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THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) – In accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation 5.205(c), this RFI is issued for information, as well as market research and planning purposes – this notice shall not be construed as a solicitation announcement, invitation for bids, request for proposals (RFP), quotes or an indication that the United States Government (USG) will contract or contracts for the items contained in this notice; the USG is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this notice. Solicitations are not available at this time. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the USG to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if issued. If a solicitation is released, then there will be a notice on the System for Award Management website, www.SAM.gov. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor the www.SAM.gov site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

All information submitted in response to this RFI is strictly voluntary and will not be returned to the responder. The USG will neither pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost(s) incurred in developing information provided to the USG. Proprietary information shall not be submitted; the USG shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information. Nor will the USG reimburse respondents for any cost(s) associated with any submission in response to this notice or reimburse expenses incurred to the interested parties for responses.

INTRODUCTION:

The PEO Aviation and Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA) Space, Missile Defense, and Special Programs (SMD/SP) Directorate requests that industry partners interested in this opportunity provide feedback (both positive and negative) on the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) designated Draft RFP contract line item number (CLIN) structure, basic contract scope of work (SOW), Draft RFP Section L instructions, and Draft RFP Section M evaluation criteria, as well as Draft RFP data rights information, for the development and capabilities demonstration of three (3) High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) prototypes, which will be released via DoD SAFE to all respondents that are assessed as meeting the security qualifications for this requirement that are discussed below.

Additionally, the USG will participate in the Army Aviation Association of America (Quad A) Symposium to be held at in Nashville, TN, on April 24-26, 2023. During this event, the USG intends to hold one-on-one sessions with all respondents who are assessed as meeting the security requirements detailed in this notice; respondents cleared will be provided an opportunity to attend a one-on-one session and will receive a copy of the above-stated Draft RFP documents beforehand. The appointment times for the one-on-one sessions will be coordinated after the Draft RFP documents are released to respondents who meet the security requirements stated in this notice.

The USG will evaluate all responses to this special notice to assess each respondent’s ability to meet the security requirements stated below; responses will be evaluated to determine if they meet the security requirements and will be given an “Acceptable/Unacceptable” assessment. Once security qualification responses have been vetted, all respondents to this notice will be notified of their acceptable/unacceptable assessment; in the case of an “unacceptable” assessment, the respondent may be asked to clarify any issues that led to the “unacceptable” assessment. Respondents that received an acceptable assessment will be notified via email and receive instructions to access the CUI designated Draft RFP documents via DoD SAFE.

PLANNED ACQUISITION APPROACH:

The USG is exploring soliciting and awarding a single award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) basic contract for the development and capabilities demonstration of three (3) HADES prototypes The anticipated base ordering period is five (5) years, with seven (7), 12-month optional ordering periods, for a potential of a total 12 year ordering period consisting of firm-fixed-priced, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and cost reimbursement CLINs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT:

The USG has a requirement for the integration, test, system validation, initial operation, and delivery of multiple Government-furnished Bombardier 6500 aircraft. HADES will be an integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system, and have a base set of modifications made by the manufacturer. HADES will be a sub-component of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council-validated Multi-Domain Sensing System and serves a key enabler to Army Long-Range Precision Fires by directly mitigating deep-sensing gaps in Large Scale Combat Operations. HADES will have the required altitude and endurance to enable deep sensing of adversary forces and the range to reach an increasingly diverse set of problems in an increasingly connected global threat landscape. Each HADES will constitute one (1) Government-furnished, Global 6500 aircraft, which will be integrated to the HADES system #1 configuration with capabilities that will result in an integrated HADES. A Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) applied early and throughout the HADES system life cycle will strive to achieve the Program Executive Office Aviation MOSA objectives of improved lifecycle affordability, increased readiness, enhanced capabilities, reduced schedule pressure, and reduced supply chain risk.

The highest security level for this effort is TOP SECRET/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).

The contractor shall have a sufficient number of employees with a personnel security clearance at the TS and SECRET levels in order to meet the requirements of the resultant IDIQ basic contract and its task orders. The contractor shall comply with the requirements of the DoD Contract Security Classification Specification (DD Form 254) and shall utilize the HADES Security Classification Guide (SCG) provided by the U.S. Government for classification guidance. The contractor shall have and maintain a TS Facility Security Clearance (FCL) with SECRET safeguarding requirements.

The contractor shall have access to Communications Security (COMSEC) information, SCI, Non-SCI Intelligence information, CUI, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) information. Contractor shall have access to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) at contractor and Government facilities, Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS) at Government facilities, and National Security Agency Intranet (NSANet) at Government facilities only.

All contractor personnel performing work on the resulting IDIQ basic contract shall possess and maintain a minimum of a SECRET USG security clearance (TS and/or SCI when required at the task order level). Access to NSANet requires a counterintelligence or lifestyle polygraph IAW NSA/CSS Policy 6-21.

