Dismounted Unit Soldier Transport (DUST)

AMENDMENT

Dismounted Unit Soldier Transport (DUST)

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE (SSN)

This notice is to obtain supplementary information from interested vendors in meeting the Government’s production requirements for the Dismounted Unit Soldier Transport (DUST) Program. This information supplements Notice ID: W912CH-25-R-0007, issued on 7 October 2024, with a closing date of 6 November 2024.

Product Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems (PdM RAS) is issuing a supplemental Sources Sought Notice as a means of conducting market research only to identify parties having an interest and the resources to support this requirement. This amendment is issued to provide clarity on the Army’s need for the DUST program.

The subsequent contract continues to be a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) with a five-year period of performance from the award date.

Submission Requirement:

Respond to this notice by providing specific information to the information below:

PdM RAS is considering the procurement of DUST, which is a dismounted all-terrain battery powered cart that provides dismounted units capability to carry sufficient supplies and enabling equipment to conduct operations for extended periods between external resupplies.

All responding to this amended notice shall provide specific information to include a summary of its company’s capabilities in a Capability Statement which demonstrates the skills, experience, knowledge, and capabilities necessary to perform the Government’s requirement.

The Capability Statement shall respond to the following questions:

1. Can your company provide a powered cart that provides tactical resupply and enables each platoon internal sustainment through severely restricted terrain (i.e. steep slopes, densely spaces trees or rocks, little or no supporting roads, natural and man-made obstacles, etc.)?

2. Can you provide a lightweight system that is two, three, or four wheeled or tracked?

3. Can you provide a system that does not include any type of robotic controller, as the system is intended to be manually operated up to two Soldiers and assisted with battery power?

4. Can you provide a DUST system that is capable of being towed by a Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport (S-MET) and Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV)?

5. How far can your system travel or how long can your system last without charging?

6. What is the anticipated cost of your proposed solution?

7. This effort may include, but is not limited to production efforts, logistics (to include technical manuals), test support, incorporating requirements, and managing updates to the programs. Please address your capability to support these requirements.

Potential sources should only submit the minimum information necessary and shall not exceed 15 pages. You can include a commercial technical manual which is not included in the 15-page limitation. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding its submissions. The Government may contact potential sources for additional information as required.

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

I.  Description of Intent

This notice is to gauge the availability of vendors that are capable and interested in meeting the Government production requirements for Dismounted Unit Soldier Transport (DUST) Program.

II.  General Information

a. Requirement Overview

Product Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems (PdM RAS) is issuing a Sources Sought Notice as a means of conducting market research only to identify parties having an interest and the resources to support this requirement. The information gained will be used for preliminary planning and to determine the availability of qualified contractors to provide DUST systems. The information received will be used by the Government to facilitate the decision-making process and, if a solicitation is issued after this notice, information received from respondents will aid in the decision of whether to issue a solicitation as a competitive set-aside for qualified Small Businesses, Vendors with General Services Administration (GSA) Schedules, or whether to issue a solicitation as an unrestricted full and open competition. The Government assumes no financial responsibility for cost incurred with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests. This notice does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government for any purpose other than market research.  Respondents will not be notified of the results regarding the sources sought.

PdM RAS is considering the procurement of DUST, which is an all-terrain powered cart that provides dismounted units capability to carry sufficient supplies and enabling equipment to conduct operations for extended periods between external resupplies. This effort may include but is not limited to production efforts, logistics (to include technical manuals), test support, incorporating requirements, and managing updates to the programs.

Any subsequent contract would be Firm-Fixed-Price with a five-year period of performance from the award date.

b. Proprietary Information

The Government appreciates the time and effort taken to respond to this survey. The Government acknowledges its obligations under 18 U.S.C. §1905 to protect information qualifying as “confidential” under this statute. [To avoid possible confusion with the meaning of the term “confidential” in the context of Classified Information,” we will use the term “PROPRIETARY.”] Pursuant to this statute, the Government is willing to accept any trade secret or PROPRIETARY restrictions placed on qualifying data forwarded in response to the survey questions and to protect it from unauthorized disclosure subject to the following:

1. Clearly and conspicuously mark qualifying data with the restrictive legend (all caps) “PROPRIETARY” with any explanatory text, so that the Government is clearly notified of what data needs to be appropriately protected.

