The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center is conducting a market research investigation for tactical combat boots. The goal of this effort is to identify existing Commercial Off the Shelf items and firms with capabiliti es to provide/design/develop lightweight, tactical footwear for use by combat personnel in all terrains and conditions. Interest is in a readily available product or information on development that will be available within the next six to twelve months. Th is will be based on a concise and attainable development/commercialization plan. The tactical combat boots must be capable of meeting critical technical and performance requirements as follows: 1) Protection - the footwear shall provide protection for the both the foot and ankle in operational environments including urban, desert, mountainous, woodland and/or jungle environments; 2) Configuration shall be between 6 and 10 inches in height and be constructed either entirely from cattlehide leather or from a combination of cattlehide leather and durable fabric upper materials; soling system shall be designed for slip resistance and durability; color shall be natural; 3) Weight (objective) less than 2.0 pounds (0.9 kg) per boot for an average size (approximat ely) U.S. size 9. Interested sources must, within thirty (30) days following the publication of this synopsis, respond with information on their current product(s) and how they are made or could be modified to address the US Army requirement. Interested so urces shall include detailed information regarding their firm's experience, personnel, and facilities. Product information should include product cost, technical information (e.g. technical literature, data and illustrations, technical certifications), per formance capabilities, independent laboratory test results, and relevant company background/experience, and product sample if available. If a firm chooses to submit a sample, no payment will be made by the government for such sample. Firms should provide p ricing for currently available product and estimated pricing for footwear currently under development. Firms responding shall indicate whether or not they are a small business. This notice is for market research only. Responses to this notice are to be sen t to Mr. Michael Holthe, U.S. Army Natick Soldier RDEC, AMSRD-NSC-IP-A, Bldg #4 Room D323, Natick, MA 01760-5019. This is not a request for quotations. No solicitation document exists. The information received under this announcement may be used to purchas e items for Government testing and/or for developing acquisition strategy. Email your questions to US Army Robert Morris Acquisition Center - Natick Contracting Division at
[email protected].