SOURCES SOUGHT
15 -- QF-16 Production Lots 6-10
- Notice Date
- 5/14/2015
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 336411
— Aircraft Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFLCMC/EBYK, 314 Choctawhatchee Ave, Eglin AFB, Florida, 32542, United States
- ZIP Code
- 32542
- Solicitation Number
- FA8678-18-R-0001
- Archive Date
- 6/30/2015
- Point of Contact
- Holly A. Deuser, Phone: (850) 883-3376, Patricia A Hicks, Phone: (850)883-0873
- E-Mail Address
-
holly.deuser@us.af.mil, patricia.hicks@us.af.mil
(holly.deuser@us.af.mil, patricia.hicks@us.af.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This notice services as a sources sought synopsis for the QF-16 Lots 6-10 (FY18-22) production/sustainment program. This sources sought is a market research tool to gain knowledge of potential qualified prime contractors, which will be used for planning purposes. All prime contractors must be U.S. corporations. This is not a request for proposal and shall not be interpreted as a commitment by the Government. Participation is strictly voluntary; the Government will not reimburse any costs associated with providing information in response to this sources sought. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 336411 with a size standard of 1,500 employees. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Aerial Targets Program Office, AFLCMC/EBYA, is planning a multiple lot procurement of the QF-16 Full-Scale Aerial Target (FSAT), with anticipated contract award in November 2017. The solicitation/award will consist of a basic production lot (Lot 6/FY18) plus four (4) production options (Lot 7/FY19, Lot 8/FY20, Lot 9/FY21, and Lot 10/FY22). Annual production quantities are anticipated to range from 12 to 36 aircraft, with a most probable quantity of 25 annually. Specific production, enhancement, sustainment, and Total System Integration Responsibility (TSIR) requirements may include, but are not limited to: QF-16 Production (production of Drone Peculiar Equipment (DPE) and installation into Government furnished regenerated F-16s), DPE unique Peculiar Support Equipment (PSE), F-16 Operations and Maintenance per Air Force guidance and instructions, DPE obsolescence, associated spare parts, in- and out-of-warranty support, program support (i.e., program management, engineering, logistics, test support, support equipment, spares management, and associated TO data maintenance), and engineering support for analysis and study of obsolescence issues, engineering changes, and system enhancements. The Government will not be able to provide F-16 support equipment or special test equipment to any prospective new source. The Government does not own or possess a technical data package (TDP) for the QF-16 system. The TDP is owned by The Boeing Company of St Louis, MO. The Government currently does not have any development funding available for this effort; therefore, interested vendors must have an existing qualified design solution that meets the requirements for a Tailored Airworthiness Certification Criteria (TACC) as detailed in MIL-HDBK-516C. Furthermore, at the time of contract award, the vendor must have production representative hardware ready to integrate into an F-16 in support of required system level testing leading to a Military Type Certification (MTC). Interested prime contractors must be able to produce the QF-16 end item using a demonstrated and mature production line to meet DoD Manufacturing Readiness standards associated with Full Rate Production. The prime contractor's solution must meet the QF-16 System Performance Specification (SPS) and be compatible with the Gulf Range Drone Control System (GRDCS) Interface Control Document (ICD), the White Sands Missile Range Integrated Target System (WITS), the F-16 Environmental Specification (16SPS011E), and the QF-16 Payloads ICD. Key requirements are: •· Expendables Employment: The QF-16 solution must operate and deploy internal/external chaff, flares and Electronic Attack (EA) systems individually and simultaneously. •· Operating Environment: The QF-16 will operate on two ranges, the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range (EGTTR) and the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). The unmanned QF-16 must be capable of full operations during visual meteorological conditions. For any manned QF-16 operations, all of the basic F-16 Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) equipment (TACAN, ILS, IFF) must be functional. The QF-16 must be capable of performing automatic takeoffs and landings on a 7,000 foot by 150 foot runway with multiple arresting cables. •· Performance Envelope: The QF-16 must retain the basic performance characteristics of its parent F-16. The QF-16 must be capable of performing under Target Control System (TCS) control with a minimum load-out of AIM-9 sized payloads on stations 1 and 9, electronic attack or countermeasures pods on stations 3 and 7 and a fuel tank on station 5. During unmanned operations, the QF-16 must be capable of target launch, performance of required maneuvers, payload employment, scoring, and recovery or flight termination. The QF-16 must be capable of performing single-ship, repeatable, consecutive maneuvers with the ability to terminate the maneuver on