2. In marking such data, please take care to mark only those portions of the data or materials that are truly confidential (over breadth in marking inappropriate data as “PROPRIETARY” may diminish or eliminate the usefulness of your response - see item 6 below). Use circling, underscoring, highlighting or any other appropriate means to indicate those portions of a single page which are to be protected.

3. The Government is not obligated to protect unmarked data. Additionally, marked data that is already in the public domain or in the possession of the Government or third parties, or is afterward placed into the public domain by the owner or another party through no fault of the Government will not be protected once in the public domain. Data already in the possession of the Government will be protected in accordance with the Government's rights in the data.

4. Confidential data transmitted electronically, whether by physical media or not, whether by the respondent or by the Government, shall contain the “PROPRIETARY” legend, with any explanatory text, on both the cover of the transmittal e-mail and at the beginning of the file itself. Where appropriate for only portions of an electronic file, use the restrictive legends ‘PROPRIETARY PORTION BEGINS:” and “PROPRIETARY PORTION ENDS.”

5. In any reproductions of technical data or any portions thereof subject to asserted restrictions, the Government shall also reproduce the asserted restriction legend and any explanatory text.

6. The Government sometimes uses support contractors in evaluating responses. Consequently, responses that contain confidential information may receive only limited or no consideration since the Respondent’s marking of data as “PROPRIETARY” will preclude disclosure of same outside the Government and therefore will preclude disclosure to these support contractors assisting the evaluation effort. The Government will use its best efforts to evaluate those responses that contain confidential information without using support contractors consistent with the resources available.

III.  Submission Instructions

All responding to this notice shall provide specific information to include a summary of its company’s capabilities in a Capability Statement which demonstrates the skills, experience, knowledge, and capabilities necessary to perform the Government’s requirement.

The Capability Statement should include contact information including:

Company Name:

Address:

Point of Contact:

Phone Number:

Email Address:

DUNS/Cage Code:

Website Address:

Type of Organization:

Business Type(s): [ ] Large Business (LB), [ ] Small Business (SB), [ ] HUBZone (HZ), [ ] Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), [ ] Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), [ ] 8(a) Business Development Program, [ ] Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), [ ] Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB).

a. Does your company have experience as a prime contractor providing the system, parts, and services of the same or similar type effort(s) (to include size and complexity) within the past five years? If yes, please provide the following information:

Contract number(s):

Dollar value(s):

Point of Contact (POC):

POC Email address:

POC Phone number:

Brief description of your direct support of the effort: Similarity of scope, effort, complexity:

1. Does your company have any of these systems produced or purchased by the US Military?

2. What is your anticipated production capacity?

3. Do you anticipate the ability to surge production when necessary?

4. Does your system have a cargo capacity of at least 500 lbs?  What is the cargo capacity of your system?

5. Does your system have the ability to traverse a 60% grade?  Can you provide any data to support this?

6. Does your system have the ability to sustain speeds of 4 mph?

7. Does your system have the ability to traverse a 24-inch gap without the use of additional kits or equipment?

8. Is there a commercial technical manual available for your system?  Can you provide a copy of the commercial technical manual?

b. Does your company have experience with (provide examples):

1. Integrating government furnished equipment (GFE) into your products?

2. Developing training documentation (such as Technical Manuals and training material), and training devices in accordance with US Military standards?

c. Are there any supply chain concerns with electronics or rare earth metals?

d. Potential sources should only submit the minimum information necessary and shall not exceed 15 pages. The commercial technical manual is not included in the 15-page limitation. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding its submissions. The Government may contact potential sources for additional information as required.

e. Interested parties are encouraged to be registered in the System for Award Management, www.sam.gov prior to responding to this Sources Sought Notice.

f. Interested parties that consider themselves qualified to perform the above listed requirements are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice no later than 1200 pm EST 06 November 2024.

g. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice shall be submitted to the Contract Specialist via email. For submissions including files exceeding email limits, submit your response via DoD SAFE at URL: https://safe.apps.mil/ to the Contract Specialist followed by an email to the Contract Specialist of your DoD SAFE submission. You are requested to put “Dismounted Unit Soldier Transport (DUST) Program Market Survey” in the email subject line and description in DoD SAFE. Any requests for clarifications of this survey shall be addressed to Contract Specialist, Shannon DeRue Shannon.n.derue.civ@army.mil.