Large Vertical Array Production

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY.  THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.  THE NAVY IS PUBLISHING THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY.

In accordance with FAR 10 and 15.201, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is issuing this sources sought announcement to support market research in anticipation of a potential future procurement.  In this regard, NAVSEA seeks to obtain a list of potential interested and qualified sources with experience and expertise necessary to develop and produce a Large Vertical Array (LVA) for SONAR.  Interested parties shall provide the below required information in a capability statement.  Information regarding the content and format of responses is set forth below.

The LVA will have application to the Ohio Class and Virginia Blocks III and IV submarine classes. The LVA shall consist of acoustic sensors, outboard electronic bottles (OBE), cables, and fixtures for manufacturing and installation to the submarine hull. The acoustic sensors will be arranged in the form of acoustic modules as documented in the specifications.

Respondents shall describe their capability to produce large submarine hull-mounted arrays and describe their capability of sustaining a throughput of up to two LVA systems a year on this program. The materials utilized shall be capable of sustaining years long periods of submersion in salt water and withstand the harsh environments at varying ocean depths.

Respondent systems shall be required to demonstrate the capability to be integrated and interoperable with the AN/BQQ-10(V) Sonar System installed on US Submarines. The outboard electronics will be predicated on an open-system architecture with no proprietary hardware or software included. The LVA outboard components shall meet the requirements of the performance specification, with a particular focus on ensuring arrays meet Grade B shock requirements.

The performance specification documents will not be posted as an attachment to this sources sought notice. General system requirements are controlled documents and shall be available only to those companies with a validated security clearance at a minimum of CONFIDENTIAL clearance level and a signed Terms of Use (TOU) agreement, which is attached. To attain validation of clearance, prospective respondents must submit a written request to Matthew Nalls at matthew.a.nalls2.civ@us.navy.mil, and Stuart Burman at stuart.burman2.civ@us.navy.mil with the attached TOU completed and signed. The controlled documents may only be provided to prospective respondents following approval by the NAVSEA Office of Security Programs and the Contracting Officer; and after approval, the documents will be mailed to the respondents. The written request must include:

• Company Name and Address
• CAGE Code
• Point of Contact, Email, and Phone
• Level of Facility Clearance / Level of Storage Capability
• Facility Security Officer Name, Email, and Phone
• Classified Mailing Address
• Classified Mailing POC Name, Email, and Phone

The below documents are not classified and will be distributed electronically to those sources with a valid CAGE code after validation of submitted TOU. At this time, national policy does not support release of the performance specification documents to foreign sources.

• Acoustic Panel Performance Specification
• OBE Performance Specification
• OBE to Network Interface Requirements Specification (IRS) / Interface Design Description
• OBE to Sensor Interface Requirements Specification (IRS) / Interface Design Description
• Outboard Cable Assemblies Specification
• Cable, Hybrid, Submarine Outboard Specification
• Conformal Acoustic Velocity SONAR (CAVES) Sensor Performance Specification

Respondents shall provide information addressing the following areas:

1) Sensor and Array Performance and Survivability of the acoustic sensor

a. Provide a detailed technical approach to ensure the LVA will meet all requirements after installation

b. Provide technical details supporting the sensor specifications addressing the acoustic performance, EMI requirements, reliability, and maintainability

2) Provide the overall technical approach to interface the LVA with existing OHIO Class and VIRGINIA Block III and planned Block IV platforms and subsystems

a. Provide overall technical approach to interface the OBE with the AN/BQQ-10 system and the acoustic sensor

b. Provide an overall technical approach to address space, weight and power requirements

3) Maintainability is addressed in each respective system performance specification.

a. Provide the overall technical approach to demonstrate below the waterline system survivability of a 25 year service life for OHIO Class and VIRGINIA Block III and Block IV, inclusive of periodic inspection and repair of the pressure hull

b. Provide the overall technical approach to demonstrate OBE survivability of a 25 year service life for OHIO Class and VIRGINIA Block III and Block IV

c. Provide the overall technical approach to the accessibility and ability to replace OBEs and outboard cables on the OHIO Class and VIRGINIA Class Block III and Block IV by intermediate maintenance activities

d. Provide the overall technical approach to demonstrate the ability to replace, at a minimum, a single array stave

4) Development and Fabrication Schedule

a. Provide an estimated schedule for the design/development of production and installation fixtures

b. Provide an estimated time necessary to finalize a Production Baseline

c. Provide an estimated schedule for production of the LVA.  Discuss any qualifications and testing unique to the LVA that must be completed in order to successfully deliver the array.  