command, and be safely recovered from unusual attitudes. These maneuvers include, but are not limited to: barrel roll, pitch-back, slice-back, split-S, low altitude penetration, break turns, weave, pop-up, escape, and loss of signal maneuvers. •· Formation: The QF-16 will operate as a single ship or in formation flight with 1,2,or 3 other aerial targets. •· Visual Augmentation System: When commanded by the ground station or by loss of carrier, the QF-16 must employ a visual augmentation system (e.g. pulsed smoke) at all throttle positions except afterburner that is visible from 10NM under conditions of unlimited visibility for at least 10 minutes. •· Payloads Control System: The QF-16 must be capable of carrying, operating and monitoring a mix of standard payloads to include electronic attack/countermeasure pods on and internal chaff and flare dispensers, as well as airborne instrumentation systems, ancillary payloads, and a centerline fuel tank. Implementation must allow operation remotely from the ground control station or from the cockpit by a pilot. •· Flight Termination System: The QF-16 must have the capability to terminate aerodynamic flight, when necessary, both line-of-sight and over-the-horizon. An enhanced Flight Termination System (FTS), using triple-DES encryption, must be implemented and be compatible with the ground termination control systems at both ranges. •· Vector Scoring System: The QF-16 shall employ an on- or off-board missile vector scoring system featuring an encrypted downlink that does not degrade accuracy and precision of scores established in scoring requirements. The scoring solution shall have National Security Agency (NSA)-approved encryption. •· Target Control System (TCS): The airborne interface to the TCS must be fully functional with the current Air Force target control system, which conveys data over a 915-MHz RF channel using a combination of bi-pulse-position-modulation (PPM), spread spectrum pseudo-random, and bi-phase modulation coding. The airborne interface to the TCS m ust also be capable of being integrated with other DoD target control systems. The components of the airborne interface to TCS must not degrade the aerodynamic performance or radar signature of the target and must provide the target effective target and payload control. The target must be operated through the control system to fly automated maneuvers or allow the target controllers to manually operate the target to meet safety and mission support requirements. The airborne interface to the TCS must provide the capability for evolutionary growth through modular replacement of hardware and/or software without redesign of entire systems or large portions thereof. This interface must be capable of allowing operation on current (EGTTR and WSMR). •· Automatic Takeoff and Landing: The QF-16 must include an automatic takeoff and landing capability optimized to the applicable F-16 block/load-out landing limits and procedures that will maintain runway centerline and safely control braking to a full stop. This system must also be fault tolerant and capable of automatically recovering a damaged/degraded but controllable drone. The QF-16 should be able to return to base, with full aircraft controllability and automatic landing, with one complete failure of a drone-unique piece of equipment. While braking to a stop using differential braking will be the primary means of stopping the target after either a takeoff abort or an automatic landing, a secondary capability to use the legacy arresting hook must be implemented. •· DPE Peculiar Support Equipment: If unique equipment is need to support or maintain the QF-16 in either manned or unmanned missions, then that equipment must be provided with the target. Additionally, any special test equipment necessary to perform system or component ATPs must be provided. •· Technical Manuals, Checklists and Training Material: Technical manuals, checklists and training material already exist, but will need to be updated and sustained if a new design is implemented. Responsible prime contractors are invited to submit a capability statement not later than thirty (30) days after the date of this synopsis publication. Submitted capability statements must demonstrate how the prime contractor can provide a qualified QF-16 that meets the above requirements. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from interested vendors. The Ombudsman does not diminish the authority of the Program Manager or Contracting Officer, but communicates vendor concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations to the appropriate Government personnel. When requested, the Ombudsman shall maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the source selection process. Matters of routine or administrative nature concerning this acquisition should not be addressed to the Ombudsman, but rather to the Contracting points of contact identified below. The Ombudsman is Ms. Jill Willingham, AFLCMC/AQP. She may be contacted at (937) 255-5472. Points of Contact for this effort are Ms. Patricia Hicks, Contract Specialist, (850) 883-0873, email: patricia.hicks@us.af.mil or Ms. Holly Deuser, Contracting Officer, (850) 883-3376, email: holly.deuser@us.af.mil.
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