CECOM Acquisiton Center, Washington Operations Office, AMSEL-AC-WB-B,Hoffman 1, 2461 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22331-0700

A -- BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT -- FORWARD LOOKING MINE DETECTION SENSORS PROGRAM SOL DAAB07-97-R-BAA-4 DUE 070897 POC Ricky Stanfield, Project Engineer,703-704-2452, and Peggy A. Melanson, Contracting Officer, 703-325-6096 The US Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), Countermine Division is soliciting proposals for the development of technologies to detect antitank (AT) and large antipersonnel (AP) mines at standoff distances under the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) DAAB07-97-R-BAA-4 for the Forward Looking Sensors program. No FY97 contract awards are anticipated; offerors should base proposal on 1QFY98 award. The Army currently has no system to adequately detect mines at standoff distances greater than five meters from land-based platforms. The objective of this BAA is to develop standoff mine detection technologies that will address individual AT mines and large AP mines that are surface laid or buried up to 20 cm at a standoff distance of up to sixty meters. Burial depth is measured from the surface of the ground to the top of the mine. The landmines will range in size from 12 to 38 cm in diameter or width and must be detected and reported within seconds. The location of the mine needs to be determined within 0.25 meters from the edge of the target. The Army's ultimate goal for the Forward Looking Sensors program is to integrate this mine detection subsystem with a mine neutralization system on a vehicle platform to detect and neutralize on the move. Both detection and neutralization should occur at standoff distances up to 60 meters. The standoff distance and detection time budget are a function of the speed of the vehicle and braking distance to stop for a mine; tactical speeds are approximately 16 kph. The Forward Looking Sensors program is currently scheduled for a Technology Demonstration (TD) in FY00. Minimum detection probabilities of 94% are required for the TD. TECHNICAL PROBLEMS OF INTEREST: Proposals addressing sensing technologies, processing, data fusion, a combination of the above, modeling, etc. are acceptable. Detection may be accomplished by using radar, infrared cameras, acoustic methods, passive millimeter wave technologies, or those sensors which can meet the goals of the program. Approaches that seek to explore sensing technologies at a standoff distance of up to sixty meters with a path width of 5 meters required, 8 meters desired, are of particular interest. This BAA is issued under the provision of Paragraph 6.102 (d) (2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) which provides for the competitive selection of basic research proposals. Proposals submitted in response to this BAA that are selected for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and are in full compliance with the provisions of Public Law 98-369, "The Competition in Contracting Act" of 1984. This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to pay for proposal preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or to 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. Proposals will be considered from organizations interested in conducting scientific research, such as colleges and universities, commercial firms, nonprofit research institutes, small business and small disadvantaged business concerns, historically black colleges and universities and minority business enterprises and institutions. . Contingent upon meeting established security requirements, industries of all foreign countries are eligible to participate in this BAA. At present classified contracts are not anticipated. If a subcontract(s) with a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) is proposed, offerors are reminded of the limitations in their use (see FAR 35.017) and must provide documentation in the proposal that work is not otherwise available from the private sector. To be eligible for award of a contract, a prospective contractor must meet certain minimum standards pertaining to financial resources, ability to comply with the performance schedule, prior records of performance, integrity, organization, experience, operational controls, technical skills, facilities and equipment. For additional informational and guidance concerning qualifications and standards for responsibility of perspective contractors, please refer to FAR Part 9. There will be no formal request for proposal or any solicitation document issued in regard to this BAA; therefore, interested parties should be alert for any BAA Amendments that may be published in the Commerce Business Daily. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. While one or more 12 month R&D efforts with phased decision points may be awarded in FY98, the Government reserves the right to award contracts as a result of this announcement for two years from the receipt of proposals. Specific costs and terms and conditions will be negotiated prior to award. The Government strongly encourages the informal discussion of any proposed effort prior to the submission of a formal proposal. Questions concerning contractual, cost, or pricing format may be directed to the Contracting Officer, Ms. Peggy Melanson 703-325-6096. Questions on technical matters may be referred to Mr. Ricky Stanfield 703-704-2452. All interested parties are encouraged to contact the cited individuals at any time prior to proposal submission in order to obtain clarifications and guidance. Offerors are cautioned that all such inquiries must be made prior to Government receipt of proposals. Once a proposal is received by NV/Countermine Division, CECOM all communications should be through the Contracting Officer. Prospective offerors are cautioned that only the Contracting Officer is legally authorized to commit the Government. Proposals are due by 8 July 1997 at 1400 hours Eastern Standard Time. Submit proposals to: COMMANDER, US ARMY CECOM, ATTN: AMSEL RD NV T-CD-MN (STANFIELD), 10221 BURBECK RD STE 430, FORT BELVOIR, VA 22060-5806. The selection(s) proposals for contract award will be based on a scientific and engineering peer review evaluation of proposals. The business and contractual aspects, including cost, will also be considered as a part of the evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation will be to determine the relative merit of the technical approach proposed in each response to the BAA. Evaluation and selection of proposals for awards will be made on the basis of the potential benefits occurring to the Government when weighted against the cost of the proposal. Additional primary considerations