Call for OT Solutions - Amendment 1 FTAS- Final Posting.pdf

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Call for Other Transaction (OT) Solutions

I. Overview Information

1.0 Federal Agency Name: U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) International, awarding through U.S. Army Contracting Command- Aberdeen Proving Ground, Research Triangle Park (ACC-APG-RTP) Division.

1.1 Call for OT Solutions Title: Foreign Technology Assessment Support (FTAS) Program

1.2 Call for OT Solutions Funding Number: W911NF-24-S-0007-0001

1.3 Call for OT Solutions Prototype Project Summary: Army Futures Command (AFC) International is seeking Prototype Project solutions related to the Foreign Technology Assessment Support (FTAS) Program. The FTAS program serves as a catalyst for the Army Futures Command to assess potentially game-changing technologies discovered in friendly foreign nations which may meet future Army needs. The technology finds can be truly unique and may well meet an Army requirement or potentially support ongoing Army Science & Technology (S&T) investments. Prototype Project solutions related to FTAS will provide information useful in making early assessments of a technology's potential contributions to the Army's S&T strategy.

1.4 Type of Contract/Instrument: The Government anticipates awarding multiple Prototype Project Other Transactions (OTs) (10 USC 4022) in response to this Call, but reserves the right to make one award, or no awards. DoD can fund prototype projects that are directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of personnel of the Department of Defense or improving platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the Department of Defense, or to improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces. As specified in the DoD “Other Transactions Guide,” Prototype OTs (July 2023) provide the Government with access to state-of-the-art technology solutions from traditional and non-traditional defense contractors (NDCs). OTs can help: (a) foster new relationships and practices involving traditional and NDCs, especially those that may not be interested in entering into FAR-based contracts with the Government; (b) broaden the industrial base available to Government; (c) support dual-use projects; (d) encourage flexible, quicker, and cheaper project design and execution; (e) leverage commercial industry investment in technology development and partner with industry to ensure DoD requirements are incorporated into future technologies and products; and (f) collaborate in innovative arrangements. The definition of a "prototype project" in the context of an OT is as follows: (a) a prototype project addresses a proof of concept or model, (b) reverse engineering to address obsolescence, (c) a pilot or novel application of commercial technologies for defense purposes, (d) agile development activity, (e) the creation, design, development, demonstration of technical or operational utility, or (f) combinations of the foregoing. A process, including a business process, may be the subject of a

P a g e 2 | 9 prototype project. ELIGIBILITY: To make a Prototype Project OT award, at least one of the following conditions must be satisfied:

o There is at least one NDC* or non-profit research institution participating to a significant extent in the prototype project; or o All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses or NDCs; or o At least one-third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by parties other than the Federal Government; or o The Senior Procurement Executive (SPE) for the agency determines in writing that exceptional circumstances justify the use of a transaction that provides for innovative business arrangements or structures that would not be feasible or appropriate under a contract or would provide an opportunity to expand the defense supply base in a manner that would not be practical or feasible under a contract.

*An NDC 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 DoD for the procurement or transaction, any contract or subcontract for the DoD that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards (CAS) prescribed pursuant to section 1502 of 36 title 41 and the regulations implementing such section (see 10 U.S.C. §3014). In accordance with 48 CFR 9903-201-2, full CAS coverage applies as follows:

“(a) Full coverage. Full coverage requires that the business unit comply with all of the CAS specified in part 9904 that are in effect on the date of the contract award and with any CAS that become applicable because of later award of a CAS-covered contract. Full coverage applies to contractor business units that—

(1) Receive a single CAS-covered contract award of $50 million or more; or

(2) Received $50 million or more in net CAS-covered awards during its preceding cost accounting period.”

1.5 Competitive Mechanism: This Call for OT Solutions constitutes a competitive mechanism by which to evaluate and select proposals for award. A separate formal Request for Proposals (RFP) or any other type of solicitation will not be issued.

1.6 Proposal Submission: Proposals should be submitted via email to an Army Technical POC identified in this Call. Proposals may be submitted under this Call from the date of its issuance through 4:00 pm (local North Carolina time) on 30 September 2025. Proposals in response to this Call may be submitted at any time while the Call, including any amendments, is valid.

1.7 Application Process: Applicants are strongly encouraged to follow the below application process: (NOTE: Further details regarding this process are provided below.)

