SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- VERY LIGHT JET (VLJ) CAPABILITY REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (CRFI) PHASE II
- Notice Date
- 6/12/2007
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 336411
— Aircraft Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, ASC - Aeronautical Systems Center, 2275 D Street, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, 45433-7218, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- XR_CFRI-07-01
- Response Due
- 8/15/2007
- Archive Date
- 8/30/2007
- Description
- VERY LIGHT JET (VLJ) CAPABILITY REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (CRFI) Phase II 1.The Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) Capabilities Integration Directorate, ASC/XR, Wright-Patterson AFB OH, is submitting an updated Capability Request for Information (CRFI), originally issued 30 Jan 06. In the initial notice, the Air Force requested information to help examine potential capabilities and military uses of the emerging aircraft class called Very Light Jet (VLJ). This class is generally defined by a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) no greater than 10,000 lb, powered by one or two gas turbine engines, and a commercial list price less than $5M per aircraft. Responses to the original notification were received and assessed during March 2006, including the potential to conduct flight evaluations of offered aircraft. The result of this assessment was that, while these aircraft offer some potential military capabilities at an attractive cost, none of them had been FAA certified at the time. Therefore, the Air Force elected to suspend further investigations until the FAA certified more than one aircraft. As indicated in de-briefing sessions with the original CRFI responders, the Air Force has monitored the certification progress of these aircraft and now understands more than one has been certified by the FAA. Consequently, the Air Force is hereby re-opening discussions with industry to examine potential VLJ capabilities and military uses. Additionally, as contemplated in the original CRFI, the Air Force is seeking to conduct flight evaluations of FAA certified aircraft in order to better understand their capabilities. This is a two part CRFI: Part A requests information on how emerging commercial opportunities in the VLJ class might have military applications for new mission areas or replace existing mission capabilities, such as sensor platforms, communications relays, network gateways, unmanned platforms, etc. and how these aircraft might be adapted to fulfill those roles. Part B requests updated capability information on FAA certified VLJ aircraft and their availability for qualitative flight evaluations by Air Force test pilots. The submitted documentation becomes the property of the U.S. Government and will not be returned. No solicitation documents exist at this time. This is NOT an Invitation for Bid (IFB) or a Request for Proposal (RFP). The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this advertisement. This is a request for information/market research announcement for planning purposes. The Government will not reimburse costs associated with the documentation submitted under this request except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subpart 31.205-18, Independent Research and Development and Bid and Proposal Costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Although the word ?proposed? may be used in this inquiry, your response will be treated as information only and will not be used as a proposal. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this inquiry. This announcement is not to be construed as a formal solicitation. It does not commit the government to reply to information received, or to later publish a solicitation, or to award a contract based on this information. 2. This notice is part of Government Market Research, a continuous process for obtaining the latest information on the ?art of the possible? from industry with respect to their current and near-term abilities. The information collected may be used by the Government to explore future strategies for the possible uses of the VLJ aircraft class within the military. Information received as a result of this request will be considered as sensitive and will be protected as such. Any company proprietary information contained in the response should be clearly marked as such, by paragraph, such that ?publicly-releasable? and ?proprietary? information are clearly distinguished. Any proprietary information received in response to this request will be properly protected from any unauthorized disclosure. The Government will not use proprietary information submitted from any one firm to establish the capability and requirements for any future systems acquisition, so as to not inadvertently restrict competition. 3. Part A: The Air Force is requesting information from appropriate companies or parties interested in providing novel uses of VLJ aircraft and approaches for adapting them to unique military missions. We recognize that the VLJ business segment is for the most part commercially driven; thus, in addition to information from VLJ Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), the Air Force is also seeking innovative modification and/or partnering approaches from traditionally defense-focused companies. We are interested in innovative uses of VLJs where this class aircraft could provide either unique capabilities or an attractive performance/cost benefit to the Air Force. The following are examples of missions which the VLJ class may be suited to perform: passenger/cargo transport, training, Homeland Defense, signals intelligence (SIGINT), surveillance, reconnaissance, communications relay, airborne communications gateway, and electronic combat. Industry responses should rank order the missions their proposed VLJ variant may be best suited to perform, with strengths and weaknesses of each mission discussed in three pages or less per mission. As this is not an exhaustive list, the Air Force requests identification of any additional missions or innovative or novel uses that industry believes this class of aircraft could perform. The Air Force also requests information on potential technical and business approaches for modifying/adapting VLJ aircraft (e.g., modifications to add sensors, add additional fuel capacity, provide