Phillips Laboratory, Directorate of Contracting, 2251 Maxwell Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5773

A -- NEW AND INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN THE AREA OF 10 KELVIN CRYOCOOLER DEVELOPMENT SOL PKV-98-02 DUE 112197 POC Buyer: Pam Moffat, 505-846-2696; PCO: Francisco Tapia, 505-846-5021 This Program Research and Development Announcement is issued to request proposals for new and innovative research in the area of 10 kelvin cryocooler development. The United States Air Force is sponsoring this research and development project for the design, development, fabrication, and delivery of an engineering design model cryocooler. The cryocooler should be capable of providing useful cooling at 10 kelvin. Potential application for this cryocooler technology include continuous cooling for Very Long Wave Infrared (VLWIR) cooling objectives and possibly other satellite missions. The cooler should be capable of providing a minimum of 100 milliwatts at 10 kelvin. In addition to achieving a minimum of 100 milliwatts at 10 kelvin, contractor proposals should show traceability for achieving improved performance goals over the far term. As a goal, the cryocooler developed under this PRDA should minimize input power, volume, mass, electromagnetic interference, complexity, and induced vibration. The cryocooler development should address and investigate reliability and lifetime issues with a goal of greater than 10 years of useful life. The engineering design model shall be designed, developed, fabricated, and functionally tested within a 30 month schedule. The final end products will be subject to acceptance testing at Phillips Laboratory. All items shall be delivered to Air Force Research Laboratory, 5801 Manzano St., Bldg 30117, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-6503. Funding is estimated at $1 -- $3 million for all contract award(s). FY98 funds apply to this requirement. Amount of awards and periods of performance are estimates only, intended to assist offerors in scoping proposals that are realistic in terms of funding. The proposals will be evaluated by a peer or scientific review process in accordance with the following evaluation criteria listed in descending order of importance: 1) The overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal, including capabilities and related experience, facilities, techniquesor unique combinations of these which are an integral factor for achieving proposal objectives; 2) Importance to AFRL/VSSS programs; and 3) Availability of funds. No further evaluation criteria will be used in selecting the proposals. PL reserves the right to award any, all, part or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement, subject to the availability of funds.PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS. Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall include: 1) a statement of work detailing the technical tasks to be accomplished under the proposed effort, suitable for incorporation in the award; 2) a description of the relevant previous work and resumes of the principal investigator and the others working on the effort; and 3) a description of the facilities and equipment to be used. The technical proposal shall be limited to 50 pages. Margins and Page Count. Use at least 1 inch margins on top and bottom and 3/4" side margins. Legibility shall not be impaired by the binding. Both sides of paper may be used. Each printed side of an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet counts as a page. Foldouts printed on one side only will be counted as 2 pages. Blank pages, title pages, table of contents, lists of figures, lists of tables, tabs, cover sheets, or blank dividers are not included in the page count. The Government will only read and evaluate proposals up to the page limitation. Pages over the page limitation will be removed prior to evaluation. Use elite type size or equivalent (not smaller than 10 point vertical character height and not more than 12 characters per inch). A ten point proportional serif font is acceptable, in which case characters per inch measurement does not apply. Typesetting or other techniques to reduce character size or spacing are not permitted. Cost Proposal: Cost proposals should be prepared in accordance with PL BAA/PRDA Cost Preparation Instructions under "Additional Information" at the following web site, http://www.plk.af.mil/ORG_CHART/PK/mainmenu.htm. The cost information, other than cost or pricing data, requested therein is necessary for the government to perform a cost realism analysis. We anticipate the contract award date in 2nd quarter FY9. This announcement is open until 30 days after publication. Submit proposals not later than 3:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on the last day the announcement is open. General. This announcement is open until 30 days after publication. Submit proposals not later than 3:00 PM Mountain Standard Time (MST) on the last day the announcement remains open. Submit an original and five copies of proposals in writing to Air Force Research Laboratory, Attn. Directorate of Contracting, Ms Pam Moffat, 5801 Manzano St., Bldg 30117, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-6503. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other government contract, but may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. Only contracting officers are legallyauthorized to commit the Government. Submit technical and cost proposals in separate volumes. Proposals shall be valid for a period of not less than 180 days. Proposals must reference the PRDA number and include a unique proposal identification number. The Government reserves the right to award any resulting contract pursuant to the Research and Development Standard Contract format in DFARS 235.70. FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER. The Government does not intend that Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (ffrdcs) use privileged information or access to facilities to compete with the private sector. If a contractor proposes using a FFRDC as a subcontractor, other than DOD-sponsored ffrdcs in the capacities discussed in DFARS 235.017, it must provide rationale in its proposal that supports the unique capability of the FFRDC. Also, the contractor's proposal must demonstrate that the FFRDC can accept work from other than the sponsor.Export Control. This acquisition involves Military Critical Technology List (MCTL) technology (cryocoolers capable of continuous operation with greater than 4000 hours MTBF) that is subject to export control laws and regulations. Only contractors that are registered and certified with the Defense Logistics Services Center (DLSC) may submit proposals. Contact the Defense Logistics Services Center, 74 North Washington, Battle Creek MI, USA 49016-4312, (1-800-352-3572) for further information of certification and the approval process. Submit a copy of DD Form 2345 with the proposal. Foreign-Owned Firms are advised that they may be precluded from receiving an award.A copy of each final report of any resultant contract is available, subject to foreign disclosure policy and regulations. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors and potential offerors during the proposal development phase of the acquisition. The purpose of the ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the program director or contracting officer, but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations to the appropriate government personnel in the pre-proposal phase of competitive, negotiated acquisitions. Before contacting the Ombudsman, potential offerors should communicate first with the Contracting Officer. In those instances where offerors cannot obtain resolution from the Contracting Officer, they are invited to contact the Air Force Research Laboratory Ombudsman, Bruce Grunsten, Mission Support Division (AFRL/PKM) at (505) 846-8273, or at 2251 Maxwell Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5773. When requested, the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentially as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of the proposals or in the source selection process. For contracting issues please contact Ms Pam Moffat at (505) 846-2696. For technical issues, please contact Lt Kevin Byrne at (505) 846-2686, email byrnek@plk.af.mil or Mr. Thom Davis at (505) 846-5754, email davistm@plk.af.mil. (0295)

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