U.S. COAST GUARD DEEPWATER PROJECT UPDATE The ultimate goal of the Deepwater Capability Replacement Project is to acquire an integrated system that meets the Coast Guard's 21st century operational requirements. The Coast Guard's objective is to have industry teams conceive and develop integrated solutions that will meet these future requirements. To facilitate our ability to award a total Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) contract, we have re-evaluated our approach. After scrutinizing industry and Government comments, we are adopting a two phased approach. In Phase 1, the Coast Guard will award up to three contracts to industry teams to develop integrated Deepwater concepts. The deliverables under Phase 1, which are essentially the same as those delineated in the Draft RFP, include, but are not limited to, industry's proposed IDS, a life cycle cost analysis of the proposed system and of each of the major IDS asset type, performance specifications for each of the proposed IDS assets, an acquisition cost estimate, and an implementation plan. The Coast Guard will evaluate all Phase 1 deliverables to determine which Phase 1 contractors will participate in Phase 2. In Phase 2, the industry teams will implement their Phase 1 performance specifications and propose their refined designs and cost proposal to field the system. The Coast Guard will evaluate these Phase 2 proposals and award a contract to one of the industry teams to build and provide the Integrated Deepwater System. The RFP will be revised to incorporate this two phased approach as well as industry and Government comments. The major changes from the initial draft RFP include evaluating the teams' capability to build and/or provide the IDS as well as provide the Coast Guard's evaluation criteria for Phase 2. The revised RFP will be posted on the Deepwater home page for planning and informational purposes. Prior to release of the final RFP, which is anticipated for February 1998, the Coast Guard will entertain one-on-one meetings with potential prime contractors to discuss the revised RFP and acquisition strategy. If you desire such a meeting please contact the Contracting Officer, Maria Cooke. Written/e-mail requests preferred. Further information will be posted on the Deepwater website. WEB: Click here for Information on the Deepwater Project, http://comms2.rdc.uscg.mil/deepwater/. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the Contracting Officer via e-mail, MCooke@comdt.uscg.mil.

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