SOLE SOURCE - PCB Fabrication, Assembly, and Components of Telemetry Boards

This is a combined synopsis and solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 –Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation will be posted for less than fifteen (15) days in accordance with FAR 5.203(a)(2). 

Request for Quote (RFQ) number is N6660424Q0032

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWCDIVNPT) intends to award a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) purchase order to Sierra Circuits on a Sole Source basis in accordance with FAR 13-106-1(b) for PCB Fabrication, Assembly, and Components of Telemetry Boards.  The notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. Information received will normally be considered for the purposes of determining whether to conduct a competitive requirement in the future.  

Required delivery is a period of performance 15 Days ADC.

This procurement is SB Set-Aside as concurred with by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport (NUWCDIVNPT) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) and Small Business Administration Procurement Center Representative (SBA PCR). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 334513. The Small Business Size Standard is 150 Employees. 

Incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the most current Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC). 

The following clauses and provisions apply to this solicitation:

- FAR 52.209-11, Representation by Corporations Regarding Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under any Federal Law (FEB 2016)

-           FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors--Commercial Products and Commercial Services

-           FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items;

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-           FAR 52.212-3 ALT 1 – Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items Alternate 1

-           FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items;

-           FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items;

The following DFARS clauses apply to this solicitation:

252.204-7008, Compliance with Safeguarding Covered Defense Information Controls 252.204- 7009, Limitations on the Use or Disclosure of Third-Party Contractor Reported Cyber Incident  Information

252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting  252.204-7015, Notice of Authorized Disclosure of Information for Litigation Support

252.204-7018, Prohibition on the Acquisition of Covered Defense Telecommunications Equipment or Services apply to this solicitation. 

Full text of incorporated FAR/DFARS clauses and provisions are may be accessed electronically at https://acquisition.gov/far/ and https://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/dars/dfarspgi/current/index.html.

The use in this solicitation of any Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 1) clause with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of “(Deviation)” after the date of the clause.  

Payment will be via Procurement Integrity Enterprise Environment (PIEE) (formerly known as Wide Area Workflow (WAWF)).  

This solicitation requires an active registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to award, pursuant to applicable regulations and guidelines. Registration information can be found at www.sam.gov. 

For information on this acquisition contact Jennifer Vatousiou at jennifer.m.vatousiou.civ@us.navy.mil .   

The property or services needed by the agency are available from only one responsible source and no other type of property or services will satisfy the needs of the agency.

The Vector Sensor Array program requires the capability of small form-factor electronics which interface with a novel towed array acoustic sensor as well as digitally communicate that sensor’s data to higher tier electronics within the array. The electronics must work reliably over a wide range of temperatures, depths, and vibrational loading conditions while meeting the arrays stringent electrical and acoustic performance requirements.

Circuit boards manufactured by Sierra Circuits are regularly used for towed array telemetry research and development efforts and have also historically been used in Fleet towed arrays. Specifically, circuit boards of the required design manufactured by Sierra Circuits and procured by NUWCDIVNPT were used in proof-of-concept and design verification testing to demonstrate the subject circuit design meets the requirements of the ongoing Vector Sensor Array program. Further, the results of that testing were used in analysis which informed the engineering design of other elements of the acoustic vector sensor itself.

Introduction of an alternative vendor would incur additional cost, add technical risk, and induce schedule delays to the Vector Sensor Array program.  Soliciting the required parts from any other manufacturer would force the Government to alter the current board design to meet the engineering requirements, such as physical layout constraints, imposed by the unique manufacturing processes of that alternate vendor. This would subsequently necessitate additional testing by the Government to re-verify that the new product meets the Government requirement and there were no unintended consequences realized. Further, the previous analysis informing the engineering design of other elements of the acoustic vector sensor would be invalidated, forcing the Government to re-execute that analysis, the results of which could have cascading effects to the design of the sensor. Re-engineering of either the circuit boards or the vector sensor would necessitate a significant re-testing effort, adding additional costs and a delayed program schedule of ten months.