United States Special Operations Command, Directorate of Procurement (SOAC-KB), 2418 Florida Keys Ave., MacDill AFB, FL 33621-5316

V -- CRADLE SYSTEMS DUE 031299 POC Ms Gerry Mosier, (813) 840-5458 E-MAIL: Click here to contact the Contracting officer via, mosierg@socom.mil. The United States Special Operation Command seeks information for cradle systems capable of airdropping heavy boats from C-130 aircraft. The required system shall provide the capability to tactically insert (airdrop) 10,000 to 20,000 lb craft of various hull configurations from the C-130 or larger aircraft into the water without having to depend on the aircraft landing first. The cradle must be fully compatible with the existing standard roller/conveyer system. It shall provide for the automatic separation of the cradle and the boat after extraction and before contact with the water. The system must allow personnel parachute exits following load extraction. Upon impact the boat must be upright and seaworthy and not encumbered with cradle parts, energy dissipating material or other items which would degrade the hull's sea keeping abilities. Additionally, the system must incorporate a highly reliable parachute release mechanism that separates the rigging and canopies upon water impact. The system must minimize crew derigging workload required to get the craft underway after impact. During wartime the cradle will be expendable and must sink quickly without leaving a debris signature in the water. During peacetime operations the cradle must float and must be easily located and recovered with minimum maintenance required before subsequent use. The expected operating environment for full mission capability includes true winds up to 17 knots and maximum combined seas three feet high. The cradle must incorporate a mobility subsystem integral or attachable to assist in the aircraft onload and offload and mobility on hard surfaces. All respondents are requested to furnish information on cradles they currently manufacture that meet the above requirements. This information should include: system description, number fabricated, customer, rough order of magnitude cost, manufacturing lead time, certifications (include certifying agency letter) and number of drops per cradle and total drops and aircraft type accomplishingthe drop. If all requirements cannot be met by existing systems, identify the shortfalls and modifications necessary. Include rough order magnitude nonrecurring cost for the modifications and their impact upon production schedule the production unit cost. This is not a request for proposals nor is there a guarentee that a solicitation will be issued for these items. This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION only. Responses are to be submitted to the attention of Capt (Sel) Walter Pullar, United State Special Operations Command, ATTN: SOAL-M&R-CCPMO, Bldg 102, 3rd floor, 2418 Florida Keys Avenue, MacDill AFB, FL 33621. Posted 02/04/99 (W-SN295107). (0035)

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