Inactive

This announcement has been updated to include an additional photograph on 9 July 2025. This announcement has been updated to include Q&A submissions as of 24 June 2025. SECTION 1 – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY P... This announcement has been updated to include an additional photograph on 9 July 2025. This announcement has been updated to include Q&A submissions as of 24 June 2025. SECTION 1 – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Purpose & Authority The purpose of this Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) Program Announcement (PA) is to request proposals to this solicitation in order to award a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Procurement for Experimental Purposes OTA effort under the authority of 10 U.S. Code §4023 and 10 U.S. Code §4021. This is a Solicitation for vendors to demonstrate a phased array radar as a possible mitigation for wind turbine clutter in air traffic control systems. The Air Traffic System Branch (HBAA) will not pay respondents for their proposals associated with this RFP. 2. Acquisition Approach 2.1 The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's (AFLCMC) Electronic Systems Directorate, Aerospace Management Systems Division (HBA), Air Traffic System Branch (HBAA), Air Traffic Control (ATC) Future Technology (AFT) Program Management Office (PMO), located at Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB), Massachusetts, is requesting proposals from industry to install and deploy a Commercial Off-the Shelf (COTAS) phased array radar system(s) at Travis AFB, CA to demonstrate performance of the radar in a wind turbine clutter environment. 2.2 It is not required that the radar will have been designed or tested in a windfarm environment prior to this demonstration, but if previous data exists, please include that with your proposal. The Government will select the Contractor(s) that presents the best value to the Government based on an integrated assessment of the evaluation results. 2.3 The Government intends to award none, one, or more experimental agreements in response to this competitive OTA acquisition to the approaches that are determined to be the most beneficial to the Government. However, the Government reserves the right to award no experimental OTAs. 2.4 The Government is under no obligation to make an award, and in the event that the Government determines it will not award an Agreement, costs incurred in the development and negotiation of its proposal are not recoverable from the Government. 2.5 The maximum amount the Government will fund is $2,470,000.00. The agreement will be an OTA with Fixed Price Agreement Line-Item Numbers (ALINs) for the Experiment, a Cost Reimbursement ALIN for Travel, and an Option Fixed-Price ALIN for Power. 3. Definitions 3.1 “Agreements Officer (AO)” is the Aerospace Management Systems Division warranted Contracting Officer with authority to enter into, administer, change or terminate other transactions agreements. Agreements Officers are the only Government employees authorized to enter into an OTA. 3.2 “Agreements Specialist (AS)” is the Aerospace Management Systems Division OTA Specialist. 3.3 “DoD non-government advisors” or “non-government advisors” means any non-Government employee working in conjunction with the Government and can include individuals employed by Support Contractors, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, and University Affiliated Research Center. See Section 11 for the list of companies the program is expecting to use to review data submitted by Contractors. 3.4 “Contracting Activity” means an element of an agency designated by the agency head and delegated broad authority regarding acquisition functions. It also means elements, or another agency designated by the director of a defense agency, which has been delegated contracting authority through its agency charter. 3.5 “Effective Date” means the date when this Experimental Procurement is signed and executed by the Agreements Officer on behalf of the Government. 3.6 “Experiment” means the Problem Statement as outlined in this document. 3.7 “Experimental Procurement” or "OTA" or “EP” refers to the Experimental Procurement, as authorized under 10 U.S.C.§ 4023, between AFLCMC/HBA and Contractor. 3.8 “Parties” means Government and Contractor by its authorized agent where collectively identified and “Party” where each entity is individually identified. 3.9 “Public Release of Information” means any and all new algorithms or techniques developed as part of this effort would be considered Distribution C until the proper process to get the information cleared for public release is performed. That process would be to adhere to AFI 10- 701, Operations Security (OPSEC), 30 Jul 18 (or DoD M5205.02-M). An OPSEC review will be performed by the Government prior to all public release of information. All Government information intended for public release by Contractor shall undergo a Government OPSEC review prior to release. 