5) Provide a Rough Order of Magnitude Cost (ROM) itemized by the below categories. Provide additional details and cost/production assumptions, as necessary.

a. Material Quantities and Cost of an OHIO Class LVA

b. Labor Quantities and Cost of an OHIO Class LVA

c. Material Quantities and Cost of a VIRGINIA Class LVA

d. Labor Quantities and Cost of a VIRGINIA Class LVA

e. Cost of any research, development, design, qualifications and testing unique to the LVA that must be completed in order to successfully deliver the array.  

6) If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated to execute the requirement, briefly address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements.   Significant subcontracting is identified as any vendor that will complete more than 20% of a LVA effort (i.e., production, qualification, testing) or a vendor that provides more than 20% of material for a LVA effort. Provide the percent of work planned to be completed by the vendor(s) other than the prime contractor and identify the estimated amount and the estimated cost of the labor and material associated with each subcontracted vendor.

7) Describe barriers to competition that may preclude potential sources from participating in a competition to develop and produce LVAs. Sources may make suggestions as to how the Government might alleviate the identified barriers to competition.

8) Provide relevant past performance references, descriptions, and contract number(s) for performance within the last ten (10) years in the design or production of systems similar in scope and complexity to the LVA. For those respondents who have CPARS ratings, within the past 10 years, which relate to work relevant to that of this notice, provide the associated CPARS evaluation(s).

Interested sources shall provide unclassified company literature and/or provide a capability summary not to exceed 25 pages in length of 12-point, Times New Roman font addressing the topics described above. Responses should include the following information: Organization name, DUNS code, CAGE code, point of contact, address, email address, website address, telephone number, workforce size and type of ownership for the organization.

Respondents shall submit their information via DoD SAFE to Matthew Nalls.  Telephonic responses are not acceptable.

Contracting Office Address:

SEA 02

1333 Isaac Hull Avenue SE

Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia 20376

United States

Primary Point of Contact.:

Matthew Nalls,

Contract Specialist

matthew.a.nalls2.civ@us.navy.mil

Phone: 202-271-6197

Secondary Point of Contact:

Stuart Burman,

Contracting Officer

Stuart.burman2.civ@us.navy.mil

Phone: 202-714-7059

Important notice:  The Government may not respond to any specific questions or comments submitted in response to this sources sought notice or information provided as a result of this sources sought notice. Any information submitted by respondents as a result of this sources sought notice is strictly voluntary. This sources sought notice is for information planning purposes and the Government will not pay or otherwise reimburse respondents for any questions submitted or information provided as a result of this announcement. All documentation shall become the property of the Government. The Government is not soliciting, nor will it accept proposals as a result of this sources sought notice. This sources sought notice is a market research tool being used to determine the existence of qualified experienced sources. All firms responding to this sources sought notice are advised that their response to this notice is not a request to be considered for a contract award. If a solicitation is issued, it will be announced later via solicitation module within the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) located at https://piee.eb.mil/, which will be cross-posted to the System of Award Management (SAM) webpage located at http://www.sam.gov. All interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the response to this sources sought notice. Response to this notice is not a request to be added to a bidders list or to receive a copy of a solicitation.  This announcement is not a contract, request for proposal, a promise to contract, or a commitment of any kind on the part of the Government.

THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE.

Mailing Address:

COMMANDER

NAVAL SEA SYSTEMS COMMAND

ATTN: MATTHEW NALLS / SEA 02614

1333 ISAAC HULL AVENUE SE STOP 2050

WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DC 20376-2050