Contracts Group, Bldg 588, Mail Stop 32, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, MD 20670-5304

A -- JOINT PROTECTIVE AIRCREW ENSEMBLE (JPACE) SOL N00421-00-R-0183 POC Ms. Denice Cribb (301)757-8943 Cribbdb@navair.navy.mil;Mr. Matt Marshman (301)757-8942 MarshmanMM@navair.navy.mil;Ms. Pat Cornett, Contracting Officer, (301)757-2607 CornettPA@navair.navy.mil WEB: Industry Day information package, http://www.navair.navy.mil/business/opensolicitations. E-MAIL: Contract Specialists, marshmanmm@navair.navy.mil or cribbdb@navair.navy.mil. The purpose of this synopsis is to announce Industry Day and solicit companies capable of supporting the Joint Protective Aircrew Ensemble (JPACE) program. This is not a formal Request for Proposals. The JPACE program is a joint Service program with US Army (USA), US Navy (USN), US Marine Corps (USMC), and US Air Force (USAF) participation. The JPACE program is addressing the needs of all fixed wing and rotary wing aviation personnel from all four military Services and special operations for below-the-neck (B-T-N) chemical biological (CB) protective clothing. This includes body coverage as well as interfaces for head, hand and foot protection. It is anticipated that two ensembles, with different levels of protection will need to be developed by the JPACE team. These two ensembles will be referred to as Type I and Type II. The Government intends to leverage industry for mature fabric technologies for use in government developed garment design. The Type I ensemble will include protection from a 10g/m2 liquid challenge and a 5000ct vapor and aerosol challenge. The Type II ensemble will include protection from a 5 g/m2 liquid challenge and a 5000ct vapor and aerosol challenge. Both Type I and Type II garments shall provide protection from helicopter rotorwash driven chemical agents. In all other respects, the requirements for the Type I and Type II ensembles are the same. It is anticipated the requirement will be broken down into the following CLINs: Type I Garment, Type II Garment. When the official Request for Proposal synopsis is issued, it is anticipated that the government will use a Phased-type evaluation process in order to award to the offeror(s) who represent the best value to the government with respect to technical capability and price. Offerors are encouraged to submit proposals as a team. This team shall consist of, but is not limited to, the fiber producer(s), fabric producer(s) and finisher(s), and garment manufacturer (cut & sew) for the life of the development effort and production. The team's approach to the product development and manufacturing will be considered in the source selection. It is not the government's desire to have the same CB Filter or Barrier Fabric and Cut and Sew Vendors participating on more than one team. It is the intention of the government to limit the number of proposals from each team to a maximum of two. The proposals may both be for the same CLIN. These limitations will be imposed as a cost saving measure for the government as well as delivery schedule adherence in the event of multiple awards. The government anticipates evaluating product samples, both material systems as swatches and garment pre-prototypes, created using government provided designs and patterns, submitted by the offeror. Anticipated evaluation criteria may include: Technical Performance and Approach; Design Compatibility; Management Approach and Production Capability; Past Performance and Financial Stability, and Price. This evaluation will include some pass/fail criteria. If offerors cannot meetsome of the key performance parameters, their proposal may not be considered for award. It is the Government's desire to award a Fixed Price indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract to multiple vendors. These successful offerors will be issued an order for Phase I production of pre-production prototype garments in three sizes (small, medium, and large) and yardage of fabric for system risk reduction testing and evaluation. From this phase, another downselect will take place in which those offerors representing the best overall value will proceed into Phase II. Under Phase II, the offerors will be issued orders for production of test article garments in all sizes for full system testing. Another downselect will take place and Phase III will begin. Phase III orders will be issued to those successful offerors who represented the best value to the government. Phase III orders will be for production of test articles for operational field-testing and post wear testing as well as yardage of fabric for additional material testing. Offerors selected from Phase III will be awarded the Production Lot of the contract. This Lot will be for full rate production quantities for an estimated four years. A packet of informational materials regarding the upcoming JPACE requirement is available on the NAWCAD Contracts website, http://www.navair.navy.mil (click on Business located at the top of the page; click on Open Solicitations; click on solicitation N00421-00-R-0183). The Naval Air systems TEAM will host an industry day forum on Wednesday, 26 July 2000 to provide interested parties with additional information and solicit feedback on the upcoming JPACE requirement. This forum will be held at the Crowne Plaza -- Washington National Airport, 1489 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. All interested attendees must pre-register by e-mail to Ms. Denice Cribb at CribbDB@navair.navy.mil, facsimile (301)757-8959, or Mr. Matt Marshman at MarshmannMM@navair.navy.mil, facsimile (301) 757-8959. Registering parties must include the attending individual's name, company, phone, and e-mail address. As seating is limited, only individuals that pre-register are guaranteed seating. Interested parties are requested to submit questions and feedback regarding the JPACE requirement, which they would like addressed at Industry Day, to Ms. Cribb or Mr. Marshmann by close of businesses 5 July 2000. For those individuals unable to attend the forum, the presented materials will be available on the NAWCAD Contracts website referenced above on 2 August 2000. Any questions concerning this forum may be addresses to Ms. Cribb or Mr. Marshmann at the above cited email addresses. Telephone requests will not be accepted. See Note 22 Posted 06/21/00 (W-SN467092). (0173)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0001 20000623\A-0001.SOL)