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• Conduct a preliminary inquiry with an Army Technical POC listed in this Call

• Submit a Whitepaper to an Army Technical POC listed in this Call

• Submit a Full Proposal to an Army Technical POC listed in this Call

1.8 Estimated Program Funding: The estimated amount of funding available for the prototype project(s) under this Call is currently unknown. However, it is expected that most awards will be in the $10K-$200K range. In rare instances, an award may be made over $200K. The Government will review and evaluate proposals in accordance with this Call to make decisions on awards. Proposals are subject to available funding and a favorable evaluation prior to resulting in an award.

1.9 Follow-on Production: The Government reserves the right to go directly into production without additional competition under the authority of 10 USC 4022(f) for successfully completed prototypes as a result of any award made under this Call. The Prototype Project OT award will include a definition for successful completion of the Prototype Project.

II. Prototype Project Problem Statement

2.0 Problem Statement

The Army FTAS program is designed to identify and assess foreign technologies that can contribute to the U.S. Army’s science and technology mission. This mission includes support to:

The Department of Defense Critical Technology Areas:

- Biotechnology

- Future Generation Wireless

- Quantum Science

- Advanced Materials

- Trusted AI and Autonomy

- Microelectronics

- Integrated Network System-of-Systems

- Space Technology

- Renewable Energy Generation and Storage

- Advanced Computing and Software

- Human-Machine Interfaces

- Directed Energy

- Integrated Sensing and Cyber

- Hypersonics

The Army Modernization Priorities:

- Long Range Precision Fires

- Next Generation Combat Vehicles

- Future Vertical Lift

- Network/C3I

- Air and Missile Defense

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- Soldier Lethality

The Army Priority Research Areas:

- Hypersonic Flight

- Quantum

- Artificial Intelligence

- Autonomy

- Synthetic Biology

- Material by Design

- Disruptive Energetics

- Science of Additive Manufacturing

- RF Electronic Materials

Note that this list of priorities is meant to be instructive and not all-inclusive.

This Call is seeking projects which will allow the U.S. Army to assess technologies with potential to support these objectives and could include further research and development of early-stage technologies, testing of existing technologies in relevant conditions or against relevant benchmarks, comparing technologies to current efforts in development within the Army science and technology enterprise, etc.

2.1 Payment Schedule and Deliverables

The Applicant shall propose a payment and pricing model and schedule consistent with the proposed prototype project solution. It is anticipated that payments under any resultant OT will be against a schedule of fixed price established milestones and deliverables that will be used to verify observable achievements on the critical path to project success. Final payment schedule shall be as agreed to by the parties. In rare circumstances, the Government may consider expenditure-based arrangements but those will likely require an adequate accounting system for performing under U.S. Federal Government awards.

III. Submission Information

3.0 Introduction

Proposals must be submitted in accordance with this Call. Interested parties should be alert for any amendment to this Call that may adjust submission dates, times, or other submission requirements. The Government reserves the right to modify and/or cancel this Call either before or after the closing date. All submissions must be unclassified. The Government will not reimburse any cost associated with participation in the Whitepaper or Proposal process, including, but not limited to, in the event the Government cancels or modifies this Call.

The cost of preparing Whitepapers and Proposals in response to this Call is not an allowable direct charge to any resulting award (or any other federal award/contract).

The Government reminds Applicants that only warranted Agreements Officers can contractually bind or otherwise commit the government.

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This Call, and any amendments, may be accessed at the Contract Opportunities at beta.SAM.gov (https://beta.sam.gov). Interested parties are encouraged to periodically check these websites for updates and amendments.

3.1 Overview

To conserve valuable applicant and Government resources, and to facilitate determining whether a proposed prototype project idea meets the guidelines described herein, prospective applicants contemplating submission of a whitepaper or proposal are strongly encouraged to contact an Army Technical POC listed in this Call to first discuss the concept.

After initial contact with the Army Technical POC, if an applicant elects to submit a whitepaper or proposal, it should be prepared in accordance with the instructions contained in this Call.

Upon receipt, a whitepaper will be reviewed by the Army Technical POC, and a recommendation will be provided to the applicant with either “encouraged to submit a proposal” or “not encouraged to submit a proposal” based on the review and availability of funding. The Government will not be obligated by any discussion that arises out of preliminary inquiries including related to any whitepaper submissions. The Army Technical POC names and contact information are listed by region. A whitepaper is not required to submit a proposal. Proposals may be submitted at any time while this Call is open.

