Sources Sought Notice_M67854-23-R-1000 GCES SBNVG IDIQ.pdf

Ground Combat Element Systems (GCES) Squad Based Night Vision Goggle (SBNVG) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Sources Sought Notice

M67854-23-R-1000

This Sources Sought Notice (SSN) initiates market research under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10 and is not a solicitation or Request for Proposal (RFP). The information herein only initiates communication with industry in order to assess market capability. No solicitation document exists at this time. This SSN does not create any Government obligation to procure these items or to issue a solicitation. In addition, the Government has no obligation to pay for information responsive to this SSN and will not accept any responses as offers. Contractors should mark any proprietary information clearly and appropriately. Responses will not be returned. The information provided in this SSN is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Pursuant to FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

1. Background: In accordance with Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Instruction 5400.15D, Department of the Navy (DoN) Research and Development, Acquisition, Associated Life-Cycle Management, and Logistics Responsibilities and Accountability, dated 19 January 2021, Marine Corps System Command (MARCORSYSCOM), Ground Combat Element Systems (GCES) has the responsibility to centrally manage the procurement of the binocular night vision device and clip-on thermal imagers.

2. Objective: MARCORSYSCOM is requesting responses to determine the availability and technical capability of sources to potentially provide supplies and services as described below for a Single Source (SS), Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract (IDIQ) Squad Based Night Vision Goggles (SBNVG). It is anticipated that any subsequent IDIQ contracts will utilize firm-fixed-price (FFP) orders. The anticipated Not-to-Exceed (NTE) combined limit of all contracts awarded under this effort is estimated at $365M, each of which will have minimum ordering period of ten years.

3. Purpose: The purpose of this anticipated SS IDIQ contract will be to provide systems with image intensifier and thermal vision capabilities in a hand-held and helmet-mounted configuration, and the availability of training and manuals, to fulfill an operational need at United States Marine Corps Installations and Detachments in both the Continental United States (CONUS) and Outside Continental United States (OCONUS).

The Government is interested in receiving responses from vendors who are interested and capable of meeting the Government’s requirements for the production of the requested system.

Responses should address the following attributes:

1. Configuration. The image intensifier (I2) capability shall be a binocular device with independent sensor channels for the user’s left and right eyes, to provide optimal depth perception capability. The I2 sensors shall utilize white phosphor outputs for improved object recognition. The thermal capability shall be attachable to the left or right optical path of the binocular device, as selected by the operator.

2. Weight. The total weight of the system, including I2 and thermal assemblies, one set of installed internal and external batteries, common external battery pack and associated cabling, lens covers, light security and environmental/sacrificial attachments, I2 and thermal assembly mounting adapters, helmet positioning assembly (swing arm), and any additional attachment interfaces (such as hook-and-loop pads) should not exceed 1,035 grams. The system weight does not include the mounting bracket/shroud, attached to the helmet. If certain accessory attachments are mutually exclusive (ex., dual-power vs.

single-power cable, laser filters in place of clear sacrificial filters on objective lenses), the heaviest configuration will be utilized for calculating weight.

3. Interoperability. The proposed solution shall be interoperable with USMC common service helmets (i.e. Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH), (NSN 8470-01-592-6226, 8470- 01-592-6215, 8470-01-592-6208, and 8470-01-592-6235) and High Cut ECH (NSN 8470-01-692-4294, 8470-01-692-4297, 8470-01-692-4302, and 8470-01-692-4305)).

This includes mounts, battery packs and cables.

4. Fusion/Sensor. The thermal capability shall utilize a thermal infrared (IR) sensor which, when attached to the image intensifier device, provides the user with an image overlay fusion capability.

5. Compatibility. The proposed material solutions for the image intensifier and thermal capabilities do not have to be the AN/PVS-31D Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle (SBNVG) and AN/PAS-29B Enhanced Clip-on Thermal Imager; however, cross-compatibility with these previously fielded systems will be viewed favorably.

Specifically, the proposed solution shall be compatible with previously fielded SBNVG accessories, such as external battery packs (NSN 6130-01-686-5278), single- and dual-power cabling (NSN 6150-01-686-4743 and NSN 6150-01-685-8736, respectively), helmet and thermal imager mounting adapters (NSN 5340-01-686-5201 and NSN 5340- 01-685-7795, respectively), and/or light interference filters (LIFs) (NSN 5855-01-379- 1410, either with or without LIF adapter NSN 5855-01-686-4753).

