STRATEGIC ANALYSIS INC, ATTN MARYA BAVIS (DARPA), 4001 NORTH FAIRFAX DRIVE SUITE 175, ARLINGTON VA 22003

A -- EXPLORE CONCEPTS LEADING TO ARMOR MATERIALS SYSTEM SOL DAAK60-97-R-9614 DUE 032097 POC Contracts Specialist Frank A. Scipione FAX: (508) 233-5286 (Site Code DAAK60) The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in cooperation with the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Command solicits proposals with the objective of exploring concepts leading to an armor materials system capable of defeating 7.62 mm armor piercing (APM2) rounds at and below muzzle velocity at areal densities of less than or equal to 3.5 pounds per square foot. This program does not preclude adaptation of current materials systems and mechanisms. However, because this goal is significantly beyond the state-of-the-art, it is anticipated that performers will have to change the approaches by which personnel armor is developed by the exploration of new materials systems and/or exploitation of new defeat mechanisms. It is likely that two industry-led teams will be selected for Phase I, with an anticipated award of about 2,000,000 dollars for each team. A follow-on Phase II (estimated to be 10-15 million dollars for three years) to demonstrate the capability is also anticipated for at least one of the successfulPhase I teams. THIS BAA IS FOR PHASE I ONLY. A critical part of this 18-24 month Phase I program will be to establish confidence in the proposed concept(s) through the use of EXPERIMENTALLY VALIDATED analytical tools. Phase I does not require the building and testing of specific armor material systems, but some experimental validation of proposed materials processing techniques or systems configurations may be required to establish confidence in the ability to produce proposed materials and systems during the Phase II effort. The final product of Phase I will be one or more validated concepts for demonstration in the follow-on Phase II effort. These concepts must be of a generic nature (i.e., not point designs) and must have the potential for being of value to the U.S. Army in terms of application to body armor and producibility (including cost). The success of the Phase I effort will be judged on several factors: a) how close the concepts come to meeting the performance goal; b) whether this effort has changed the path for armor materials systems design; c) whether the interactions between the materials systems and the penetrator are understood sufficiently; d) the availability of useful tools needed to extend the concepts to other material systems and/or other threats; and e) whether the estimated required material and system properties are attainable within the scope of the Phase II effort. To accomplish this program, it is anticipated that expertise will be needed in the following areas: a) armor systems design and evaluation, b) materials technology and processing, and c) understanding/modeling of ballistic performance mechanisms. Analytical validation of the concepts will be required, but this may or may not require the development of new analytical tools. The mix among armor design, materials development, experimental and modeling efforts will depend entirely on the nature of the specific proposed concepts, the maturity of the available models for predicting their performance against the threat, and the maturity of available materials processing techniques for ultimately producing the armor materials systems. Industry-led programs are desirable, but cooperation with universities and not-for-profit organizations is encouraged. National Laboratories may be team members but Defense Laboratories may not participate as team members. At a minimum, the prime contractor and principal investigator must hold a SECRET clearance at the time the proposal is submitted. The following evaluation criteria, listed in order of decreasing importance, will be used to help select the Phase I proposals: (1) SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL MERIT. Proposers must demonstrate: a) an understanding of lightweight armor state-of-the-art, b) an original and credible approach, including justification (if required) for why concepts proposed that have not been successful in the past will be successful now and, c) that their program plan is realistic with all risk items identified and mitigated. (2) EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE, including a justificationfor the team organization and a demonstration that the team has the proper balance. (3) PERVASIVE IMPACT TO OVERALL ARMOR DESIGN METHODOLOGY,. including the demonstration that proposed concepts are not point designs and that the work, including analytical tools, will have widespread applicability to the design of other armor systems. (4) COST FACTORS including reasonableness for proposed effort and value to the Government. Proposals that are evaluated as POOR in the criterion of SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL MERIT will not be rated against the other criteria. Several other criteria may be used in the selection of Phase I awards: a) TOTAL PROPOSED COST (excessively priced proposals will not be selected for award), b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS, and c) BALANCE AMONG CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES (proposals offering unique concepts may be selected before otherwise superior proposals that duplicate other selected efforts). A PREPROPOSAL CONFERENCE for this BAA was held on October 31, 1996. Potential proposers are encouraged to obtain part or all of the briefing material. An overview of that conference is available on the World Wide Web (http://dso.sysplan.com/dso/baa/Armor/index.htm). Hard copies of the presentations can be obtained through the administrative POC for this BAA. GENERAL INFORMATION: This CBD notice itself constitutes the Broad Agency Announcement. PROPOSAL FORMAT: All proposals must be in the following ''page'' format: double-spaced, not greater than 8.5 by 11 inches, and typed single sided with 1.25-inch minimum margins, using a font size not smaller than 12 pitch. Volume 1 of submitted proposals shall include an Abstract, Executive Summary, Technical Approach, Program Plan, Statement of Work, Milestone Chart, Facilities and Equipment Description, Relevant Prior Work, Management Plan, and Resumes of Key Individuals. The page count of volume 1 shall be limited to a maximum of 50 pages, including all figures, tables, and charts. Volume 2 of submitted proposals shall contain a complete cost breakdown and a completed SF1448. The main body of the proposal should be UNCLASSIFIED. Any necessary, supporting classified information should be placed in a separate classified annex that will count toward the page limitation. Non-Government Technical Experts who have signed a non-disclosure form for this BAA may be used to evaluate all or portions of technical proposals. Restrictive Notices not withstanding, proposals may be handled, for administrative purposes only, by a support contractor. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. Proposals identified for funding may result in a procurement contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors. Although no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU, MI or small business participation, these organizations are encouraged to apply. In cases where evaluation of proposals is substantially equal, preference for award will be given to those proposals that include HBCUs, MIs, or small businesses as participants over those that are not. Proposals must be received at DARPA 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 no later than 4:00pm EST on April 3, 1997 All submissions are required with ten hard copies (no fax or e-mail) and one 3.5 inch magnetic floppy storage disk of either Macintosh or IBM compatible media with all text in generic ASCII or Microsoft Word format and cost data in either Excel or Lotus123 format. All submissions must reference BAA DAAK60-97-R-9614. All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation should be directed to: ARPA/DSO: BAA DAAK60-97-R-9614, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. Administrative POC: Marya Bavis, Strategic Analysis, Inc., 4001 North Fairfax Dr., Suite 175, Arlington, VA 22003 or (0037)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0010 19970210\A-0010.SOL)