Aviation Engineering Services & Limited Prototyping for the Mission Enhanced Little Bird (MELB)

THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF SOLICITATION ISSUANCE, BUT RATHER A SOURCES SOUGHT that will allow the Government to identify interested sources capable of meeting the requirement described in this notice.  Interested sources can submit a capability statement to the Government Point of Contact identified below.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.  The proposed contract will fulfill the Product Management Office (PMO) Mission Enhanced Little Bird (MELB) requirement to address emerging combat driven capabilities through the design, fabrication, integration, characterization, airworthiness documentation and delivery of performance improvements specific to the A/MH-6.   Anticipated efforts include rapid prototyping of products and/or modifications to existing A/MH-6 aircraft.  The intended contract encompasses design, development, fabrication/production, and installation of aircraft modifications.  These efforts may require supporting non-recurring engineering and technical data used for the approval of the products or modifications by the cognizant airworthiness engineering authority.  Subsequent instructions for installation of the products may be required as well.

The proposed contract action is for manufacturing and engineering support for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of the FAR 6.302-5, Authorized or Required by Statute, subparagraph (b)(6), Sole source awards under the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 657f).   The intended source is Fulcrum Concepts LLC, 1776 Patriot Way, Mattaponi VA  23110. Fulcrum is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business.  The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) for this procurement is 336413, Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing.

.ADMINISTRATIVE:  The Government will review and consider all capabilities statements received by the closing date set forth in this notice.  The Government retains the sole discretion on the decision whether or not to conduct a competition based upon information received in response to this notice.  All capability statements should be sent to Rob Waible via e-mail at Robert.c.waible.civ@mail.mil.  Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct a competitive procurement.  All responses are due within 17 calendar days of the posting date of this notice, or 19 April 2021.

The information sought herein is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a request for quote (RFQ), request for proposal (RFP), invitation for bid (IFB), or as an obligation or commitment on the part of the Government to acquire any product or service. There shall be no basis for claims against the Government as a result of information submitted in response to the Sources Sought. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Sources Sought, or otherwise pay for any information submitted by respondents to this request. This notice is for market research purposes only and is not indicative of a full requirement. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Sources Sought.

All information received in response to this Sources Sought that is properly marked as "proprietary" will be protected as proprietary information. Such information will be reviewed by a team comprised of Government as well as Covered Government Support Contractors, as defined in Title 10 of the United States Code, Section 2320, providing technical assistance for the Government's preparation of an acquisition strategy.

The Government officers and Covered Government Support Contractors have acknowledged their obligation to protect such information to the maximum extent permitted or required by the Economic Espionage Act, 18 U.S.C. 1831 et seq., and other applicable statutes or regulations. In addition, Government members will be reminded of their obligations to afford protection under the Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. 1905. All Covered Government Support Contractors are required to protect the information by the terms of their contracts. The Government will make a determination whether or not contractor personnel have organizational conflicts of interest that could adversely affect protection of the information. In an effort to ease the coordination for potential need of nondisclosure agreements between multiple parties as part of the Government's market research, the Government will treat all notice responses as proprietary and to disclose the contents only for the purpose of Government market research and acquisition planning activities. All proprietary information is submitted with the above understanding that these contractor technical experts will have access and should be marked accordingly. The Government shall not be liable for, or suffer any consequential damages, for any proprietary information not properly identified.

Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Proprietary information will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that submissions will not be returned.