3.10 “Small Business” as defined by the DoD OT Guide is a small business concern as defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 4. Eligibility The Contractor shall have a Dunn and Bradstreet (DUNS) number and shall be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to obtain a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code. This system verifies identity and ensures that payment is sent to the correct party. In general, to invoice and receive payment after award, the Contractor shall register in the Invoice, Receipt, Acceptance, and Property Transfer (iRAPT) system, formerly known as Wide Area Workflow (WAWF). The Contractor must be considered a responsible party by the AO and is not suspended or debarred from such agreement by the Federal Government, and is not prohibited by Presidential Executive Order, or law from receiving such award. 5. Evaluators The Government will assign a Proposal Review Team (PRT) comprised of Government evaluators and non-governmental advisors from the Regulus-Group, who will review proposals submitted in response to the Infill Radar solicitation. The non-governmental advisors will support the evaluation in an advisory role only. Non-government advisors are prohibited from proposal rating, ranking, voting, or recommending the selection of a source. The Government reserves the right to conduct a site visit of companies’ facilities during the evaluation process. SECTION 2 – PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND INSTRUCTION 1. Evaluation 1.1 It is the Contractor’s responsibility to remain cognizant of further requests or amendments to this solicitation after the Infill Radar solicitation is released at SAM.gov. 1.2 The proposal shall be clearly and concisely prepared to demonstrate that the Contractor has a complete understanding of the requirements. The Contractor shall prepare the proposal based on the assumption that the Government has no previous knowledge of the Contractor’s capabilities. The proposal will be evaluated by the Government only on the information specifically provided by the Contractor. Only one integrated proposal will be accepted. The Government will not accept proposals that require the integration of partial contractor proposals into an integrated whole. 1.3 The Contractor is cautioned that echoing a requirement of the Problem Statement with a statement of intent to perform does not reflect an understanding of the requirement or capability to perform. The Contractor is responsible for including sufficient details in the Proposal to permit a complete and accurate Government proposal evaluation. The Contractor shall clearly identify any information considered “PROPRIETARY.” 1.4 The Government will evaluate the level of detail, viability, and potential merit provided in the offeror submission, and offeror proposals should be as detailed as possible with enough information to allow for Government review and evaluation of their responses. 1.5 Vendor proposals should: 1.5.1 Provide a detailed description of their phased array infill radar including the wind turbine clutter mitigation process. 1.5.2 Provide deployment and installation plans to include a schedule and time needed to deploy the radar to Travis AFB, set-up time at the site, any power or telecom needs at the site, and other on-site needs to demonstrate performance of their radar. 1.5.3 Provide details for radar optimizations at a site to include any data requirements for wind turbine clutter mitigation or other needs as appropriate. 1.5.4 Describe how they would conduct test flights, as well as collect data on targets of opportunity to demonstrate radar performance. 1.5.6 Describe the data file collection process and availability of these files to the Government for independent evaluations. 1.5.7 Provide a detailed schedule of vendor activities including any expected government participation or support. 1.5.8 Describe any proprietary data and any data protections associated with their infill radar. 1.5.9 Provide a detailed cost proposal to achieve the objectives described above including materials, travel, and other costs as appropriate. 1.5.10 The Government will conduct price analysis of the overall price submitted to determine price reasonableness for OTA award. 1.6 Upon completion of its evaluation process, the Government will not require certified cost or pricing data. 2. Interchanges The Government reserves the right to exchange information with none, one, some, or all Contractors that provide proposals at its discretion. Interchanges may address all aspects of the proposal to include technical, cost/price, final terms of the agreement, and/or any other matter in the evaluation process. Interchanges, which may be conducted in writing or orally, will be conducted in a fair and reasonable manner. 