Whitepapers and proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this Call will not be returned to the applicant. It is the policy of the Government to treat all proposals as sensitive, competitive information and to mark and disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.

An applicant may withdraw a proposal at any time before award by written notice or by email sent to the Army Business POC identified in this Call.

3.2 Whitepaper Preparation and Submission

3.2.1 Purpose of Whitepapers:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit whitepapers prior to the submission of a complete, more detailed proposal. The purpose of whitepapers is to minimize the labor and cost associated with the production of detailed proposals that have very little chance of being selected for funding. Whitepapers are not full proposals and are meant to provide the Army Technical POC with enough information to determine if there is interest on the part of the Army to receive a full proposal.

3.2.2 Whitepaper Content:

Whitepapers do not have a prescribed format but are not expected to exceed three (3) total pages and are encouraged to be submitted as a single text or portable document format (PDF) document. The whitepaper should include the title of the whitepaper, name of the individual and organization submitting the whitepaper, eligibility status as required in Paragraph 1.4 https://beta.sam.gov/

P a g e 6 | 9 above, and the prototype project title. Whitepapers should focus on describing the proposed prototype project, including how the project may meet future Army needs. Whitepapers should contain a brief cost estimate in US Dollars to understand a rough order of magnitude of the proposal cost, and any biographical information to highlight applicant’s qualifications and experience. Any proprietary data must be clearly marked. The applicant must also identify any technical data or computer software contained in the whitepaper that is to be managed by the Government with restrictions, limited rights in technical data and restricted rights in computer software. In the absence of such identification, the Government will conclude there are no limitations or restrictions on technical data or computer software included in the whitepaper. Records or data bearing a restrictive legend may be included in the whitepaper. It is the intent of the Army to treat all whitepapers as procurement sensitive and to disclose their contents to Government employees or designated support contractors only for the purpose of evaluation. Whitepaper submissions must be unclassified.

3.2.3 Submission of Whitepapers:

Whitepapers should be submitted via email to an Army Technical POC identified in this Call. Whitepapers submitted via email are encouraged to be submitted as a single PDF file as an email attachment.

3.2.4 Review of Whitepapers:

The Army Technical POC will receive and consider all whitepapers submitted and will provide a response with either “encouraged to submit a proposal” or “not encouraged to submit a proposal”.

3.3 Full Proposal Preparation and Submission

3.3.1 Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM)

a. Each applicant (unless the applicant is an individual or Federal awarding agency that is exempt from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110(b) or (c), or has an exemption approved by the Federal awarding agency under 2 CFR 25.110(d)) is required to:

i. Provide a valid unique entity identifier (formerly DUNS) in its application.

Please verify the accuracy of your Unique Entity Identifier (formerly DUNS) at the Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) website http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform before registering with the System for Award Management System (SAM).

ii. Be registered in SAM at https://www.sam.gov prior to submitting its application; and

iii. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency.

b. The SAM obtains Legal Business Name, Doing Business Name (DBA), Physical Address, and Postal Code/ Zip+4 data fields from D&B. If corrections are required, registrants will not be able to enter/modify these fields in SAM; they will be pre-http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform https://www.sam.gov/

P a g e 7 | 9 populated using D&B Unique Entity Identifier record data. When D&B confirms the correction has been made, the registrant must then re-visit sam.gov and click a “yes”' to D&B's changes. Only at this point will the D&B data be accepted into the SAM record.

Allow a minimum of two (2) business days for D&B to send the modified data to SAM.

c. The Federal awarding agency may not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements. If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Federal awarding agency is ready to make a Federal award, the Federal awarding agency may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

3.3.2 Proposal Content

Proposals do not have a prescribed format and are not subject to page limitations but must be submitted as a single portable document format (PDF) document.