will include an independent Government assessment of the probability of success of the proposed approach and the availability of funding. Proposals submitted in response to this BAA will be evaluated as received. Proposals not considered to have sufficient scientific merit or relevance to the Army's needs, or those in areas for which funds are not expected to be available, may be rejected without further review. It is the policy of this Directorate to treat all proposals as privileged information before award and to disclose the contents for evaluation purposes only. All reviewers are made aware that proposals shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed in whole or in part, for any purpose other than to evaluate, without written permission of the offeror. Any contract awarded, on the basis of a proposal submitted under this BAA, will control disclosure and use of proprietary information. The Government contemplates award of Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) type contract(s) for awards resulting from this BAA, however, proposals based on a different type contract will be considered. PROPOSAL EVALUATION FACTORS: The following proposal evaluation factors are listed in order of importance: 1. The overall scientific or technical merits of the proposal. a. The extent to which the proposed approaches are improvements over the methods presently used. New or unique ideas/approaches will be given special consideration if based on sound scientific principles. b. The degree to which the proposaladdresses the technical goals listed in this BAA topic description. 2. The offeror's understanding of the problem, as reflected in the effectiveness and efficiency of the offeror's proposed program for arriving at a proof-of-concept demonstration of developed technologies. 3. The potential contributions of the proposed effort to the NVESD mission as it related to the Forward Looking Sensors program. 4. The offeror's capabilities, record of past performance in related efforts, and the adequacy of the proposed facilities of the project. 5. The qualifications, capabilities and related experience of the proposed principal investigator, team leader, and other key personnel. 6. The reasonableness and realism of the proposed costs and fees for the proposed effort and availability of funds. CONTENTS: An original and three copies of the proposal shall be submitted. Offerors should indicate if the proposed effort is the subject of an on-going IR&D program and provide a copy of the project data sheet (DTIC Form 271). Proposals submitted should be based on the information contained in this BAA. No additional written information will be provided. All proposals must include the following sections: Title page, Proposal Synopsis, Description of Concept, Theoretical Background, Supporting Data, Research Plan, Demonstration, Personnel, and Cost. Technical proposals are not to exceed a total of 40 pages in length (double spaced on 8.5 x 11 inch paper) exclusive of figures, tables, references, biographical sketches and cost proposal data. The technical proposal consists of the proposal synopsis, description of concept, theoretical background, supporting data, and research plan. 1. The TITLE PAGE should have the proposal title, date, the name, and telephone number of the author or other points of contact and the name of the organization submitting the proposal. 2. The PROPOSAL SYNOPSIS should summarize the proposed concept, objectives, how the objectives will be accomplished and the anticipated outcome. The reader of this synopsis should gain an overview of all aspects of the proposal. The synopsis should be limited to one (1) page. 3. The DESCRIPTION OF CONCEPT (with diagrams as needed) should thoroughly describe the concept, how it works, and what equipment is required. The anticipated benefit to the Army and the projected fielded implementation should be described. 4. The THEORETICAL BACKGROUND should describe the theoretical and analytical development of the concept. This should be in sufficient detail so that all theoretical concepts and the overall theoretical framework is explained. Supporting calculations and analyses are appropriate to this section. This section should make a clear connection of the theory to the specific application of mine detection. 5. The SUPPORTING DATA should include the scientific data that supports the concept with appropriate references. Data obtained from laboratory or field experiments is acceptable. The relevance of the data to the proposed techniques must be clearly explained. 6. The RESEARCH PLAN (Statement of Work) should describe in detail how the objectives of the proposed work will be achieved. This section should describe a logical, scientifically sound approach to reaching the goals of the project. A Program Chart, which includes a detailed list of Tasks and Subtasks and the duration of same must be provided. Offerors are to clearly identify a list of contract deliverables which are trackable to the Chart. The milestones should include the time frames for preparation, delivery, review and approval for all draft and final reports, and demonstrations as appropriate. After reading this section, the reader should understand all research issues and how each one will be investigated. 7. Each proposed effort should include at least one DEMONSTRATION that is structured to clearly demonstrate the potential contribution of this effort to the Forward Looking Sensors program. This section should describe the demonstration in detail including all procedures, protocols, and controls. 8. The names, title and proposed roles of key PERSONNEL to be employed in the conduct of this effort should be included with brief resumes detailing pertinent accomplishments and publications. If the principal investigator and/or other key personnel severs connection with the organization or is unable to continue active participation, the Government must be notified, and has the option to terminate the contract. 9. The offeror's COST Proposal is to be prepared in a clear and concise manner which accurately reflects the offeror's financial plan for accomplishing the proposed technical effort. A breakdown of cost data is required under this BAA. The Cost Proposal should include: an estimate of the total research project cost with a breakdown of costs by category and year, along with support for direct, and indirect labor costs, and related material, travel, other direct costs (to include publication, report and consultant costs. A monthly expenditure profile containing a breakout of projected funding which is commensurate with the proposed level of effort, technical approach, and milestones. (0126)

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