3. Proposal Submission Requirements 3.1 Proposal submissions should be delivered via Department of Defense’s Safe Access File Exchange (SAFE) website at https://safe.apps.mil/. Since unauthenticated users (Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Personal Identity Verification (PIV) certificates) must receive a drop-off request from a DoD user, please notify the Agreements Officer, Ms. Tiffany Hinson, (tiffany.hinson.1@us.af.mil) and Agreements Specialist, Ms. Julide Tolek, (julide.tolek@us.af.mil) of your company’s intent to deliver a proposal. The Government Agreements Officer will provide you with a “Drop-off Request” which you will use to submit your files. The Drop-Off Request will be valid for 14 days. For additional guidance, please see the SAFE website at https://safe.apps.mil/. 3.2 The offeror shall include Company Name, CAGE Code, Date, Point of Contact Information (Name, Title, E-Mail Address, Phone, and Address), and any significant participants, subcontractors, or team members in their proposal. The offeror shall include a statement that the proposal is valid for 180 days after the proposal’s due date. The Offeror must be able to complete this system design and demonstration experiment. 3.3 Responses shall include the offeror’s North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and any Small Business Certifications. Additionally, offerors shall note if they are a Non-Traditional Contractor, and if they are on any Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts or part of any Other Transaction (OT) Consortium. 3.4 To be eligible for an award, the Proposal shall be submitted in compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the Infill Radar solicitation. The Government will not accept proposals after the closing date listed in the Infill Radar solicitation. 3.5 Responses to this solicitation are requested by close of business on July 14, 2025. Responses are limited to 30-pages in .pdf file format with 12-point Times New Roman font for text including figure and table captions. All responses shall be unclassified and reviewed to ensure consideration of operational sensitivities. All responses will become the property of the US Government and will not be returned to the respondents. 3.6 All Contractors shall make a statement in their proposal as to whether or not they have or foresee an Organizational Conflict of Interest. 3.7 All Contractors shall include in the proposal the name, title, and telephone number of the company/division point of contact regarding decisions made with respect to the Contractor’s proposal and who can obligate the company contractually and negotiate with the Government. 3.8 All Contractors are required to mark proposal documents and technical information that are to be protected for five years from FOIA disclosure with a legend identifying the documents as being submitted on a confidential basis. 4. Technical Volume 4.1 Proposals shall include written responses that address the Problem Statement. 4.2 If needed, the Contractor shall complete and include a Data Rights Assertion List as part of their proposal utilizing the format outlined in DFARS 252.227-7017, Identification and Assertion of Use, Release, or Disclosure Restrictions. The Government considers all license rights in technical data pertaining to items, components and/or processes, as well as to license rights in software as having Government Purpose Rights, unless the Contractor asserts otherwise. It should be understood that Operation, Maintenance, Installation, and Training (OMIT) data and Form, Fit, Function (FFF) data are still required to be delivered to the Government. 5. Price Volume 5.1 The Contractor shall propose Milestone Values in an excel spreadsheet providing calculations for each Milestone. 5.2 The maximum amount the Government will fund is $2,470,000.00. The Government has provided a Model OTA Agreement which will have Fixed Price Agreement Line-Item Numbers (ALINs) and a Cost Reimbursement ALIN for Travel. The proposed price shall be clearly linked to each ALIN and task. 5.3 The Government needs this information to properly assess the reasonableness, completeness and accuracy of the Contractor's proposed Price. Contractors should be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate their reasonableness. The burden of proof for credibility of proposed prices rests with the Contractor. As such, the Contractor may be required to submit additional cost documentation and/or supporting rationale for the effort proposed. 