3.3.2.1 Proposal Cover Page

The proposal cover page should include the following:

• title of the prototype project proposal

• name of the organization submitting the proposal (including a Business POC from the organization that can bind that organizations and a Technical POC from the organization that can discuss the technical aspects of the proposal)

• eligibility status (including both definition of prototype and entity eligibility) as required in Paragraph 1.4 above

3.3.2.2 Technical Proposal

Proposals should focus on describing the proposed prototype project, including how the project may meet future Army needs. Proposals are to describe the proposed approach and plans for prototype development under the project in sufficient detail to clearly show the thoroughness and completeness of the proposed approach as well as the probability for achieving the proposed prototype project solution. Proposals should be prepared based on the assumption that the Government has no previous knowledge of the Applicant’s capabilities and experience and shall clearly address how its proposed approach, experience and capabilities will result in a successful prototype project. Proposals should also describe the potential contribution to the Army mission/priorities of the proposed prototype project. Proposals may also contain any biographical information to highlight qualifications and experience. Any proprietary data in the proposal must be clearly marked. The applicant must also identify any technical data or computer software contained that is to be managed by the Government with restrictions, limited rights in technical data and restricted rights in computer software. In the absence of such identification, the Government will conclude there are no limitations or restrictions on technical data or computer software included in the proposal.

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Proposals containing data that is not to be disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes shall include the following sentences on the cover page:

“This Proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government, except to non- Government personnel for evaluation purposes, and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed --in whole or in part -- for any purpose other than to evaluate this submission. If, however, an agreement is awarded to this proposer as a result of -- or in connection with – the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent agreed upon by both parties in the resulting agreement. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use the information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in pages [insert page numbers or other identification of pages]”

Each restricted data sheet should be marked as follows:

“Use or disclosure of data contained on this page is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.”

It is the intent of the Army to treat all proposals as procurement sensitive and to disclose their contents to Government employees or designated support contractors only for the purpose of evaluation. Proposal submissions must be unclassified.

3.3.2.3 Cost/Price Proposal

Proposals are also required to provide a cost/price proposal to support the proposed price of the prototype project in US Dollars. Cost proposals are to include information concerning the proposed price sufficient for the Government to be able to determine the price fair and reasonable. This may include, but is not limited to:

• Commercial, market, and/or historical pricing that can be used for comparison

• An element-by element breakdown of cost per milestone

3.3.3 Submission Dates and Times

Proposals will be considered until and including the closing date and time of this Call.

Proposals submitted after the closing date and time will not be considered by the Government under this Call.

IV. Evaluation and Award Information

4.1 Proposal Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

a. Technical approach and merit of proposed prototype project

b. Potential Contribution to Army mission/priorities of proposed prototype project

c. Capabilities and Experience of proposed performers

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d. Cost

4.2 Review and Selection for award

All proposals are treated as procurement sensitive and are disclosed only for the purpose of evaluation. Proposals having sufficient merit or relevance will be subject to a peer review by highly qualified subject matter experts that are Government employees.

Each proposal will be evaluated based on the evaluation criteria above rather than against other proposals. Each evaluated proposal will receive a recommendation of “select” or “do not select” as supported by the evaluation. A proposal selected for possible award will be analyzed for the realism and reasonableness of costs and funds availability. Proposal costs must be determined reasonable and realistic before the Government can make an award.

4.3 Award Notification

Applicants whose proposals are recommended for award may be contacted by an Agreements Officer (or Contract Specialist representing an Agreements Officer) to discuss additional information required for award. This may include representations and certifications, cost revisions or explanations, and/or other information as applicable to the proposed award.

Final Agreement terms and conditions shall be as negotiated between the parties. Selection for award negotiation does not guarantee award, and award is conditioned on the parties’ agreement to final terms and conditions. This Call does not contain all terms and conditions which may be relevant to any final Agreement.

The notification email is not an authorization to commit or expend funds. The Government is not obligated to provide any funding until a Government Agreements Officer signs the award document. The award document signed by the Agreements Officer is the official and authorizing award instrument. The authorizing award instrument, signed by the Agreements, will be emailed to Awardee.

V. Agency Contacts

Army Business POC: Ms. Wilveria Sanders, wilveria.a.sanders.civ@army.mil

Army Technical POC:

Atlantic region (Europe, Middle East, Africa):

• Dr. Jonathon Brame, jonathon.a.brame.civ@army.mil

• Mr. Andy Koschnik, andrew.t.koschnik.civ@army.mil

Americas region (North and South America, outside US):

• Mr. Harry DuRette, harry.c.durette.civ@army.mil

Indo-Pacific region (Asia, Australia, India, Pacific)

• Dr. Darren Emge, darren.k.emge.civ@army.mil mailto:jonathon.a.brame.civ@army.mil mailto:andrew.t.koschnik.civ@army mailto:harry.c.durette.civ@army.mil