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

A -- AMENDMENT 3 TO BAA -- MINE NEUTRALIZATION SOL DAAB07-97-R-BAA2 SOL DAAB07-97-R-BAA2 DUE 020698 POC Ms. Peggy Melanson, 703-325-6096 E-MAIL: Click here to contact the contracting officer via e-mail., pmelan@hoffman-issaa2.army.mil. The US Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), Acquisition Center-Washington on behalf of the CECOM Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), Countermine Division, is issuing Amendment 0003 to Broad Agency Announcement DAAB07-97-R-BAA2, issued in the CBD on 13 January 1997 due to changes intechnology interest, which deletes the desire for stand-off technologies. Offerors who submitted proposals under this BAA and still want to be considered for award should send CECOM a letter confirming this intention. Offerors may also amend submitted proposals, however, to facilitate technical review, a complete copy of the proposal should be submitted. TECHNICAL PROBLEM OF INTEREST: CECOM is seeking innovative technologies for enhancing current landmine neutralization capabilities. CECOM's objective, under this amended BAA, is to develop advanced vehicle mounted, close-in, technologies that have high potential to destroy in-place individual antitank and larger antipersonnel landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), both surface-laid and buried. The Army will consider proposals that address the neutralization goals with kill mechanisms deployed on top of or near the targets (without disturbing the mine and possibly initiating an anti-disturbance device). The host vehicle can approach the mine to a proximity of 0 to 5 m as necessary. The landmines being neutralized will range in size from approximately 15 to 38 cm in diameter or width. It is recognized that the precise location of the buried mine can not be identified with the current detection technologies. However, the location can be determined to within 25 cm diameter footprint from the edge of the target position. The radius of area of effect will be approximately 63 cm. The goal for probability of kill for each single action of the neutralizer is required to be greater than 90% and neutralization time must be less than 1 minute if attended (the neutralization process must be monitored) and less than 10 minutes if unattended. The proposed efforts should focus on development, fabrication and demonstration of the mine kill mechanism. Directed energy, explosive and other techniques that target individual landmines and UXO may be applicable. However, a detailed analysis of the potential delivery mechanism and a feasibility study of the size, weight and unit cost of the neutralization technology will be required as one of the tasks in the contract. Neutralizers which must be fired some distance and which present the problems of ricochets or collateral damage from kinetic energy projectiles and/or high consumption of expendables to neutralize a single mine will not be favored. Concepts that can allow for rapid neutralization of mines through low-order detonations will be considered more desirable because they limit the possible production of blast and fragmentation effects which may damage the platform, disturb the ground surface and/or cover adjacent mines with more overburden. The neutralization concept must be logistically supportable but does not necessarily require all kill mechanism expendable to be carried on the platform, thus frequent re-loading is permissible if not preferred. The goal is to demonstrate a route-clearance technique which can clear a path approximately five meters wide for an indefinite distance, given that the supply of expendable can be restored as needed. 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. Jack Huynh, 703-704-2937. 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 CECOM NV/Countermine Division, 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 submitted in response to this BAA may 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 CECOM 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 of contract will be considered. PROPOSAL EVALUATION FACTORS: The selection(s) of 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 weighed against the cost of the proposal. Additional primary considerations will include an independent Government assessment of the probability of success of proposed approach and the availability of funding. 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 proposal addresses 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. 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. 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. 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 neutralization. 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 oneDEMONSTRATION that is structured to clearly demonstrate the potential contribution of this effort to neutralize mines. 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 and related material, travel, other direct costs (to include publication, report and consultation costs), and a breakdown by task and subtask. A monthly expenditure profile containing a breakout of projected funding which is commensurate with the proposed level of effort, technical approach, and milestones. GENERAL: 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 CBD. Proposals are due by 6 February 1998 at 1400 hours Eastern Standard Time. Submit proposals to: COMMANDER, US ARMY CECOM, ATTN: AMSEL RD NV CM MN (STANFIELD), 10221 BURBECK RD, FORT BELVOIR, VA 22060-5806. (0356)

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