Defense Special Weapons Agency, 6801 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, VA 22310-3398

A -- DEFENSE SPECIAL WEAPONS AGENCH PROGRAM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCEMENT (PRDA) SOL DSWA01-PRDA-98-02 DUE 073198 POC David Staudt, Negotiator, (703) 325-9210, Edward L. Archer, Contracting Officer, (703) 325-5028 Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA) invites proposals under this Program Research and Development Announcement (PRDA) DSWA01-PRDA-09-02 for award of a single grant to a university or a non-profit organization. The objectives are (1) to dismantle and remove a large engine test cell located at Calspan SRL Corporation, 4455 Genessee Street, Buffalo, New York 14225; (2) install the test cell and become fully operational in one year; (3) maintain the test cell for a period of seven years; and, (4) allow access of the test cell for testing of government engines under separate contracts. The Government will reserve the right to inspect the equipment at any point during Grant performance for Grant compliance. Background: DSWA has tested aircraft engines in a dust ingestion test facility at Calspan Corp. for the past 15 years. The current contract with Calspan, DNA001-93-C-0086, is being closed out, and Calspan will no longer participate in this research field. DSWA will provide the test cell and associated equipment to a qualified offeror under a grant where it would be used to increase the reliability and safety of both military and civilian aircraft. Included with the grant will be a condition that the equipment will be maintained as an engine dust test facility by the offeror for seven years at no cost to the Government and would be made available (with advanced notice) whenever there is a government requirement to test engines. DSWA will also provide one-time funding in the amount of $231,500.00 for the grant. Title to all personal property transferred to the Grantee shall be deemed to have vested in the Grantee, without further obligation to the Government. The winning offeror will supply the additional funds needed to disassemble the cell, move the parts, and reassemble the cell in an appropriate offeror-supplied building (DSWA) has received a quote of $220,000 for this portion). The winning offeror is not required to take all the items surplused at Calspan Corp. However, the winning offeror must take sufficient equipment to set up a complete engine dust ingestion test facility. All additional costs, such as installing and maintaining an underground fuel tank, are the responsibility of the offeror. The winning offeror will be expected to have the engine test cell functional within one year after award of the grant. Upon request, DSWA will provide a list of government-owned equipment on the Calspan contract which DSWA intends to give to a qualified offeror. DSWA will also provide a list of equipment (four engines and related parts) on loan to Calspan from the Government which the offeror will be expected to store at offeror expense for two years and have it available for use as needed. If the engines are used for dust ingestion testing while the engines are the property of the government, the offeror should request permission from DSWA before publishing the data. There are also other items such as 116 drums of engine ingestion material (Hollywood Sand, Corona Clay, et.) which are not on any inventory list but which are available to the winner of the grant. The grant winner will be responsible for determining if there are any federal or state requirements to be met before transporting this material across state lines. A site visit to Calspan to review the equipment may be arranged by contacting David Staudt at (703) 325-9210. Submittal to DSWA shall include two key requirements. First is a completed Standard Form 424 (Application for Federal Assistance) and Standard Form 424A (Budget Information-Non-Construction Programs). Second is a Technical proposals shall follow these rules: 8.5 x 11 inch paper with one inch margins in type not smaller than 12 points. The technical proposal length will not exceed 15 single spaced pages. The 15 page limit must include the following components: a) a summary page; b) proposal test, tables, figures, references; c) statement of work (not to exceed 5 pages) suitable for incorporation into the grant; d) resume of principal investigator; and, e) past performance data on similar efforts, including points of contact/reference. The page limit does not include the cover page and Standard Forms required. The cover page should include the following information: (1) PRDA number; (2) proposal title; (3) point of contact o include name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address if available. Technical proposals not conforming may be rejected. There will be no formal RFP or other solicitation request in regard to this requirement. This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit the US Government to pay for any response preparation costs. DSWA reserves the right to select for award all, part, or none of the response received. Responses are requested from all responsible universities and non-profit organizations. Evaluation Criteria: The submitted proposals will be evaluated by a formal peer review based on the following criteria: FACTOR 1: UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM, The grant proposal will be evaluated for evidence of understanding: A) Effects of dust ingestion on aircraft engines and components performance; B) How to test an engine for dust ingestion hazards; C) How the experimental data is utilized; D) Potential dust hazard mitigation techniques; E) The need of the Department of Defense and other potential customers for mitigating dust effects on aircraft. FACTOR 2: PLAN TO PRESERVE THE EQUIPMENT, The grant proposal will be evaluated for evidence of a realistic plan to: A) Fund the cost to move the equipment to the university; B) Have a building suitable for housing the equipment; C) Keep the equipment ready for testing when needed by the Government. FACTOR 3: QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE, The grant proposal will be evaluated for evidence of: A) Experienced and trained personnel who can operate the engine test equipment safely and properly, B) Experience in testing valuable engines and getting good test data without destroying the engine. Factors 1 through 3 are in decending order of importance. The original and two (2) copies of the technical proposal shallbe submitted no later than 1600 hours, 31 Jul 98 to: Headquarters, Defense Special Weapons Agency, 6801 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, VA 22310-3398, ATTN: David Staudt/AMA, phone (703) 325-9210, fax (703) 325-9291. The Contracting Officer is Edward L. Archer, phone (703) 325-5028. Acquisition Management has added "Procurement Opportunities" to the DSWA Home Page available on the World Wide Web. Information will include this synopsis and more. Please check us out at www.dswa.mil. Reference Synopsis No. 98-127 Posted 06/29/98 (0180)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0007 19980701\A-0007.SOL)