6. Government Furnished Property Government Furnished Property (GFP): The Government does not intend to provide any GFP unless otherwise determined. The Government does intend to provide power for the radar at Travis Air Force Base, but an Option ALIN is included for pricing for the Contractor to provide power. SECTION 3 – BASIS OF EVALUATION 1. Evaluation 1.1 The Government will assign a Proposal Review Team (PRT) comprised of Government evaluators and non-governmental advisors who will review proposals submitted in response to the Infill Radar solicitation. The non-governmental advisors will support the evaluation in an advisory role only. Non-government advisors are prohibited from proposal rating, ranking, voting, or recommending the selection of a source. 1.2 The Government will evaluate the level of detail, viability, and potential merit provided in the offeror submission, and offeror proposals should be as detailed as possible with enough information to allow for Government review and evaluation of their responses. 1.3 The Government’s evaluation will be based on the following Criteria: Criteria 1 – Technical Performance (acceptable/unacceptable) Criteria 2 – Price 1.4 Technical Rating Table TECHNICAL RATINGS Adjectival Rating Description Acceptable The Contractor’s proposal has benefits that outweigh any shortcomings. Unacceptable The Contractor’s proposal has one or more shortcomings that are not offset by benefits. 2. Criteria 1 – Technical The Contractor’s written proposal and interchanges (if required) will be used to evaluate the Technical Criteria. The evaluation will assess: the Contractor’s understanding of technical and operational requirements, if the proposed approach is sound, if the proposed approach is within budget constraints, and if the proposed approach is consistent with the Problem Statement. 3. Criteria 2 – Price The Price Volume will be evaluated using one or more of the techniques defined in FAR 15.404-1 to determine if it is fair and reasonable. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the Government that a prudent person would pay in the conduct of competitive business. The maximum amount the Government will fund for this agreement is $2,470,000.00. The Government may determine that a Contractor is unacceptable, and therefore unawardable, if prices are found to not be fair and reasonable. SECTION 5 – OTHER INFORMATION Aerospace Management Systems Division policy is to treat all submissions as source selection information, and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, during the evaluation process, submissions may be handled by non-government advisors for administrative purposes and/or to assist with technical evaluation. All non-governmental advisors performing this role are expressly prohibited from performing DoD-sponsored technical research and are bound by appropriate nondisclosure agreements. The Contractor is advised that non-Government personnel may serve as non-government advisors in the selection process. The non-government advisors will support the evaluation in an advisory role only. Non-government advisors are prohibited from proposal rating, ranking, voting, or recommending the selection of a source. Non-government advisors will be authorized access only to those portions of the proposal data and discussions that are necessary to enable them to perform their respective duties. The companies of non-government advisors are expressly prohibited from competing on the subject acquisition. In accomplishing their duties, support contractor personnel may require access to Contractor proprietary information contained in the proposal. SECTION 6 – CONTACT INFORMATION All correspondence related to this matter should be e-mailed to: PCO Address: AFLCMC/HBAK 75 Vandenberg Drive, Bldg 1630 Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB), MA 01731-2103 United States Contracting Primary Point of Contact: Ms. Tiffany Hinson Agreements Officer tiffany.hinson.1@us.af.mil Phone: 380-456-6643 Contracting Secondary Point of Contact: Ms. Julide Tolek Agreement Specialist julide.tolek@us.af.mil PM Point of Contact: Capt Reagan Pittman Program Manager reagan.pittman.1@us.af.mil Phone: 949-769-4894 The Contractor is advised that only the AO has the authority to enter into a binding agreement on behalf of the Government. The AO will sign the agreement, and only the AO has the authority to change the terms of the agreement. Questions are due no later than 20 JUNE 2025. Responses to questions will be posted to the SAM.gov announcement, excluding any propretiary information. SECTION 7 – ATTACHMENTS Model OTA Agreement Problem Statement, 9 June 2025 Surveillance to ATC Automation System All Purpose Structured Eurocontrol Surveillance Information Exchange (ASTERIX) Interface Control Document (ICD), NAS-ICD-11013400 September 8, 2020, as supplemented by the Guidance for Infill Radar Requirements ASTERIX Data Fields v12, 9 September 2021 Image of geographic area at Travis AFB with wind resource area southeast of the Air Force Base—“Wind turbines and Travis AFB.jpg” Image of proposed siting location at Travis AFB, "Travis site for phased array radar.jpg"