SOURCES SOUGHT
16 -- Sources Sought Notice for HH-65 Auto Pilot System
- Notice Date
- 2/20/2007
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 336413
— Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Homeland Security, United States Coast Guard (USCG), Commanding Officer, USCG Aircraft Repair & Supply Center, HU25, HH65, H60J, C130, EISD, 130J or ALD Support, Elizabeth City, NC, 27909-5001, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-Sources-Sought-Notice-for-HH65-Auto-Pilot-System
- Response Due
- 2/27/2007
- Archive Date
- 3/14/2007
- Description
- This is not a request for proposals. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals and no contract will be awarded from this announcement. The Coast Guard is looking for sources/vendors capable of providing a replacement for the HH-65 Auto Pilot system. This solicitation has been issued to survey the market to identify suitable candidate systems for consideration. The H-65 avionics system modernization plan includes the incorporation of the US Army Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) now being installed in the Coast Guard H-60 aircraft. Current H-65 autopilot system specifications are attached for review. The Coast Guard is seeking an autopilot system that meets or exceeds the current system capabilities. Potential suppliers are encouraged to review the attached documents and provide written suggestions to the contracting officer. Please respond to the following questions: (1) Is your business a large or small business? (2) If small, does your firm qualify as a small, emergent business, or a small, disadvantaged business? (3) If disadvantaged, specify under which disadvantaged group and is your firm certified under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act? (4) Is your firm a certified "hub zone" firm? (5) Is your firm a woman-owned or operated business? (6) Is your firm a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned? (7) Is your product listed on a GSA schedule? (8) Do you have other government agencies using the product, and if so which agencies, POC?s and contract numbers? (9) If possible, any POC?s for civilian users for general usage of product questions. After the review of the responses to this sources sought announcement, and if the Government still plans to proceed with the acquisition, a solicitation announcement will be published in the FEDBIZOPS. Responses to this sources sought synopsis are not an adequate response to any future solicitation announcement. Again, this is not a request for proposals and in no way obligates the Government to award any contract. All companies that can meet the specification are encouraged to provide a capability statement, company literature, brochures, or any other information that demonstrates that the specification can be met. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses must be received no later than 27 February 2007 at 3 p.m. EST. This notice is to help the USCG in determining potential sources only. All firms responding to this sources sought notice are advised that their response to this notice is not a request to be considered for a contract award. All interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the responses to this announcement. Responses to this sources sought synopsis are NOT a request to be added to a prospective offerors list or to receive a copy of the solicitation. Reimbursement will not be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement and any follow-up information requests. Point of Contact The Coast Guard is publishing this request for information and will consider suggestions from qualified suppliers. Suggestions must be received at the following address no later than 27 February 2007. HH-65 Product Line Division Attn: Tabitha Bakely USCG Aircraft Repair and Supply Center Elizabeth City, NC 27909-5001 Advance copies may be sent by e-mail to Tabitha.L.Bakely@uscg.mil including the following in the subject line ?H-65 Autopilot Comments, Company Name?. Correspondence must include a company point of contact with address, phone number and email address. The Coast Guard will consider the information provided by qualified suppliers in the development of the avionics modernization plan for the H-65. Additional Project Details 1.0 Scope The Autopilot system may be installed in all H-65 aircraft. The requirement will include spares. The system and associated support plans will be designed to minimize Coast Guard inventory requirements. Additional systems may be acquired if the H-65 fleet is expanded. 