QUESTIONS 2.docx

Question 1 Will there be contract award to a supplier for up-front design, engineering, tooling, fabrication of test articles, full-scale fuel bladders, etc., in advance of qualification testing or contract award for production parts.

ANSWER: Per Note 2 of the RFP, initial award of contractual minimum for awardees performing First Article requirements shall be at least 1 each of First Article of any NSN. All costs should be rolled into the proposed unit price.

Question 2 If I am correct the RFQ does not identify the first year of production. Please identify when the first year production quantities will be required.

ANSWER: See Note 4 of the RFP as well as Preamble Note to CLIN 0003 on page 8 of the RFP. Period of Performance for the contract will begin upon date of basic contract award announcement and issuance of initial order. Specific delivery dates shall be established in delivery orders. First Article delivery dates will be in accordance with Forms 260 attachments to the RFP. For offerors required to submit first articles, production orders shall not be issued prior to First Article approval.

Question 3 Let’s say it takes 2 years for a supplier to obtain part qualification, will the first 2 years of production quantities be awarded to the other incumbent suppliers and then give the other, then qualified, supplier, a portion of the contract for the remaining years?

ANSWER: See Preamble Note to CLIN 0003 on page 8 of the RFP and paragraph (2)(a) of the Ordering Procedures attachment to the RFP, which reads: “(2)(a) In the event of multiple awards, the contracting officer will consider each awardee for placement of individual task or delivery orders unless an exception at FAR 16.505(b)(2) applies. However, awardees subject to testing and approval requirements (e.g., first article testing) are not eligible to receive production orders until first article testing requirements are satisfactorily completed. Failure to successfully complete required testing may constitute grounds for contract termination for cause by the Government.”

Question 4 Would it be possible to provide the fully dimensioned interface and envelope drawings, models, bill of materials, etc., for the contours, shapes, details of fitting and access hole rings, from which we can design the fuel cells to interface with the aircraft?

ANSWER: All technical data for the fuel bladder design in Government possession is contained in the Engineering Data List (EDL) for the applicable bladder cells. There is no supplemental data like fully dimensioned interface and envelope drawings, models, bill of materials, and details of fittings rings and access hole rings other than specified on Lockheed drawings and fitting specifications. The next higher assembly drawing 371308 could be provided as a reference; however, it is an undimensioned drawing and would not provide type of information that the contractor is seeking.

Question 5 Will the DLA or the Air Force waive the requirement for Ballistic testing?

ANSWER: Ballistic testing shall not be waived. This testing is a mandatory requirement. The C-130 aircraft operates in hostile operational environments and is subject to ballistic hits anywhere on the aircraft, including fuel tanks.

Question 6 If the supplier qualification testing fails to meet the requirements, is the DLA or the Air Force willing to waive the cost for Government testing/inspection evaluation?

ANSWER: The Government testing cost is not chargeable to the offeror. This cost is an estimate of the Government’s costs incurred over the course of the qualification process. This cost is applied to the offeror’s proposed costs on the Pricing Matrix for evaluation purposes only.

Question 7 Per the drawings, the fuel bladders are Type II MIL-T-6396 Rev B or later, what is the class of the fuel bladders? And would it be possible to share this spec with GKN?

ANSWER: The bladder cells are designed to Class B requirements. The qualification testing requirements were developed around this class. This information is documented in item 1 of ECOs 2021C0004-R (drawing 695733), 2021C0003-R (drawing 695734), and 2021C0003-R (drawing 695735). The latest revision of MIL-T-6396 is available at the following link: http://everyspec.com/MIL-SPECS/MIL-SPECS-MIL-DTL/MIL-DTL-6396F_20365/