AMRDEC_OTA_Industry_Day_QA_28NOV2017.pdf

AMRDEC Other Transaction Agreement Requirements and

Technology Exchange Industry Day, 27 October 2017

Questions and Answers

1. Question: Will the solicitation be in January 2018 or in 30 days?

Answer: The Government intends to issue the solicitation in January 2018.

2. Question: Is the January 2018 solicitation and May 2018 award for OTA consortium lead and/with members already selected or just consortium lead with who after winning then solicit member to cover all the requirements?

Answer: The Government expects that the consortium be formed, whether notional or established, at the time of proposal submission.

3. Question: Where can I find the website for the solicitation?

Answer: Search by the solicitation number, W31P4Q-17-X-0001, on www.FBO.gov.

4. Question: Do you have a way for non-traditional contractors to make themselves and their capabilities known other than just networking?

Answer: The OTA Industry Day Attendance List Instructions were posted on FBO on 1 Nov 17. The attendance list was emailed to all those who responded on 9 Nov 17.

5. Question: When will ACC-R be ready to fully implement this OTA process on other systems?

Answer: The purpose of the AMRDEC OTA Industry Day is to focus on the technical areas within ManTech and WDI. At this time, we are focusing on the technical areas listed in the Sources Sought notice for ManTech and WDI.

6. Question: Are academia considered non-traditional and excluded from 1/3 cost share?

Answer: Pursuant to 10 U.S.C §2302(9), a Nontraditional Defense Contractor is defined as an entity that is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the one-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by the Department of Defense for the procurement or transaction, any contract or subcontract for the Department of Defense that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to 41 U.S.C. § 1502 and the regulations implementing such section.

7. Question: How are potential consortium members going to identify OTA management firms to get on their "team"? How are OTA management firms going to identify potential consortium members?

How do we connect?

http://www.fbo.gov/

8. Question: Where does highly contested environments (jamming, secure networks, etc.) figure into your road map needs?

Answer: AMRDEC's Missile S&T Enterprise, Air Defense Capability Area's focus is to defend the force and selected geopolitical assets from aerial attack, missile attack and surveillance; including Point Defense, Area Defense, and Platform Defense. Investments in cyberwarfare techniques and countermeasures are in the current and future roadmaps of the Air Defense Capability Area.

9. Question: Is backwards compatibility important to you as you update technology/electronics in your systems or are you not worried about potentially retrofitting older systems to modernized with new capability?

Answer: The mission of WDI is to conduct research, exploratory and advanced development, technology demonstration and provide engineering and scientific expertise in all aspects of weapon system design, development, improvement and integration for the Army. Modular advance technology capable of integration in new weapon systems and/or fielded weapon systems, is being developed under Missile Modernization programs for various platforms to address lifecycle and obsolescence concerns.

10. Question: Will the NAICS code stay 541712 since there has been a recent revision to that NAICS code?

Answer: As of 1 Oct 17, NAICS code 541712 was replaced by a new NAICS code, 541715, Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences (except nanotechnologies and biotechnologies). When the solicitation is released, it will reference NAICS code 541715.

11. Question: Are there any OTA consortium management groups present? How can industry connect with them?

12. Question: Where does SBIR and STTR fit in the OTA?

Answer: The Government does not anticipate that SBIRs and STTRs will be used under the pending OTA. SBIRs and STTRs fall under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR); an OTA is not subject to the FAR.

13. Question: How many pages of the technical portion of proposal to answer the RFP are allowed?

Answer: Proposal submission instructions will be released with the solicitation.

14. Question: What do you see DCAA and DCMA playing in your OTA process?

Answer: DCAA and DCMA are members of the OTA Government team. DCAA can provide financial advisory services to the Contracting Officer/Agreements Officer to help determine price reasonableness. DCAA can provide information on the reasonableness of the proposed cost elements and any proposed contributions. DCAA can also assist in the pre- award phase by evaluating the awardee’s proposed accounting treatment and whether the awardee’s proposed accounting system is adequate to account for the costs in accordance with the terms of the agreement. ACC-RSA intends to delegate administration of the OTA to DCMA to assist the

Contracting Officer/Agreements Officer with monitoring contractors' performance and management systems to ensure that cost, performance, and delivery schedules are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the OTA.

15. Question: Given the breadth of topical areas, will any guidance be given on specific topical interests, POCs, and whether funding is available for those areas? The DOTC OTA is structured with specific projects defined and states if finding solid or speculative. This is useful information.

Answer: The AMRDEC OTA Office and Consortium will coordinate the release of specific topics that are of interest to AMRDEC after the award of the Base OTA.

16. Question: What direction is AMRDEC moving in respect to "radiation"?

Answer: AMRDEC is investing in sensor and seeker design, development, fabrication & test of passive IR imaging systems, both cooled and uncooled. AMRDEC’s areas of interests include optics design for IR, UV and visible band sensors; IR simulation and modeling; and IR signature measurements and characterization of threat and surrogate targets.

