Vessel operations, maintenance, upkeep and repair of research vessel (R/V) acoustic explorer

15 May 2023:

For N66001-23-R-0003, the Government has issued Question and Answers (Q&A)
Release #1. See attached Q&A Release #1.

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The Department of the Navy, Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC), Pacific is
officially issuing solicitation No. N66001-23-R-0003 for VESSEL OPERATIONS,
MAINTENANCE, UPKEEP, AND REPAIR OF RESEARCH VESSEL (R/V) ACOUSTIC EXPLORER
as a total small business set-aside.

This acquisition has security requirements at the Secret level. NIWC Pacific anticipates
making a Single Award as a result of this solicitation. The PSC code for this procurement
is M1HA. The NAICS code for this procurement is 483114 with a size standard of 550
employees.

See attachments in the Solicitation. Please submit any questions in accordance with the
solicitation requirements.

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This Pre-Solicitation Synopsis is a follow-up to the Market Survey (MKTSVY-190416) that
was posted on
22 December 2022.
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(1) Action Code. P – Pre-Solicitation Notice
(2) Date. 1 March
(3) Year. 2023
(4) Contracting Office ZIP Code. 92152
(5) Product or Service Code. M1HA, Operation of Government-Owned Contractor-
Operated (GOCO) R&D
Facilities
(6) Contracting Office Address. 49275 Electron Dr, A33, San Diego, CA 92152
(7) Subject. VESSEL OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, UPKEEP AND REPAIR OF RESEARCH
VESSEL (R/V)
ACOUSTIC EXPLORER
(8) Proposed Solicitation Number. N66001-23-R-0003
(9) Closing Response Date. N/A
(10) Contact Point or Contracting Officer (KO). Ryan Conrad at
ryan.s.conrad3.civ@us.navy.mil or
David Leonard (KO) at david.p.leonard16.civ@us.navy.mil
(11) Contract Award and Solicitation Number. N/A
(12) Contract Award Dollar Amount. N/A
(13) Line Item Number. N/A
(14) Contract Award Date. N/A
(15) Contractor. N/A

(16) Description. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific) intends to
award one single-
award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to procure services to
provide vessel
operations, maintenance, upkeep, and repair of Research Vessel Acoustic Explorer (AX).

NIWC Pacific is responsible for maintaining the Acoustic Explorer, a Government owned
vessel. This vessel
provides at-sea support for the Sonobuoy Quality Assurance Program (SQAP). The SQAP
is responsible for
testing production sonobuoys, to ensure that the sonobuoys perform within contract
specifications, prior to
their procurement by the Navy. The Acoustic Explorer serves multiple functions (i.e.
Deployment Analysis,
Defect Recovery and Analysis, Sound Source Deployment/Operation/Recovery,
Environment Analysis, and
Datum Determination) for the SQAP and is an integral tool in performing quality
assurance during the
procurement process.

This contract action will be structured using a contract with Cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF)
and cost
reimbursement pricing arrangements. It is estimated that the base contract ordering
period is for three
years with three 24-month option ordering periods for a possible total of nine years.

In December 2022, the contracting officer posted a market survey. In addition, that
posting included the
statement that all responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or
quotation, which
shall be considered by the agency. Information for the purposes of determining whether
to conduct a
competitive procurement was considered and the Government received sufficient
qualified capability
statements to set-aside this procurement for small business.

(17) Place of Contract Performance. N/A
(18) Set-aside Status. Small