USTRANSCOM Memorandum RFP ICEX 26 02DEC.pdf

UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND

508 SCOTT DRIVE

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILLINOIS 62225-5357

December 3, 2025

Solicitation Number: HTC71126RCC01

TO: ALL OFFERORS

FROM: USTRANSCOM, Directorate of Acquisition, Contract Airlift Division (TCAQ-C)

SUBJECT: Request for Proposal (RFP) HTC71126RCC01 Undersea Warfighting Development Center Detachment Arctic Submarine Laboratory (ICEX 2026 Operation Ice Camp Air Charter Services) Due Date for Proposals: January 5, 2026, 12:00 Noon CST

1. Introduction

The U.S. Navy's Undersea Warfighting Development Center Detachment Arctic Submarine Laboratory (UWDC Arctic Submarine Laboratory) is seeking proposals from qualified contractors to provide air charter services to support Arctic operations for ICEX 2026. This solicitation includes four distinct Contract Line-Item Numbers (CLINs), each with specific requirements as outlined in the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS).

The government intends to award contracts based on a best value determination, considering technical capability, past performance, and price.

2. Scope of Work

The contractor shall provide air charter services as described in the attached PWS. Offerors may propose to meet one or more aircraft requirements specified in the PWS. Contracts will be contingent upon air operators DoD Commercial Airlift Review Board (CARB) approval.

3. Attachments

The following documents are included in this solicitation:

• Attachment A: Performance Work Statement (PWS)

• Attachment B: Pricing Table

• Attachment C: Past Performance Questionnaire

• Attachment D: SF 1449 (Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Products and Commercial Services)

• Attachment E: Clauses Incorporated by Reference

5. Contract Type

The government anticipates awarding Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contracts for each CLIN.

Offerors may submit proposals for one or more CLINs.

6. Period of Performance

The overall period of performance is February 19, 2026 – March 25, 2026, with specific service periods for each CLIN as outlined in the PWS.

7. FAR and DFARS Compliance

This solicitation complies with FAR Part 13 (Simplified Acquisition Procedures) and FAR Part 12 (Acquisition of Commercial Items). See Attachment E for the complete list of clauses and provisions incorporated by reference. The following key provisions are highlighted below:

8. Instructions to Offerors

FAR 52.212-1—Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2025)

(a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard. The NAICS code and small business size standard for this acquisition is 481211 - Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation with a size standard of $41.5 million in average annual receipts. However, the small business size standard for a concern that submits an offer, other than on a construction or service acquisition, but proposes to furnish an end item that it did not itself manufacture, process, or produce is 500 employees, or 150 employees for information technology value-added resellers under NAICS code 541519, if the acquisition—

(1) Is set aside for small business and has a value above the simplified acquisition threshold;

(2) Uses the HUBZone price evaluation preference regardless of dollar value, unless the offeror waives the price evaluation preference; or

(3) Is an 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, economically disadvantaged women-owned, or women-owned small business set-aside or sole-source award regardless of dollar value.

(b) Submission of offers.

Submit signed and dated offers to Brenda Marshall, Contracting Officer, Email: brenda.l.marshall10.civ@mail.mil. Offers must be submitted electronically via email.

As a minimum, offers must show—

(1) The solicitation number: HTC71126RCC01;

mailto:brenda.l.marshall10.civ@mail.mil

(2) The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers: January 5, 2026, 12:00 Noon

CST;

(3) The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror;

(4) A technical description of the air charter services being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). This must include:

• Aircraft specifications (manufacturer, model, age, condition)

• Payload capabilities and operational ranges

• Pilot qualifications and experience with ice landings - Proposal must include a resume or CV which provides evidence of expertise and experience landing the proposed aircraft on drifting sea-ice.

• Past performance in Arctic operations

• Backup aircraft and pilot capabilities

(5) Terms of any express warranty for aircraft services;

(6) Provide pricing using Attachment B (Pricing Table). A separate tab within Attachment B must be fully completed only for each CLIN (0001 through 0004) on which you are submitting a proposal. Your proposed prices must include all direct and indirect costs necessary to accomplish the mission requirements for the specific CLIN. Include, but do not limit your cost items to aircraft relocation fees, incidentals, fuel costs, and other fees;

(7) "Remit to" address, if different than mailing address;

(8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically);

(9) Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments;

(10) Past performance information to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar Arctic air charter services and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers, and other relevant information). Complete Attachment C (Past Performance Questionnaire); and

(11) Complete Attachment D (SF 1449). If you choose to submit your offer in a format other than the SF 1449, include a statement explicitly agreeing to all terms, conditions, and provisions in this solicitation.

(12) DFARS 252.204-7019 requires the Offeror to verify that summary level scores of a current NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment (i.e., no more than three years old) have been posted in the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) module within the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) for each covered contractor information system. As this contract is expected to include Covered Defense Information, a Basic Assessment covering the 110 NIST SP 800-171 security requirements shall be completed and uploaded to SPRS. Additionally, as indicated in DFARS 252.204-7025, this contract will require Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 (Self), which must been entered into and affirmed within SPRS.

(c) Period for acceptance of offers.

The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 90 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers.

(d) Product samples.

Not applicable to this solicitation.

(e) Multiple offers.

Offerors are encouraged to submit offers for one or more CLINs. Each CLIN will be evaluated separately. Offerors may propose alternative aircraft configurations or operational approaches, provided they meet the minimum requirements specified in the PWS.

(f) Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers.

(1) Any offer received after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is "late" and will not be considered unless it meets the conditions specified in FAR 52.212-1(f)(2).

(g) Contract award.

The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract using a Best Value Continuum Tradeoff Process without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror's initial offer should contain the offeror's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action is in the public interest;

accept other than the lowest offer; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received.