In addition to describing how the proposed solution meets the attributes described above, please include details on the availability and/or specifications for the following attributes:

1. Power source and operating time (specify for internally and externally powered configurations)

2. Low battery indicator description

3. Field of view of image intensifier and thermal sensor channels (standard and wide field of view variants, if available)

4. Basic parameters of sensor performance, including: resolution of I2 (tube line pairs/millimeter) and thermal sensors (pixels); signal-to-noise ratio, halo, gain, and photocathode luminous sensitivity of I2 sensors, and noise-equivalent temperature difference of thermal sensors

5. Image intensifier and thermal sensor gain adjustment functionality

6. Eyepiece diopter (continuous variable) adjustment range

7. Focus range of adjustment

8. Helmet mount/adapter and interface type

9. Integrated compass

10. Near Infrared illuminator

11. Personnel-sized target detection/recognition and identification (weapon/no-weapon determination) ranges (at 70%, 90%, or intermediate value probability) for image intensifier and thermal sensors in standard and wide field of view variants, if applicable;

provide modeling assumptions for task difficulty (V50, cycles on target), target size (critical dimension), target/background contrast, atmospheric conditions, and ambient light level and/or air temperature as applicable

12. Interoperability and compatibility with augmented reality systems, including situational awareness command and control systems and spatially registered weapon sight overlays

13. Product lifespan and planned product improvements

14. Supportability – the Marine Corps must be capable of conducting organic maintenance on any material solution procured.

15. Description of any environmental testing, in accordance with MIL-STD-810H and MIL-

STD-461G.

16. Production lead-time.

17. Production capacity and monthly throughput.

For additional requirement details noted above, see Attachment 1 (Draft SOW).

Provide ROM pricing on the total cost of the system, including but not limited to, the estimated unit cost and separate pricing for any ancillary gear. If applicable, please also include any stepladder pricing, economies of scale, and bulk discounts that may be relevant. Additionally, request you provide all ROM pricing data associated with copyright release for associated technical manual(s), including instructions, maintenance, and procedures, vendor level drawings, and Instructor and Key Personnel training.

4. Responses: Responses shall be submitted in Adobe Acrobat/Microsoft Word format and Microsoft Excel format for the Comment Matrix, provided as Attachment 2. Responses should demonstrate the vendor’s capabilities to meet or exceed the requirements stated in this SSN.

Responses shall include the following:

Element Page Limit Content Requirements

Cover Page/Executive Summary

1 Shall include:

• Company name

• Point of contact information

• DUNS number

• CAGE code

• Socio-economic status (including a list of NAICS codes, as they pertain to the socio-economic status)

• Identify partnering agreements with OEMs

Capability Statement

10 At a minimum, describe your company’s qualifications, experience, and capabilities to satisfy the Government’s requirements indicated above within Section 3. Please include a detailed explanation and associated dollar value of your company’s past performance and experience with similar tasks and efforts of similar scope and complexity.

Draft Statement of Work (SOW) (Attachment 1) Comments

Unlimited Please provide any comments in regards to Attachment 1 (Draft SOW) using Attachment 2 (Comment Matrix).

Responses are due no later than 3:00 p.m. EST, Monday, 18 November 2022. Responses shall be electronically submitted via email to Nate Sudbeck at nathaniel.sudbeck@usmc.mil. The subject line of the email shall read as follows:

“M67854-23-R-1000 GCES SBNVG IDIQ Sources Sought”

Please be advised that any proprietary information must be marked as such on a page-by-page basis. The Government will not assume that any of the information provided by a respondent is proprietary unless it is conspicuously marked on each page containing proprietary information.

Moreover, the Government does not assume any duty to contact a respondent to inquire whether any unmarked information submitted in response to this notice is proprietary.

The Government may use contractor support from Knowledge Capital Associates (KCA), or other contractors, to help review responses. All contractor support personnel have corporate level non-disclosure agreements on file with MARCORSYSCOM.

5. Future Requirements/Solicitation Availability Disclaimer: The Government is only seeking sources/information for market research to determine the availability of commercial or non-commercial capabilities in the described areas. Availability of any formal RFP, if developed, will be announced separately. Submittals will not be returned to the sender. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. It is the Respondent’s responsibility to check SAM.gov to get additional data regarding future potential solicitations.

The information provided in this SSN is subject to change and is not binding on the Government.

This SSN does NOT constitute an RFP nor a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This SSN does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. Further, the Government is not seeking proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this SSN.

6. Attachments:

• Attachment 1 – Draft SOW

• Attachment 2 – Comment Matrix mailto:nathaniel.sudbeck@usmc.mil