Rapid Explosive Hazard Mitigation (REHM) Large Clearance Blade Assembly (L-CBA)

1. THIS NOTICE IS ISSUED AS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY.  This notice DOES NOT constitute a Request for Proposal or complete package outlining the technical competencies/qualifications of the prospective contractor, nor does it represent any commitment by the Government.  Since this is a Sources Sought announcement, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation.  A solicitation does not presently exist.  

2. The United States Air Force (USAF) has a requirement in support of Directorate of Headquarters Air Force Civil Engineer Center (HQ AFCEC) for the production of Large Clearance Blades. This requirement is to allow AFCEC to return airfields back to serviceable condition after an enemy attack. One part of the recovery effort is to remove all unexploded ordnance from the airfield quickly and safely so that repair crews can fix any damage. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Career Field is responsible for the clearance of ordnance and requires specialized tools and techniques to accomplish this task. The Large Clearance Blade Assembly (L-CBA) is required to push ordnance off airfield surfaces using an Armored Front End Loader.  AFCEC/CXA has designed and tested an effective blueprint for this capability. This also has the potential to extend to other agencies within the Department of Defense. The intent is to eventually award a five (5) year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract to procure production of approximately 80 L-CBAs built to government specifications and shipped to specified locations. In order for the USAF to better understand the capabilities of the industry, please address the following questions:

1. Does your company have experience working with the government?

2.  Does your company have the ability to ship worldwide to include remote locations?

3.  Does your company have the logistical capacity to fulfill large scale production of equipment over a five year period?

4. Does your company have access to Astralloy metals sourced from an American supplier OR a qualifying country in accordance with the Buy American Act, President Biden’s Executive Order 14005, and FAR Part 25?

5. Does your company have the ability to perform welding activities, including any specialized requirements that may be associated with Astralloy metals, if applicable, and provide certification of training and certification on the welds?

6. Does your company have heavy equipment / overhead hoist / gantry lifting equipment to assemble heavy components?

7.  Can your company complete the production in the timeframe required in the attached Statement of Work (SOW)??

8.  How many L-CBA’s is your company able to temporarily store? 

9. What does your company plan to do in house versus sub-contracting?

10.  Does your company have experience creating packing solutions designed for worldwide shipment while also ensuring protection from the elements during transit? If so, please elaborate on methods your company may utilize to ensure safe and secure transport of shipments.

11. Does your company have experience obtaining airlift certification?

3. The Government is performing market research primarily to locate firms with the capability to execute the requirements of this anticipated Sources Sought. Therefore, all business concerns are invited to provide a capability statement in response to this requirement. It is required for all contractors to be registered to do business with the Government in SAM before any award will be made. Contractors are encouraged to obtain further information on SAM registration at the following website: https://www.sam.gov/SAM/pages/public/index.jsf.  This announcement does not obligate the Government to award a contract nor does it obligate the Government to pay for any preparation costs.

4. The Government strongly encourages any firms interested in such work to submit a capability statement that addresses, as a minimum, the questions presented within this announcement. The Government does not intend to rank submittals or provide any reply to interested firms. The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code will be 333120 Construction Machinery Manufacturing. The small business size standard for this NAICS is 1,250 employees. However, the Government will accept recommendations of alternative NAICS designations if interested sources would like to submit considerations along with rationale.

5. Contractors who can provide this product should submit in writing an affirmative response, which includes as a minimum the following information:

a. What is the name of your business and Cage Code?

b. What is your business address?

c. Provide a point of contact to include telephone number and email address.

d. Based on your professional experience in the private sector, would you consider this requirement to coincide with work typically provided in the commercial market?

e. Provide an additional NAICS code with justification that you would recommend as  being more applicable.

f. Specify your business type (SBA certified Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, 8(a) Certified Small Business, HUBZone Small Business, Woman-Owned Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Veteran-Owned Small Business) based upon NAICS 333120.  Specify all that apply.  

g. Would your firm propose on this project as a prime contractor, prime contractor with subcontractor(s), prime contractor with team member subcontractor(s), or a joint venture?  If you have proposed a joint venture, identify to the extent possible, your team members. Identify the business size of your team members or joint venture firms. If a teaming arrangement is planned, give details to the extent practicable on how the team likely will be composed. See FAR subpart 9.6 for Government policy on teaming arrangements and 8(a) Program regulations described in 13 CFR 124.513. Also state who would be considered the manufacturer of the end item.  

h. Please provide your assessment on whether subcontracting opportunities are available and what goals would be appropriate.  Please include supporting rationale. 

i. Identify any projects completed in the past five (5) years for the same or similar items to help determine your firm’s capability in meeting the requirement for the items listed.  Include any government contracts (Federal, State, or local) that you have been awarded for this type of requirement. Also, include the contract number and a government point of contact.  Please also provide subcontracting percentages and dollars for the projects identified.

j. Do you have any other comments or suggestions that you would like to share with us?

6. All responsible sources are encouraged to submit a capability statement response to this announcement. All such responses will be considered by the agency. Responses shall be submitted electronically to the Contract Administrator, TSgt Eric Punjabi and the Contracting Officer, Mr. Bryant Soule at the following email addresses: eric.punjabi@us.af.mil and bryant.soule@us.af.mil.

7. Responses shall be no more than 10 pages (single spaced, front and back, no smaller than Times New Roman, font size 12 or equivalent). If submissions exceed the page count noted, the Government will only review the first 10 pages and disregard the remainder of the submission. Extraneous materials (brochures, manuals, etc.) will not be considered. Questions concerning this announcement shall be submitting in writing via email to the Contract Administrator and Contracting Officer.