2.0 Background The Coast Guard currently operates (97) H-65 aircraft. The fleet is being expanded to 102 aircraft. The Coast Guard H-60 fleet is in the process of being upgraded by incorporation of the US Army Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS). The Coast Guard is seeking to simplify logistics and reduce total engineering development cost by incorporating the CAAS system in the H-65. The current H-65 autopilot system is described in the attached documents. This system has performed extremely well in service. Unfortunately, the current autopilot system is no longer in production and would require costly modifications to integrate with planned avionics system improvements. The replacement system must meet or exceed the current system capabilities. As the respondents review the attachments, careful attention should be directed at the following sections: Attachment (1): Avionics System Specification USCG HH-65A Helicopter Section 3.1.1.1 Normal Flight Envelope Section 3.3.4 Flight Control Section 3.5 Design Requirements for Equipment Section 3.6 Qualification Requirements Section 4.2 Flight Management Subsystem Section 4.3 Flight Control Subsystem Attachment (2): Flight Control Subsystem Specification USCG HH-65 Helicopter Section 3.0 General Requirements Section 4.0 Functional and Operational Requirements Section 4.2 Flight Director System (particularly the available modes). Note: the attachments, especially the flight control specification, provides a detailed description of the current system. The modernized system must provide the same functionality, or better. However, the system architecture may be completely different. The HH-65 is a derivative of the Eurocopter Dauphin aircraft. The current configuration is similar to the AS 365N3. The aircraft was originally built to FAR part 29 standards. Modifications to the aircraft are designed to current FAR 29 standards with exceptions approved for Coast Guard specific requirements. 3.0 Modernization Planning The H-65 avionics systems improvements will replace existing equipment with current available commercial and government-supplied components. The system will include dual Honeywell HG764/GU Embedded GPS Inertial Navigation systems (EGI) and a HG7210CA01 RADAR Altimeter system (RADALT). The flight management system will be incorporated in the Collins CDU-7000. The system will be fully integrated with the flight management system. The complete system will be capable of full control of all axis of flight from a stable hover to flight and back to a stable hover at a designated position. Autopilot mode annunciation will be incorporated into the CAAS display system. All lighting, displays, controls and indicators will be optimized for viewing with the unaided eye and compatible with aircrew Night Vision Goggle (NVG) operations. For planning purposes, it should be assumed that the autopilot system will be certified under FAR 29. However, the Coast Guard will work in partnership with NAVAIR for the airworthiness certification. 3.1 Support A Support By the Hour (SBH) support strategy is desired. The support structure will be based existing Coast Guard support contracts. The support strategy will be included in the system procurement process. 3.2 Open Architecture The Autopilot will be designed to incorporate an open architecture to the greatest extent possible and use standard government and commercial protocols. The system should minimize proprietary interfaces and systems. Data developed at government expense will be used by the government without restriction. 4. Vendor Qualification The supplier must be an original equipment manufacturer for autopilot systems. The supplier must have been approved by the US Department of Defense (DOD) or GSA (or equivalent as determined by the best value source selection team) as an aircraft autopilot supplier or have been included as part of an approved supplemental type certificate for installation of autopilot systems on US commercial aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration. The supplier must have experience working with civil and military airworthiness authorities. The supplier must explain in their response how they would certify the airworthiness of the installation. The supplier must have or establish a permanent presence in the United States staffed with English speaking technical support personnel. All system documentation must be available in readily understandable English language format. 5. Evaluation After evaluation of the information received, the Coast Guard may issue a separate request for proposals. Selection and contract award will be made to the responsible offeror whose offer provides the best value to the Government determined by a balanced, performance based evaluation of system capabilities, acceptance of the government defined comprehensive support requirements, past performance, delivery and price. The planned system evaluation criteria are: Technical Capability, Past Performance, Risk, Experience, Delivery and Price. Proposals that exceed the basic requirements will be considered. The evaluation and source selection process will consider each offeror's capability to provide a technical solution that best aligns with the requirements, is within the proposed schedule, and is affordably priced. An integrated assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, and risks of each offeror's proposal, together with the cost proposed, will be used to determine which proposal offers the best overall value to the Government. Attachments (1) Avionics System Specification USCG HH-65A Helicopter (2) Flight Control Subsystem Specification USCG HH-65 Helicopter
- Record
- SN01234989-W 20070222/070220220232 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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