W15QKN25R0040 120mm Mortar Shell Bodies QA.docx

W15QKN-25-R-0040 Questions and Answers

1) Q: Can the Government provide an anticipated date for the release of the formal RFP W15QKN25R0040 to Sam.gov?

A: The formal RFP is expected to be released late next week early the week after. Week of the 16th or 23rd of June. This will be released on PIEE Solicitation Module and posted on SAM.gov as well. Please make sure you have access to the correct modules in PIEE.

2) Q: Has the Government received any additional questions for RFP W15QKN25R0040?

A: All questions that have been answered are posted here. Any further questions will be posted on SAM.gov and PIEE.

3) Q: With the understanding that RFP W15QKN25R0040 had been issued in draft form, is the Government aware of the typographical and grammatical errors contained in the solicitation and will this be corrected in the final RFP?

A: We have tried fixing as much as we can between the draft and now, however if there are any major ones, please let me know and I can correct those.

4) Q: Section C.5.7 states "The Contractor shall report to the Procuring Contracting Officer immediately any major accident/incident (including fire) resulting in any one or more of the following:…in accordance with DD Form 1423 CDRL A024 (DI-SAFT-81563)." Request the Government consider revising this requirement to establish a clear timeframe for the contractor to submit reports of accidents or incidents that meet the specified criteria.

A: We agree that Section C.5.7 lacks a clear timeframe for incident reporting. The Government will update this section and the corresponding CDRL (DD Form 1423, CDRL A024, DI-SAFT-81563) upon award. For this solicitation, please assume a 48-hour notification period.

5) Q: Will the Government consider incorporating the Alternate II versions of FAR clauses 52.209-3 "First Article Approval - - Contractor Testing" and 52.209-4 "First Article Approval - - Government Testing"?

A: At this time, the Government has determined that Alt II is not required for this effort.

6) Q: Will the Government consider adding an Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) clause to the RFP for certain price-volatile commodities such as: (a) Steel raw material, (b) Natural gas used for forging, nosing, and heat treating, (c) Electric energy used for manufacturing processes, and or (d) Out-year direct labor costs? To provide best value to the Government in out-year unit prices and more effectively level the competitive landscape, request that the Government consider adding EPA for the steel to the solicitation.

A: After careful consideration, the Government has decided not to add an EPA clause to this RFP. We believe the current solicitation structure provides a fair and competitive landscape for all offerors.

7) Q: Will the Government consider adding some form of financing, either Performance-Based Payments or Progress Billing, to the solicitation?

A: The Government does not intend to provide Contract Financing for this effort.

8) Q: Section L.2.4 states "A standard, 12-point minimum font size applies." Section L.2.5 states "The font used shall not be less than 10 point." Can the Government confirm the minimum font size for the volume narratives?

A: The statement, "The font used shall not be less than 10 point." has been removed.

9) Q: Section L.2.5 stipulates that any pages exceeding the specified limits for each volume will not be evaluated; however, it does not define the maximum number of pages allowed. Can the Government clarify the page limitations for each of the volume narratives?

A: Page limits have been added for each volume.

10) Q: Between Sam.gov and the PIEE Solicitation Module, the solicitation lists two proposal deadlines: 28-Jul-2025 10:00 am EDT and 28-Jul 2025 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EDT. Can the Government clarify the latest time the solicitation will be accepted?

A: It should be 28 July 2025 0900 Eastern Time.

11) Q: Section L (ii) Volume II Past Performance states "Submission of the identified contracts shall be in Excel format to include contractually scheduled delivery dates, actual delivery dates, quantities and how many days over/under (i.e. early/late deliveries)." Can the Government clarify if the contractor is required to submit an excel file containing this information or if it is acceptable to include a table in the volume narrative?

A: Please submit contractually scheduled delivery dates, actual delivery dates, quantities and how many days over/under in Excel format.

12) Q: Section L contains "(iv) Volume IV Price" and "(iv) Volume IV Solicitations, Offer and Award Documents and Certifications/Representations." Can the Government confirm if it should state "(v) Volume V Solicitations, Offer and Award Documents and Certifications/Representations"?

A: Solicitation has been amended to state (v) Volume V Solicitations.

13) Q: Section L (iii) Volume III Small Business Participation states "This volume is comprised of a single chapter." Can the Government clarify if the contractor is intended to address the requested information within a single section of the volume narrative?

A: Solicitation has been amended to remove "This volume is comprised of a single chapter". You should present all the required information – the tables, the descriptions, the compliance documentation – in a cohesive and organized manner within Volume III. Think of it as a comprehensive report on your small business participation strategy.

14) Q: Can the Government provide an anticipated award date or fiscal quarter for the resulting contract of this solicitation?

