U.S. Army Materiel Command, Natick Contracting Division, Attn: AMSSB-ACN, Natick, MA 01760-5011

54 -- FIGHTING POSITION REVETMENT SOL No solicitation available DUE 091799 POC Jose Rivera, Project Director, 703-704-2571 E-MAIL: Click here to contact Jose Rivera, Project Director, jrivera@pmsoldier.belvoir.army.mil. DESC: The U.S. Army Product Manager -- Enhanced Soldier Systems at Project Manager -- Soldier, Fort Belvoir, VA is conducting a market investigation to identify sources capable of providing Fighting Position Revetments (FPR) for the U.S. Army. The FPR is a retaining wall structure emplaced in a deliberate two-soldier fighting position and capable of reinforcing the walls in poor soil conditions or when exposed to external forces such as the bearing forces from overhead cover systems or ground shock from indirect fire. One soldier can carry the FPR with his weapon and load bearing equipment from a drop-off point that is no more than 300 meters from the fighting position. The FPR is reusable up to 10 times, for a period of 8 to 72 hours each time in training, and is considered to be expendable in wartime. Two soldiers shall be able to assemble/setup an FPR within 15 minutes in MOPP III or IV and in cold weather gear. The FPR shall reinforce all four walls of a deliberate fighting position (2 feet wide by 6 feet long) at a nominal depth of 48 inches. The required FPR total weight shall not be greater than 18.1 kilograms (40 pounds). The desired weight is 15.8 kilograms (35 pounds) inclusive of all securely connected components/parts. The FPR, when emplaced in a fighting position, shall (1) maintain integrity against the static forces on soil backfill and simultaneously (2) coexist on a non-interference basis with the Fighting Position Overhead Cover and (3) resist deformation due to dynamic air or ground shock effects from near miss (15 meters) 152 mm artillery high explosive rounds. Interested sources are invited to respond with information on their company, their interest on the program, and product (s) with item/component descriptions and illustrations. Any information submitted will not be returned. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. No solicitation document is available at this time; however, the information received as a result of this market survey may be used to formulate a Request for Proposals. The US Army is planning on using the following acquisition strategy: Issue a competitive solicitation and evaluate proposals received for concept designs. The Government initially may then award up to three RDTE contracts to purchase five (5) prototype FPR's each. The Government will conduct preliminary selection tests from the prototypes received and may then downselect up to two contractors to provide eighteen (18) production demonstration FPR systems each. The Government will conduct a combined Production Qualification Test and Operational Test of the production demonstration FPRs and intends to downselect to one contractor for exercise of a production option of up to 15,000 units. Please submit information to the following address: Project Manager-Soldier, ATTN: AMSSB-PM-RST-E(B), Mr. Jose Rivera; 10401 Totten Road, Suite 121; Fort Belvoir, VA 22050-5852. Posted 09/02/99 (W-SN376028). (0245)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0310 19990907\54-0001.SOL)