17. Question: Want to hear from NJ ACC on their experience in issuing and awarding OTA. How long?

Cost levels? POP?

Answer: The purpose of the AMRDEC OTA Industry Day is to focus on the technical areas within ManTech and WDI. For additional information regarding OTAs, please refer to the Other Transactions Guide for Prototype Projects, (DPAP, January 2017).

18. Question: Are you intending to use a consortium-based OTA approach to communicating and awarding prototype projects?

Answer: Yes, we intend to utilize a consortium-based approach.

19. Question: How can industry work with AMRDEC to develop processes for approving AM Parts/Processes for new/repaired materials? Would government consider a public/private partnership to support this effort?

Answer: Material allowables remain one of the largest barriers to implementation/qualification of AM manufactured and/or repaired components. Furthermore, extensive knowledge concerning machine process variables associated with manufacture and/or repair of components will be required. Current efforts undertaken to date in this area have been considered on a part by part basis - each component with respect to its individual requirements in terms of material properties and performance. To aid in acceleration of qualification of AM produced aerospace components for Army systems, industry should consider a focus on further substantiation of AM processes and materials - to include allowable development and documentation/proliferation of machine and process parameters. Furthermore, high fidelity/economical inspection technologies/processes are of interest to the USG in validation/verification of advanced AM processes. Concerning public/private partnership - yes, the USG would welcome these opportunities as appropriate to meet the technology maturation and modernization needs of our AVN and MSL systems.

20. Question: What will the AMRDEC OTA do that DOTC doesn't? Why/what was the reason to make a separate one?

Answer: The DOTC is the DoD focal point for ordnance system technologies with focus on explosives, propellants, pyrotechnics, warheads, fuzes/sensors, demilitarization, Joint Insensitive Munitions and applicable enabling technologies. AMRDEC requirements institute a need for an agreement to support the collaboration of Government, industry and academia to fulfill all aspects of guided weapon system design, development, improvement and integration of Science &Technology (S&T) products to improve affordability, increase range and precision, and improve the breadth of efforts available to the Army in support of aviation and missile systems. Structuring an agreement managed by AMRDEC personnel, designed to execute AMRDEC's mission, will operate more efficiently, provide rapid prototyping, and overall, provide better guided weapon systems to the warfighter.

21. Question: It was unclear in the additive manufacturing and model based enterprised briefing how they intended to use the OTA to support collaboration with industry. Both mentioned leveraging NNMIs. Will you please elaborate on how these programs will leverage the OTA?

Answer: ManTech efforts related to both AM and MBE are heavily engaged with Manufacturing USA institutes - America Makes and the Digital Manufacturing Design Innovation Institute (DMDII).

As such, both of these areas strongly leverage existing public/private partnership to the benefit of ManTech and our AVN and MSL customers. The OTA will merely serve as yet another avenue to accelerate AM and MBE related technologies toward possible implementation on Army systems.

ManTech believes there remains other industry partners, with innovative/disruptive technologies in these areas that are currently not members of any Manufacturing USA institutes. It is our hope that the structure and flexibility of the OTA will encourage said partners to participate and demonstrate their capabilities to the USG for consideration.

22. Question: Is the intent to replace all FAR based contracts with OTAs? If so, to date, what has the largest (dollar value) OTA been awarded? Was that Hardware/Service delivered on time and at the anticipated cost?

Answer: No. ACC-RSA does not have plans to replace all FAR based contract with OTAs.

23. Question: What is the OTA timeline?

Answer: ACC-Redstone Arsenal intends to release the solicitation January 2018 and make award May 2018.

24. Question: How defined does the requirement (SOW/PWS) need to be prior to award? Will 80% solution be enough?

Answer: Proposal submission instructions will be released with the solicitation.

25. Question: How are protest mitigated/resolved in OTAs?

Answer: The solicitation will address the basis and procedures for resolving disputes.

26. Question: How does the government keep open communication with industry partners using OTAs in a competitive environment?

Answer: Prior to the release of the solicitation, Industry may engage with the Government on the technical areas of the requirement. However, once the solicitation is issued, the Contracting Officer/Agreements Officer will be the sole point of contact.

27. Question: What are the technology focus areas for the aviation and missile technology OTA? And how does AMRDEC envision using the OTA to achieve objectives?

Answer: Technology focus areas for aviation and missile were provided in the Sources Sought notice as well as during the OTA Industry day briefings. The AMRDEC anticipates utilizing the OTA to address these areas through the execution of projects and technical efforts within Missile S&T as well as Aviation and Missile Manufacturing Technology.

28. Question: Are there any type of procurement activities that are restricted from using OTAs?

Answer: The purpose of the AMRDEC OTA Industry Day was to focus on the technical areas within

29. Question: The expectation was that today would provide information regarding OTA processes -how to use, what it applies to, what are the restrictions, etc. The morning session was a capability presentation of AMRDEC and did not provide any of the expected information.

Answer: The purpose of the AMRDEC OTA Industry Day was to focus on the technical areas within