(h) Multiple awards.

The Government may accept any CLIN or group of CLINs of an offer, unless the offeror qualifies the offer by specific limitations. The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards for different CLINs to different offerors based on best value determinations.

(i) Availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation.

The Performance Work Statement (PWS) and all attachments are included with this solicitation.

Questions regarding requirements should be submitted to Brenda Marshall, Contracting Officer, Email: brenda.l.marshall10.civ@mail.mil no later than December 12, 2026, 12:00 Noon CST.

(j) Unique entity identifier.

The Offeror shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its offer, the annotation "Unique Entity Identifier" followed by the unique entity identifier that identifies the Offeror's name and address. The Offeror also shall enter its Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) indicator, if applicable. If the Offeror does not have a unique entity identifier, it should contact the entity designated at www.sam.gov for unique entity identifier establishment.

(k) [Reserved]

(l) Debriefing.

If a post-award debriefing is given to requesting offerors, the Government shall disclose the information specified in FAR 52.212-1(l).

(End of provision)

9. Evaluation

FAR 52.212-2—Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2025)

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Factor 1: Technical Capability

• Subfactor 1a: Air Operator Capability and Experience (PWS Section 7.1)

• Subfactor 1b: Pilot Experience (PWS Section 7.2)

• Subfactor 1c: Aircraft Capability (PWS Section 7.3)

Factor 2: Past Performance

• Recency, relevancy, and quality of past performance in Arctic air charter operations

Factor 3: Price

• Fair and Reasonable of pricing for CLINs 0001 through 0004

Technical Capability and Past Performance, when combined, are significantly more important than Price.

mailto:brenda.l.marshall10.civ@mail.mil http://www.sam.gov/

(b) Evaluation Methodology.

(1) Technical Capability. Technical Capability will be evaluated using the Combined Technical/Risk Rating Method with the following adjectival ratings:

Adjectival Rating Description Outstanding Proposal meets requirements and indicates an exceptional approach and understanding of the requirements. Strengths far outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is very low.

Good Proposal meets requirements and indicates a thorough approach and understanding of the requirements. Proposal contains strengths which outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is low.

Acceptable Proposal meets requirements and indicates an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. Strengths and weaknesses are offsetting or there are no significant strengths or weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is no worse than moderate.

Marginal Proposal does not clearly meet requirements and has not demonstrated an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. The proposal has one or more weaknesses which are not offset by strengths. Risk of unsuccessful performance is high.

Unacceptable Proposal does not meet requirements and contains one or more deficiencies. Risk of unsuccessful performance is unacceptable.

(a) Service Delivery Summary (SDS). The Government will evaluate the offeror's ability to meet the following performance objectives:

Performance Objectives

PWS

Paragraph(s) Performance Threshold

All aircraft arrive within one (1) hour after the scheduled arrival time.

3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3, and 3.1.4

95% or higher computed on average of all flights

Carry the scheduled loads of passengers/cargo on each flight.

3.1.3 100% of the time

Provide aircraft and services free of discrepancies.

3.1 95% of the time

Cyber-Incident Reporting

9.2 Provide

timely cyber-incident reporting.

No more than one late cyber-incident report or unreported cyber-incident in a twelve (12) month period.

(2) Past Performance will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Scope, Magnitude, and Complexity Assessment:

• Scope: The breadth and range of work performed in previous contracts, including pioneering landings, personnel transport, cargo transport, sling load operations, and emergency medical evacuations in Arctic conditions.

• Magnitude: The size, scale, or volume of effort performed, including flight hours (50-168 hours), payload capacity (2,000-5,000 lbs.), personnel transport (4-16 passengers), and geographic range (100-225 NM).

• Complexity: The level of difficulty involved, including operations in extreme Arctic conditions, pioneering landings on drifting sea ice without groomed runways, and logistical coordination for refueling and emergency operations.

Past Performance Relevancy Ratings:

Adjectival Rating Description

Very Relevant

Present/past performance effort involved essentially the same scope, magnitude, and complexity as this solicitation requires.

Relevant Present/past performance effort involved similar scope, magnitude, and complexity as this solicitation requires.

Somewhat Relevant

Present/past performance effort involved some of the scope, magnitude, and complexity as this solicitation requires.

Not Relevant

Present/past performance effort involved little or none of the scope, magnitude, and complexity as this solicitation requires.

Performance Confidence Assessments

The Government will assign one of the following performance confidence ratings based on the recency, relevancy, and quality of the offeror’s past performance:

Adjectival Rating Description

Substantial Confidence

Based on the offeror's recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a high expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Satisfactory Confidence

Based on the offeror's recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Neutral Confidence

No recent/relevant performance record is available, or the offeror's performance record is so sparse that no meaningful confidence assessment rating can be reasonably assigned. The offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on the factor of past performance.

Limited Confidence

Based on the offeror's recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a low expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

No Confidence

Based on the offeror's recent/relevant performance record, the Government has no expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.

Evaluation Process - The Government will evaluate past performance using the following process:

1. Verify Recency: Confirm that the submitted contracts fall within the defined recency period.

2. Assess Relevancy: Compare the scope, magnitude, and complexity of the submitted contracts to the requirements of this solicitation.

3. Evaluate Quality: Review customer feedback, performance outcomes, and any documented issues or resolutions.

4. Assign Confidence Rating: Based on the recency, relevancy, and quality of past performance, assign a performance

(3) Price will be evaluated for reasonableness. Prices must include all costs associated with performing the missions, including aircraft relocation fees, incidentals, fuel costs, and other fees.

(d) Options. Not applicable to this solicitation.

(e) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(End of provision)

End of Solicitation