R&D Contracting Directorate, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, WPAFB, OH 45433-7607

A -- LO COATING MATERIALS SCALE-UP SOL PRDA No. 97-37-MLK POC Contact Mr. Michael G. Grommon, Contract Negotiator, (937)255-5051 or Contracting Officer, Mr. Fred Rueth, (937) 255-5051 A -- INTRODUCTION: Wright Laboratory (WL/MLBT) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) on the research effort described below. Proposals in response to the PRDA shall be submitted by 25 March 1997, 1500 hours, Eastern Standard Time, addressed to Wright Laboratory, Directorate of R&D Contracting, Bldg. 7, Area B, Attn: Mr. Michael G. Grommon, WL/MLKN, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Small businesses are encouraged to propose on all or any part of this solicitation. Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. Proposal receipt after the cutoff date and time specified herein shall be treated in accordance with restrictions of FAR 52.215-10; copy of this provision may be obtained from the contracting point of contract. There will be no other solicitation issued in regard to this requirement. Offerors should be alert for any PRDA amendments that may permit subsequent submissions of proposed dates. Offerors should request a copy of the WL Guide entitled, "PRDA and BAA Guide for Industry" Dated November 1992. This guide was specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the PRDA/BAA proposal process. Copies may be requested from the contracting point of contact stated herein. The Guide is also available on the internet, address: www.wl.wpafb.af.mil/ contract. B -- REQUIREMENTS: (1) Technical Description: The purpose of this effort is to develop equipment for the fabrication of low-cost, high- performance low-observable (LO) pigments for formulation into a LO coating. Equipment design will be based upon new and creative approaches for pigment fabrication. The pigment, when formulated into a coating, will be used to minimize the optical signature of aircraft. The pigment will eventually be formulated into coatings of multiple colors (including Fed Std. Color number 36173 and 36118). The project shall focus on the scale-up of pigment fabrication to pilot capabilities while maintaining quality. This effort will be accomplished through the following tasks: (1) Scale-up of pigment fabrication capabilities, with the versatility to deposit multiple thin film metal, organic, and inorganic layers; (2) incorporation of in-line quality assessment for process feedback and control; and (3) fabrication of various diverse samples. Samples will be evaluated for cost, performance, uniformity, and ease of duplication. Additional technical details are contained in a classified supplement which will be available from the WL project engineer upon request and verification of SECRET clearance, SECRET storage capabilities, and determination of need-to-know. The factors used to determine need-to-know will include a demonstrated capability to perform the required research and development, plus qualified personnel and storage clearance. If the proposer requires transfer of information other than SECRET, contact the contract negotiator for further guidance. (2) Deliverable items: The following deliverable data items shall be proposed: (a) Scientific and Technical Reports, DI-MISC-80711/T, draft and reproducible final report; (b) Contract Fund Status Report (CFSR), DI-FNCL-81468/T, quarterly, (c) Funds and Man-Hour Expenditure Report, DI-FNCL-80331/T, monthly; (d) Scientific and Technical Reports, DI-MISC-80711/T, Contractor's Billing Voucher, monthly; (e) Project Planning Chart, DI-MGMT-80507A/T, monthly; (f) Status Report, DI-MGMT-80368/T, monthly; (g) Presentation Material, DI-ADMIN-81373/T, as required; (h) Still Photo Coverage, DI-MISC-80169, as required; and (i) Operation Security Plan(OPSEC), DI-MGMT-80934/T, 5 MAC. Equipment and material samples shall be delivered at the completion of the effort. (3) Security Requirements: SECRET facility and storage clearance requirements apply. TEMPEST requirements will apply. Generation of classified material for this solicitation effort is authorized only on equipment approved for classified processing by Air Force TEMPEST authorities. (4) Other Requirements: International Traffic in Arms Regulations apply. C -- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:(1) Anticipated Period of Performance: The total duration of the technical effort is estimated to be 18 months plus an additional 3 months for processing/completion of the final report. (2) Expected Award Date:28 March 1997. (3) Government Estimate: The Government funding profile is estimated as follows: FY97 -- $1.4M. This funding profile is an estimate only and is not a promise for funding as all funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability. (4) Type of Contract: Cost plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) is anticipated, but other contract types may be proposed. (5) Government Furnished Property: None contemplated. (6) Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to immediately notify the Air Force point of contact cited below upon deciding to respond to this announcement. Foreign contractors should be aware that restrictions may apply which may preclude their participation in this acquisition. D -- PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: General Instructions: Offerors should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the provision at FAR 52.215-12, Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, to trade secrets or privileged commercial and financial information contained in their proposals. Proposal questions should be directed to one of the points of contact listed elsewhere herein. Offerors should consider instructions contained in the "WL PRDA and BAA Guide for Industry," referenced in Section A of this announcement. Technical and cost proposals, submitted in separate volumes, are required and must be valid for 180 days. Proposals must reference the above PRDA number. In an effort to move toward paperless contracting, proposers are encouraged to submit cost proposals via electronic means on computer disk or CD ROM. Please note that classified information shall NOT be submitted on disk. If proposals are not submitted on computer disk or CD ROM, they shall be submitted in an original and five copies. If proposals will be submitted by electronic means, submit two paper copies and three electronic copies. The disk shall be of a 3 1/2 inch high density, or on CD ROM. Proposals shall be submitted in original and five copies. