Tested and Proven Lightweight Armor for US Army Aircraft

The Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal Fort Eustis, Virginia is issuing this Sources Sought Notice (SSN) as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in, and the resources to support, a possible upcoming research and development requirement to develop tested and proven lightweight armor for U.S. Army aircraft.

The intention is to set-aside the requirement for Small Business and to specifically identify if there any qualified Small Businesses located in HUBZones and that have experience developing, testing, and manufacturing lightweight armor. 

Based upon the responses to this Sources Sought Notice, this requirement may be set-aside for Small Businesses in full or in part.  All Small Business set-aside categories will be considered.  Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback will be provided to companies submitting a response.

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS.  THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE (SSN) ONLY.  This SSN is solely for informational and planning purposes only and shall NOT be considered as a Request for Proposals (RFP) or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services.  All information submitted in response to the SSN is voluntary.  The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred in responding to this SSN.  The Government reserves the right to reject, in whole or in part, any Contractor’s input resulting from this SSN.  No contract will be awarded from this announcement.  Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), responses to this SSN are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.  Information submitted in response is completely voluntary.

Background

The Government desires to develop an armor kit for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) that is significantly lighter than current state of the art. Specifically, the objectives of the possible upcoming research and development requirement are as follows:

1. Design an integrated opaque armor solution for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) that meets the aircraft protection requirement at significantly lower weight than current state of the art armor systems.
2. Demonstrate the installation and removal of the armor solution in a representative aircraft mock-up.
3. Validate ballistic performance for the armor solution in a realistic FLRAA configuration.

More details can be found in the Draft SOW attached to this SSN.

Required Capabilities

Only sources with the capability to complete the work outlined in the draft statement of work attached need respond to this SSN. In addition, sources will need to have personnel cleared to at least the SECRET level in order to perform.

All responsible sources should submit information to substantiate the capability of the company to develop, test and manufacture advanced lightweight armor suitable for use with Army Aviation. Any additional information to substantiate the company’s ability to conduct research and development on lightweight aviation armor, as well as any aircraft armor kit design and integration expertise is also desired.

Any interested source possessing the requisite skills, resources, and capabilities necessary to fulfill this anticipated requirement is invited to respond to the SSN.  Responses may be in contractor format. All responses shall no more than 15 pages in length.  All responses must include the following information:

1. Company Name, address, and website address

1.  Company point of contact name, telephone number, and e-mail address

1. CAGE Code and SAM.gov Unique Entity Identification (UEI) Number

1. Business Type (Large or Small); if Small, do you qualify for one of the socio-economic SB categories (SDV HubZone, etc.) and if so, please identify.

1. Capability statement specifying technical skills possessed to satisfactorily perform this requirement.

1. SSN Number: SSN-24-0001

Please be advised that proprietary information must be marked as such on a page-by-page basis.  The Government will not assume that the information provided by a respondent is proprietary unless it is conspicuously marked, nor will the Government contact a respondent and inquire whether unmarked information is proprietary.  All data received in response to this SSN that is marked or designated as proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government. 

No claims against the Government shall arise as a result of submitting a response to this Sources Sought Notice.