A: September 2025

15) Q: Within p. 70 of subject, states that "A portion of this requirement, identified elsewhere in this solicitation has been set aside for award to one or more small business concerns . ." Kindly direct me to where the set aside portion is identified.

A: Please see section M.1.0 Basis for Award on pg. 117 which states, "Government intends to make up to two awards as a result of this solicitation. Of the two awards, one award is reserved for small business. The Government will select for award the proposals that are most advantageous and represents the best value to the Government, with the Source Selection Authority (SSA) giving the appropriate consideration to the four evaluation Factors and subfactors: Technical (Production Capability, Quality System and Critical Characteristics Safety Plan, Management System), Past Performance, Small Business Participation and Price. The Government will weigh the relative benefits of each proposal and award will be made based on an integrated assessment of the results of the evaluation. Further, although the second award is reserved for small business, if the Government does not receive an acceptable offer from a responsible small business or is unable to determine the price proposed by a responsible small business, whose proposal is otherwise acceptable, to be fair and reasonable, the Government reserves the right to award the second contract to an Offeror that is not a small business".

16) Q: The cited BFA language does not identify/quantify what "portion of this requirement" . . . "has been set aside for award to one or more small business concerns" as per I-114 (2)(c)(1) on p. 70 of the solicitation. Without identification/quantification of what portion of the solicitation has been set aside, how would a small business concern responsibly construct an offer for the set-aside portion as permitted per I-114 (2)(c)(2)?

Secondly, the Govt.'s Partial Small Business acquisition strategy was likely determined following market research finding reasonable expectation of obtaining adequate competition from small business. However, the 270 days required delivery of First Article poses a hurdle for a small business which has never previously produced 120mm mortar shell bodies. Certainly, the Govt.'s efforts to promote small business contracting opportunities is commendable, but per the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) "must act affirmatively to obtain and safeguard competition and reasonably take steps to enhance competition.” Accordingly, would the Govt. consider, i.e., not reject, a First Article delivery proposal >270 days from a small business offeror?

A: While we are reserving one of the two potential awards for a small business concern, we won't be designating a specific quantity or percentage for that awardee after the initial solicitation. Following award, delivery orders will be competed between both awardees using a Best Value Trade-Off evaluation.

Regarding the First Article delivery timeframe, the Government continues to require the 270-day lead time.

17) Q: If we received the TDP when the draft solicitation was released, it is the same information provided in the full solicitation release?

A: The full solicitation TDP and the draft solicitation TDP contain the same information.

18) Q: Do you have any historical data that could shed light on how many units of each were ordered in the past per year?

A: Below are the averages over the last 5 years of the previous contract for each item:

120mm FRPC: ~120K/year 120mm HE: ~65K/year 120mm Illum: ~9K/year 120mm Smk: ~18K/year

19) Q: Please clarify the correlation between the minimum ordering quantities specified in "Attachment 0002 W15QKN-25-R-0040 - Price Matrix" and the minimum monthly production quantities in Section M.3.2.1 "Subfactor 1 Production Capability" for 120mm M931 High Explosive (HE), 120mm M933A1 Full Range Practice Range (FRPC), 120mm M929 Smoke, and 120mm M930 Illum Mortar Shell Bodies. For every configuration, the minimum orderable quantity per Attachment 0002 is either less or greater than the minimum monthly production requirements of Section M.3.2.1.

A: There is no correlation between the two.

20) Q: Regarding Section M.3.2.1 "Subfactor 1 Production Capability", is the contractor's Technical Factor expected to address the requirements for concurrent production of both the 120mm M929 Smoke and 120mm M930 Illum Mortar Shell Body?

A: That is correct. An offeror’s response must show that they can concurrently produce both the Smoke and Illum Shell Bodies as well as the HE or FRPC.

21) Q: Per FAR 52.204-22 Alternative Line Item Proposal, if a contractor elects to submit a proposal with alternative line items, notably for Adapters (12577513-1 & 1257513-2) and the 120mm Illum Mortar Assembly (12967865 & 12967864), can the Government confirm if the contractor should submit (2) two individual proposals with unique designations or a single proposal with designated alternative volumes and attachments?

A: This will be left up to contractor preference. Both would be acceptable.

22) Q: With this solicitation response due at the end of July, I wanted to reach out and ask if you/Picatinny could offer some relief through a due date extension? 60 days would help ensure our response is complete and on time.

A: The extension request has been received and the Government will be assessing whether an extension is appropriate or not. However, at this moment, please continue to work to the current submission date of 28 July 2025 and we will reach out should that date change.

23) Q: Will the Government consider revising FAR 52.216-19(b)(1) to reduce the maximum ordering quantity multiple items from 390,000 units to 336,000 units?

A: Solicitation has been updated to reduce the maximum ordering quantity of multiple items.