked PROPRIETARY and be accompanied by an explanatory text so that the Government is clearly notified as to exactly what data so qualifies.

Mark only data that is truly PROPRIETARY Do not mark data that is already in the public domain or is already in possession of the USG or third parties on an unrestricted basis.

Proprietary data transmitted electronically must have the PROPRIETARY legend on both the cover of the transmittal e-mail as well as at the beginning of the file. Proprietary information contained within the correspondence shall use the legends: “PROPRIETARY PORTION BEGINS” and

“PROPRIETARY PORTION ENDS.”

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THIS RFI:

1. Please respond to every question.

2. Number each response with the appropriate question number.

3. Questions do not have to be repeated in the response.

4. A “No Response” indication can be provided for those questions with a “no” answer.

5. If a response will satisfy another question, state: “See response to question

XX.”

6. Include relevant sales media and product manuals. If providing an

ACROBAT formatted manual, annotate the manual to indicate which material is applicable to the questions.

7. Provide a release statement indicating that the proprietary information may be distributed to Army personnel involved with reviewing this RFI, including government support contractors.

8. Spell out any acronyms in their first instance.

9. Clearly mark any proprietary information. If applicable, the front page of the response package should state, “Proprietary Information Contained.”

QUESTIONAIRE: Please provide answers to all of the following questions with a “not applicable” being acceptable.

1. Administrative

Responses must include:

o Cage Code o Company Name o Mailing Address o Company Website o Location of Facilities o Point of Contact o Phone Number o Fax Number o Email o Company business size and active System for Acquisition Management

(SAM) information

2. Previous Contracts:

Has your company received a prime contract from the USG for to produce

CARC-E?

i. Provide Contract Numbers.

ii. Provide a description of the work performed.

3. Security:

a. Does your company have a facility clearance level? If so, at what level?

b. Does your manufacturing facility have a current facility clearance? If so, at what level?

c. Does your company currently meet Army Network Control Information Technology security standards for data?

d. Regarding a scenario where your company was to produce CARC-E, are there any potential issues your company might have regarding arms controls and security requirements?

e. Regarding a scenario where your company was to produce CARC-E requiring cleared classified facilities for production, classified data collection, classified data storage, and classified material storage, approximately how long would it take to achieve the required clearance approvals at a secret level?

4. Manufacturing and Production Capability:

f. Explain your company’s experience producing coatings with signature reduction features of any kind.

g. Explain your company’s experience producing qualified CARC topcoat

IAW MIL-DTL-64159B or MIL-DTL-53039E WITHOUT signature reduction features.

h. Explain your company’s experience producing qualified CARC topcoat IAW MIL-DTL-64159B or MIL-DTL-53039E that ALSO INCLUDE signature reduction features.

i. Regarding a scenario where your company was to produce CARC-E which must then be qualified IAW MIL-DTL-64159B or MIL-DTL 53039E, how long would it take to:

i. Produce and deliver sample coupons that are required for qualification/requalification?

ii. Complete qualification/requalification?

j. Regarding a scenario where your company was to produce CARC-E would your paint require the following;

i. Special tooling

ii. Additional training for the end user

iii. Require specific thickness measurements

5. Quality:

k. Is your company/facility ISO certified as it relates to quality management systems? If yes, what ISO certifications does your production facility hold? If not, what quality plan do you operate under? Please explain how it would be utilized in in the production of CARC-E.

l. Describe your company’s experience with procuring source controlled materials, obtaining and providing quality data and/or vendor certifications of conformance for those materials.

DISCLAIMER:

This Sources Sought Notice is for informational purposes only. The information in this notice is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. This is not a request for proposal, does not constitute a solicitation, and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to purchase enhancements, hardware, or services. Responses in any form are not considered offers and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. Funds are NOT available to pay for preparation of responses to this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this Sources Sought Notice is strictly voluntary.

Since this is not a request for proposal, respondents WILL NOT be notified regarding information obtained related to this Sources Sought Notice. Responses will not be returned nor will detailed feedback be made available. If and when a solicitation is issued, it will be posted on the government-wide point of entry. It is the respondent's responsibility to monitor these sites for the releases of any additional market surveys, synopses, or solicitations.

The Government is not responsible for the public disclosure of unmarked data received in response to this market survey. Accordingly, the potential offeror shall ensure that technical data provided in response to this market survey shall be appropriately marked (i.e. proprietary) to ensure proper Government handling of the data. Should the Government need to reproduce the protected data for distribution purposes between Government offices, all such data shall be reproduced with restrictive legends in place.