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered against the criteria set forth herein. Offerors are advised that only contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the government. (2) Cost Proposal: Adequate price competition is anticipated. The accompanying cost proposal/price breakdown shall be supplied with supporting schedules, and shall contain a person-hour breakdown per task. Copies of the above-referenced forms may be obtained from the contracting office cited. Prime contractors are requested to have their subcontractors either submit their complete cost proposals to this office on proposal due date, or submit their cost proposals directly to the prime contractor. Prime contractors are also requested to provide their subcontract analysis. (3) Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. Additional information on prior work in this area, descriptions of available equipment, data and facilities, and resumes of personnel who will be participating in this effort should also be included as attachments to the technical proposal and are not included in the page limit. The technical proposal shall include a Statement of Work (SOW) detailing the technical tasks to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable for contract incorporation. Offerors should refer to the WL guide referenced in Section A to assist in SOW preparation. PL 98-94 applies. Offerors must submit approved DD form 2345, Export-Controlled DOD Technical Data Agreement with their proposal. Any questions concerning the technical proposal or SOW preparation shall be referred to the Technical Point of Contact cited in this announcement. (4) Page Limitations: The technical proposal shall be limited to 150 pages (12 pitch or larger type), double-spaced, single-sided, 8.5 by 11 inches. If electronic means are used, it shall be readable by Microsoft Word for Windows, version 6.0. The double spacing requirement shall be satisfied by Microsoft Word's double spacing method and the 12 pitch or larger requirement shall be satisfied by setting the Microsoft Word for Windows type size (point) at 10 or smaller. The page limitation includes all information, i.e. indexes, photographs, foldouts, appendices, attachments, etc. Pages in excess of this limitation will not be considered by the Government. Cost proposals have no limitations; however, offerors are requested to keep cost proposals down to 75 pages as a goal. If electronic means are used, it shall be readable by Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0. (5) Preparation Cost: If selected for negotiations, qualifying offerors will be required to submit a subcontracting plan. This announcement does not commit the Government to pay for any response preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this PRDA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other contract. However, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. E -- BASIS FOR AWARD: The selection of one or more sources for contract award will be based on scientific and/or engineering evaluation of responses (both technical and cost aspects) to determine the technical merit of proposals in response to the announcement. Practical and creative solutions that balance cost-performance and maintainability are of primary interest and will be ranked most heavily in the evaluation process. Additional criteria for selecting proposals under this announcement are as follows in descending order of importance: (1) Soundness of Approach: (a) Selection and suitability of equipment to fabricate low-cost, high performance LO pigment for controlling the optical signature of aircraft. (b) Development of techniques for scaling-up fabrication of low-cost, high-performance LO pigment. (c) Approach for assuring the quality of low-cost, high-performance LO pigment. (2) Understanding of the Problem: (a) Understanding of current state-of the-art of low-cost, high-performance LO pigment fabrication. (b) Rationale for the selection of concepts for development and for selection of development approaches for fabrication of low-cost, high-performance LO pigment. (c) Understanding of the technical difficulties in scale-up of low-cost, high-performance LO pigment fabrication. (d) Understanding of field use and environmental stability of formulated coating with pigment. (e) Understanding of the application and morphological considerations on resulting coating properties and the field maintenance of the formulated coating with pigment. (f) Understanding of the electromagnetic material relations with optical requirements. (3) Special Technical Factors: (a) The background, capability, technical expertise, and completeness of the team assembled for the effort. (b) Availability and adequacy of required equipment and facilities. Cost and/or price, which includes consideration of proposed budgets and funding profiles, is a substantial factor, but ranked second in priority. No additional evaluation criteria will be used in source selection. The technical and cost information will be evaluated at the same time. The Air Force reserves the right to select for award any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. Award of a grant to universities or nonprofit institutions or cooperative agreement, in lieu of a contract, will be considered and will be subject to the mutual agreement of the parties. The Government reserves the right to award any resulting contract pursuant to the Research and Development Standard Contract format in DFARS 235.70. The contractor's proposal (or any part thereof) may be incorporated by reference and/or be used to supplement the Air Force SOW. This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit the government to pay for any response preparation cost. Specific technical requirements and other information follow: F -- POINTS OF CONTACT: (1) Technical Contact Point: Project Engineer -- Dr. Howard W. Brown, III, WL/MLBT, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-6533, (937) 255-3095. (2) An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors and potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. The purpose of the Ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the Contracting Officer, but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreements and recommendations to the appropriate government personnel. All potential offerors should use established channels to voice concerns before resorting to use the Ombudsman. When requested, the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the selection decision. Interested parties should direct all routine communication concerning this acquisition to Mr. Michael G. Grommon, Contract Negotiator, WL/MLPK, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607, telephone (937) 255-5051, E-Mail grommomg@b045mail.wpafb.af.mil. The Ombudsman should only be contacted with issues or problems that have been previously brought to the attention of the contracting officer and could not satisfactorily be resolved at that level. These serious concerns only may be directed to the Ombudsman, Mr. Daniel L. Kugel, ASC/SY Bldg 52, 2475 K Street, Suite 1, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7642, E-Mail kugeldl@sy.wpafb.af.mil, telephone (937) 255-3855. SEE Note 26. (0038)

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