remote piloting, etc.) to perform these unique or beneficial missions. Part A should include: (1) a cover page containing identification of the company CAGE code, street address, and business size for NACICS code 336411 (aircraft manufacturing) and the names and telephone numbers of the technical point of contact (POC) and the overall company POC in paragraph 4 above (in the case of a partnership, please provide appropriate CAGE codes and POC information for the lead company), (2) a summary statement indicating the company?s (or team?s) ability and willingness to make its VLJ available for a qualitative flight evaluation whether at Edwards AFB, CA or an alternate location of a company's choice; (3) a thorough aircraft description, including technical and general data summarized in the table titled Technical & General Vehicle Parameters Summary and descriptive text to provide additional detail; and,(4) a description for each viable mission to include modifications needed to adapt the aircraft to the specific mission or use, and estimates of the costs, schedules, and risks to perform these modifications. Responses are limited to 25 pages. Part B: In this part, the Air Force requests current information on the capabilities of proposed VLJ aircraft and the responder?s interest in supporting limited qualitative evaluations (qual evals) of that aircraft. The qual evals will be conducted by fully qualified Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) test pilots and are intended to assist the Air Force in examining potential military missions that this class of aircraft may be suited to perform. The Air Force desires to perform these qual evals at either Edwards AFB, CA or at a location of the interested party?s selection. The qual evals are being used to investigate aircraft characteristics and will not require any permanent modification or change to the aircraft. If you respond to Part B, your responses should include (in addition to your Part A response): (1) identification of cost, personnel, and risk of loss considerations associated with qual eval flights that need to be addressed by the parties prior to conducting qual eval flights; and, (2) the respondents? preferred business approach and methodology for conducting qual evals. Responses are limited to 25 pages. 4. Broad industry participation in this VLJ Phase II CRFI is encouraged and information on VLJ aircraft that have not yet achieved FAA certification is acceptable. Companies/teams planning to provide a capability response should identify, to the Air Force point of contact (POC) named below, the name of their company, address, telephone number, and name and position of the individual to contact for future dialogue. 5. Technical parameters, likely concepts-of-operation, mission performance assessment results, and price will all be considered during this AF VLJ capability assessment. Upon the conclusion of our effort, participants will be provided a summary of the Air Force assessment of their respective aircraft/approach. 6. Companies are not limited to a single aircraft configuration for this RFI; however, each VLJ aircraft configuration must be clearly identified in a separate narrative summary. Request that the narrative summaries discuss specific aircraft information delineated above. Submissions are requested within 45 days of this announcement and may be made by e-mail or mailing your response on a compact disk to: Mr. Terry Hudson, (937) 255-5763, Contract Negotiator Terry.Hudson@wpafb.af.mil, ASC/577AESG/PK (Bldg 28, Rm. 219, 2145 Monahan Way) Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7017 with a notice of delivery to: Mrs. Pat Krabacher,(937) 904-4501, Contracting Officer patricia.krabacher@wpafb.af.mil, ASC/XRS (Capability Planning Div, 2275 D St., Bldg 16, RM 0053) Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7217. Personnel hand-carrying responses should contact the Contract Negotiator to arrange a mutually acceptable arrival time. 7. U.S. and non-U.S. firms are permitted to respond to this VLJ capability RFI. Responses to questions from interested parties will be promptly answered and posted on PIXS/FBO, unless some release of proprietary information is involved or the answer addresses a question peculiar to a Company or that Company?s response. Post submittal one-on-one information sessions with respondents are not contemplated. They may be offered to responders to clarify understanding of their submittal, the capability ramifications, or to discuss their business approach to the qual evals. Information feedback sessions may be offered to respondents after the CRFI assessments are completed. 8. Further AF interest in VLJ will be dependent on the results of this VLJ Phase II CRFI capability assessment (including mission performance assessments) and Air Force operational requirements analyses and determinations. Future purchasing or leasing agreements may be sought to obtain aircraft in order to temporarily or permanently modify them with mission and/or instrumentation equipment for more extensive evaluation. These additional comprehensive evaluations would be contingent on the Air Force determining there are viable operational missions for the VLJ. This effort would entail initiating an acquisition program to acquire that new capability via a separate announcement on FBO. 9. Technical point of contact is Mr. Patrick Fillingim, ASC/XRS Bldg 16, (937) 904-4417, or Mr. Eric Crawford, ASC/XRC Bldg 28, (937) 255-2649. This notice may be updated as additional information becomes available. Please check the FBO site for updates to this Phase II announcement under Very Light Jets (VLJ) Capability Request for Information (CRFI) and register to receive e-mail notices of any updates to the FBO announcement. For more information on "VERY LIGHT JET (VLJ) CAPABILITY REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)", please contact the AF POCs using e-mail to all four POCs listed below. AF Points of Contact (POC) for VLJ Phase II CRFI: Patricia Krabacher, Contracting Officer, 937-765-0483 patricia.krabacher@wpafb.af.mil Terry Hudson, negotiator, 937-255-5763 Terry.hudson@wpafb.af.mil and Patrick Fillingim, Program Manager, 937-904-4417 Patrick.fillingim@wpafb.af.mil Eric Crawford, Program Manager, 937-255-2649 eric.crawford@wpafb.af.m
- Record
- SN01316510-W 20070614/070612220803 (fbodaily.com)
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