The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Cold Regions Research Laboratory (CRREL) intends to award a contract on a sole source basis to Jago River Air, LLC upon the basis of the authority provided at FAR 13.106-1(b). ERDC-CRREL’s Terrestrial & Cryospheric Sciences Branch has a requirement for a Contractor to collect specialized photogrammetry services necessary to create a 20cm resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of sea ice surrounding a region of highly instrumented sea ice floats used by CRREL as an ice research camp in Alaska. During the study, CRREL staff will be on the sea ice deploying and monitoring hundreds of sensors deployed at the surface of and beneath the sea ice to monitor changing physical conditions. The airborne DEM images collected by the Contractor form a critical component of this mission and must be performed during the following specific windows to generate the necessary synchronized dataset to complete the research: March 2-9, 2021 March 22-28, 2021 May 3-9, 2021 Optional Additional Windows April 18-24, 2021 May 23-29, 2021 Performance Specifications : The primary aspect of this project is the ability of the Contractor to provide a clear DEM of the requested ice study site at the resolution required. Staging is in Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse), Alaska with a study site currently drifting approximately 150 nautical miles offshore over the Arctic Ocean. The unique imagery collection activities necessary to create a clear, acceptable DEM, require the following: • Collection of high-resolution imagery at 10 cm resolution, over a 10x10km scale, using this imagery suitable for a photogrammetric DEM creation; • Processing of the collected imagery with ground control and stereography techniques to produce an image of the surface topography; and • Capability to collect imagery, provide all the attendant flight logistics, process that imagery, and return to CRREL an acceptable processed DEM surface elevation models calculated to 20cm resolution over the 10x10km area, all while under uniquely challenging conditions such as the drifting ice camp target north of Prudhoe Bay, weather, flight delays and other challenges Jago River Air has the technical expertise, experience, and most importantly, the proprietorship of the fodar technique used to obtain the required imagery needed to create the requested DEM. Jago River Air’s fodar technique was developed as an airborne photogrammetric technique used to make high resolution topographic maps with sufficient accuracy and precision. Fodar photogrammetry is distinguished from other forms of SfM photogrammetry by its use of survey-grade GPS to locate photos to within ~10 cm and create maps with accuracies and precision of < 30. Additionally, fodar utilizes a dual- or multi- frequency GPS or GNSS in an aircraft that is synchronized with a camera trigger to achieve photo center locations of 10 cm or better. Jago River Air is uniquely capable of providing the results critical to accomplishing the scope of work required for CRREL’s project. Due to the unique nature of the requested imagery, Jago River Air, LLC is the only provider capable of fulfilling the Government’s requirement. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541360, which has a size standard of $16.5M. This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive quotations. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement. Any interested party that believes they can fulfill this requirement should submit a capability statement to be reviewed. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will in any way alter the Government's acquisition strategy. Responses to this notice shall be submitted NLT 12:00 PM EST, 13 January 2021 to
[email protected] Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offerors list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation. A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Note: In order to be eligible for award of a Government contract, vendors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), have no active exclusions, and complete the FAR and DFARS representations and certifications.