Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF MAY 01, 2004 FBO #0887
MODIFICATION

15 -- Aerial Surveillance Platform in support of the Coalition Provisional Authority - Iraq

Notice Date

4/29/2004
 

Notice Type

Modification
 

NAICS

336411 — Aircraft Manufacturing
 

Contracting Office

US Army Aviation and Missile Command (Aviation), ATTN: AMSAM-AC, Building 5303, Martin Road, Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898-5280
 

ZIP Code

35898-5280
 

Solicitation Number

W58RGZ04R0547
 

Response Due

5/10/2004
 

Archive Date

7/9/2004
 

Point of Contact

Carole Hubbard, (256)876-3390
 

E-Mail Address

Email your questions to US Army Aviation and Missile Command (Aviation)
(carole.hubbard@redstone.army.mil)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

This is Amendment 0003 to combined synopsis/solicitation W58RGZ-04-R-0547 for the purpose of providing industry questions and government responses. The proposal due date is hereby extended to 10 May 2004, 4:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST). For those questions/responses that resulted in a change to the requirement, you will need to make a pen and ink change to the original synopsis/solicitation. Solicitation W58RGZ-04-R-0547 will not be reposted in its entirety. Due to the immediate need for th ese aerial surveillance platforms, no further industry questions should be submitted. There is no guarantee that any further questions will be answered. Q1: In view of the fact that no airplane company makes and installs sensors and no sensor company mak es airplanes for installation of its sensors and neither type company makes and neither installs the types of avionics required it appears that at least three or four other NAICS codes should be included or incorporated into this solicitation. Is this sol icitation limited to airplane manufactures only? A1: Our market research indicates aircraft with sensors of the type specified in the solicitation are commercially available. Our requirement is for aircraft with sensors, not individual items. This solic itation is not limited to aircraft manufacturers only. Q2: In order to deliver an aerial surveillance aircraft platform and surveillance system which has reliability and maintainability characteristics that support a system operations tempo (OPTEMPO) of 8 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, with an aircraft availability rate of ninety percent (90%) Mission Capable (MC) for completion of an 8-hour mission under Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) and given the temperature conditions during the summer and fall in that country, adiabatic cooling would not provide a cockpit environment of less than 90-105 degrees F until reaching approximately 15,000 feet. This fact means that heat injuries could easily be encountered by even conditioned troo ps over the 8 hour plus mission profile envisioned. In that pilots and other crewmembers cannot pull over to the side of the road or otherwise decrease the stress of the operation in these temps does the government anticipate requiring air conditioning of the equipment so as to decrease heat stress on the crew as is the case in most US combat aircraft? A2: Air conditioning is not a requirement for this aircraft. Q3: RE: 3.0.2 Mission Profile ( . . . and shall require only commercial fuels (M OGAS 80-87 oc tane)) Does the government consider Jet fuel, JP-8, JP-4, or other similar aircraft fuels as non-commercial or is it limiting the type of fuel to those two types of fuel? MOGAS and 80-87 engines are of such limited horsepower (200 or less) that an aircra ft equipped to perform a surveillance mission of this type would be extremely limited give the atmospheric conditions of Iraq. A3: MOGAS low octane is the requirement. Please note that 91 octane is acceptable (Amendment 0002, Question 3). Q4: What is the availability of either MOGAS or 80-87 and who is controlling the quality of this fuel to assure that it is usable for aircraft under the provisions of the FAA FAR? A4: The availability and quality control of this fuel is an operational area of concern and should not affect proposal submission. Q5: What provisions have been made in the handling and dispensing of fuel that assures non-contamination of the fuel so as to prevent abrogation of warranties thru negligence on the part of the operator? A5: Wa rranty issues will be resolved on a case by case basis. Q6: The requirement that the aircraft must have an agile and stealthy profile to allow its aircrew to identify potential threats and avoid ground fire and other threats to low flying aircraft presupp oses that the aircraft will be flying at a low level. In view of the fact that the slant range for most small arms of 12.7mm and below is about 1500 ft and the slant range of the SA-7 is about 8-10,000 ft, it would seem reasonable to conduct this type of operation at or above 8,000 feet. What constitutes an agile and stealthy profile and how will this be measured? A6: The aircraft should be capable of short fi eld operations with the ability to take off and land from unimproved areas. The aircraft will also have a low noise and heat signature. Q7: RE: FAA FAR Part 121 Operating Requirements: Domestic, Flag and Supplemental Operations. In view of the fact th at this airplane will probably weigh in at less than 12.500 lbs, which paragraphs of FAA FAR Part 121 are applicable to this solicitation? A7: All paragraphs pertaining to the manufacture of reciprocating engine fixed wing aircraft and the safety measures associated therein. Q8: Does the government anticipate that the contractor will be conducting active training of the flight students during actual missions in Iraq? A8: No. Q9: What is the billing address for payment of this solicitation? A9: The bil ling address will be a US address and will be further defined at the time of contract award. Q10: There is no CLIN for the training of sensors. Airborne Electronic Sensor Operators (AESOps) are not pilots and pilots are not, generally, AESOPs. In view o f the fact that there has been no mention of trained AESOPs as there has been of trained pilots, what is the training level of the being selected for this program? A10: The selected pilots will also be the sensor operators. Q11: Will the government add a CLIN for AESOPs training? A11: No. The sensor training is part of the pilot training. Q12: We respectively request a written determination from the Contracting Officer as to why, given the dates for award of non-negotiated and negotiated award dates that an additional 14 days for bid preparation cannot be made for this solicitation? A12: This aerial surveillance platform is a very urgent requirement and it is imperative that we receive proposals, conduct evaluations and award a contract as soon as p ossible. Due to the number of questions received, the proposal due date has been extended to 10 May 2004, 4:00 p.m. CST. It is highly unlikely that any further extension will be granted. Q13: Exactly what makes/models aircraft will be acceptable? If un able to list, please further define the requirement by stating the minimum number of engines, minimum payload in pounds and minimum number of seats. A13: The minimum number of engines is one. The minimum payload is relative to the aircraft capability to perform the mission profile. Can it take off with full fuel capacity, can it perform the required onstation mission and return with required fuel reserves. The minimum number of seats is two. Q14: Please confirm the required loitering speed . . . 60-80 knots. A14: The required loitering speed is 60-80 knots. Q15: The original synopsis/solicitation for this aircraft required the aircraft to have an agile and stealthy profile. Aircraft stealth covers many aspects of an aircraft signature, from radar to acoustic. Similarly, aircraft agility can be defined in terms of energy maneuverability, roll/pitch/yaw rates or subjective pilot opinion. Can these requirements be quantified or deleted? A15: See the answer to question 6. Q16: Is a subcontractor fro m Russia acceptable, provided that the main contractor is from a qualified country? A16: There are no restrictions on subcontractor sources. CORRECTION TO PREVIOUSLY ANSWERED QUESTION: Amendment 0001, A5 is hereby changed to state that IFF capability is required. The last sentence of paragraph 3.0.5 is changed to read The aircraft shall be equipped with an encoding transponder with IFF capability for ATC identification and for operations within civil and military ATC infrastructure. The point of contac t for this action is Carole Hubbard, Contracting Officer, fax number (256) 955-8364 or email to carole.hubbard@redstone.army.mil.
 

Place of Performance

Address: US Army Aviation and Missile Command (Aviation) ATTN: AMSAM-AC, Building 5303, Martin Road Redstone Arsenal AL

Zip Code: 35898-5280

Country: US
 

Record

SN00576896-W 20040501/040429212234 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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