The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Directorate of Procurement, on behalf of the US Natick Soldier Research and Development Center (US Army - NSRDEC) and Program Manager - SOF Survival, Support and Equipment Systems (PM-SOF SSES), Natick MA, has a requirement for a Maritime Assault Suit System (MASS). This program is seeking surface dry suit variants: (1) Maritime Assault Suit System (MASS) and (2) Lightweight MASS (L-MASS); each consisting of an over-garment with neck relief/ring, repair kit and user manual, which can be used as a combat suit in maritime, land, airborne, shipboard, and transitional environments by the U.S Naval Special Warfare SEALs and Combat Crewman. To keep the user comfortable, the MASS and L-MASS shall provide the greatest degree of water vapor management and must be durable enough for rugged field use. The MASS and L-MASS shall keep the operator dry in maritime and terrestrial extremes and all weather conditions without interfering with typical mission movements or compromising range of motion for activities including, but not limited to swimming, running, climbing, assault movements and weapons manipulation. Both versions must be lightweight, fit comfortably and must be able to keep the operator dry while immersed in water without significant weight gain. The MASS/L-MASS and all components and design features shall be compatible with individual equipment (load-bearing equipment, body armor, headwear, handwear and footwear/fins.) used in combat operations and training. The neck relief/ring, neck and wrist gaskets shall be comfortable, shall not interfere with individual clothing or equipment and shall be adequately protected from the elements and physical damage. The MASS/L-MASS must have front entry and relief zipper, integrated socks, easily accessible and an adequate number of shoulder, thigh and calf pockets. The suits must be designed in a manner that reduces the effects of abrasion on key garment stress areas, be adequately quiet during typical mission movements with ease in donning and doffing. Face fabric must be capable of being dyed with a subdued color as specified by the Government. The MASS shall have a standard operational life of at least three (3) years. The L-MASS shall have a standard operational life of at least one (1) year. Both must be repairable and the contractor shall be capable of providing repair services for components typically damaged by routine wear and tear. This acquisition is a one hundred percent (100%) set-aside for Small Business. The NAICS code for this effort is 315299, the SIC code is 5699, the FSC is 8415, and the small business size standard is 500 employees. A Commercial Off-The-Shelf, Firm Fixed- Price, multiple Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with one (1) five-year ordering period is contemplated for this action. A draft solicitation is attached. The anticipated solicitation release date is mid August 2009. The estimated Request For Proposal (RFP) date will be 20 business days after release of the solicitation. This announcement constitutes only a synopsis of the requirement. The solicitation will be released at a later date. All comments are invited to the draft solicitation. Only written comments will be accepted. When accomplished the award will be made to the offeror or offerors whose proposal represents the best value to the Government, considering the factors set forth in the solicitation. Failure to meet the solicitation requirements will result in elimination from further evaluation and consideration. All clauses applicable to the draft solicitation may be accessed electronically at the following addresses: http://www.acquisition.gov/far/ ; http://farsite.hill.af.mil ; http://farsite.hill.af.mil/VFDFARA.HTM . Offerors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) to be eligible for award. Information on the CCR may be obtained at http://www.ccr.gov . Questions concerning the draft solicitation should be provided to Leatrice Frederick (Contract Specialist) at
[email protected] or Dorothy Lewis at
[email protected] (Contracting Officer). At this time this synopsis is an announcement for the MASS requirement. This notice shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal or as an obligation on the part of the Government. No entitlement to payment will arise as a result of the submission of contractor information. The estimated total dollars of this action is $5 million. USSOCOM will post and update information in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to FedBizOpps after finalization of the acquisition documents.