Contractor shall have access to classified information at Government and industry facilities while performing this requirement. The contractor is authorized to store up to SECRET classified material in an approved General Services Administration container. The contractor shall comply with the requirements of DoD Instruction 5200.48 for the safeguarding of FOUO and CUI material.

The contractor shall comply with the requirements of Army Regulation 530-1 for operational security.

During HADES performance, the contractor’s Facility Security Officer (FSO) will be required to immediately report any actions (positive or negative) taken by the DoD Consolidated Adjudications Facility or Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency to the responsible Government contracting officer’s representative, senior intelligence officer, and industrial security specialist on their employee(s) supporting the resulting IDIQ basic contract.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION DETAILS:

Respondents shall provide an unclassified response to this special notice. Information identified by a respondent as “Proprietary or Confidential” will not be disclosed outside of Government channels. If a respondent submits such information, the respondent is responsible for clearly marking “proprietary” on each sheet containing the information.

All interested firms shall submit a response to this special notice of no more than five (5) pages to discuss their ability to comply with the security requirements for this effort; each respondent shall also include its Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code. Pages should be 8-1/2 x 11 inches, with 1-inch margins, single-spaced, single-sided, in PDF format, and using a 12-point Times Roman or Arial font.

The responses shall certify that the respondent can meet all the HADES security information/requirements/qualification stated below. Responses must reference and demonstrate an understanding of USG regulations and guidance that govern security responsibilities. Each respondent is required to provide the name, phone number, and email address of its FSO.

REQUIRED SECURITY INFORMATION:

1. FCL. Respondents are required to have and maintain a TS FCL with SECRET safeguarding requirements during the performance of this contract.

2. Personnel Clearances. Ability to receive and maintain a minimum Interim SECRET security clearance shall be required for all personnel working on this contract. Each respondent is required to have, or demonstrate the ability to obtain, a “sufficient number" of employees with a personnel security clearance at the TS and SECRET levels to meet the requirements of the resultant contract and task orders. “Sufficient number" of employees is defined as:

• All system engineers will need to have a TS/SCI clearance;


• Program manager and deputy program manager will need a TS/SCI clearance;


• Operators and pilots of the system will need a TS/SCI clearance;


• Sensor operators will also require a polygraph to operate the sensors;


• Maintainers for the aircraft will need a SECRET clearance; and


• Maintainers for the sensors will need a TS/SCI clearance.

3. CUI. All documents associated with this requirement will be handled at a minimum CUI level.

4. Networks. Respondents are required to provide the ability to obtain accounts on the following networks.

a. Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network;

b. SIPRNet;

c. JWICS; and

d. NSANet.

5. Classified information. Respondents shall certify they have the ability to comply with the security requirements involving access to the classified levels of the following types of information.

a. COMSEC equipment;

b. SCI;

c. Non-SCI;

d. NATO; and

e. CUI.

6. Additional information. Responses shall also include the following information.

1. Company name, CAGE code, company address, number of years in business, type of ownership for the organization including affiliated or parent company, and public website address.

2. Point of contact, including name, title, telephone number, and email address.

3. Confirmation of size/socioeconomic status under NAICS 336411.

Please send responses to ACC-RSA, attention of Amy A. Lett, Contracting Officer, at amy.a.lett.civ@army.mil and Julie Nelson, Contract Specialist, at julie.w.nelson.civ@army.mil. Responses should be in the form of a password protected PDF email attachment, with the password in a separate email. Responses may also be sent via DoD SAFE (Secure Access File Exchange) using https://safe.apps.mil/. For respondents who choose to utilize the DoD SAFE, please contact Julie Nelson at julie.w.nelson.civ@army.mil to receive a drop off request. Do not send hard copies.

Each respondent will submit a certified written statement demonstrating that the respondent is currently approved for a TS FCL and safeguarding at the SECRET level or higher. The respondent should also provide documentation to substantiate the ability to provide enough employees with a personnel security clearance at the TS and SECRET levels to meet the requirements of the resultant contract and task orders. The ability to provide the appropriate cleared personnel will be assessed, as well as the ability to obtain appropriate network accounts as specified in the Security Requirements section above. The Government will also validate the FCL in the appropriate security system.

Any responses received that do not meet the security requirements will not be eligible to receive the CUI designated Draft RFP documents via DoD SAFE or have an opportunity to attend the one-on-one sessions at the Quad A conference on 25 April 2023. However, not responding to this notice will not preclude participation in any future RFP solicitation announcements as long as the industry partner meets the security vetting requirements provided in that future notice, which will be posted on sam.gov.

AMENDMENT 01 -

This Special Notice, W58SFN-RFI-HADES, is amended to extend the response date to 13 April 2023 at 4:00pm CDT.

-END OF NOTICE-

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