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***SEE ATTACHMENTS FOR FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT***
BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)
FA9451-24-S-0001
Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate
ANNOUNCEMENT OVERVIEW
Initial
22 November 2023
NAICS CODE: The NAICS Code for this acquisition is 541715 for Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology), and the small business size standard is 1,000 employees.
FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: Air Force Research Laboratory, Directed Energy Directorate (AFRL/RD)
BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: TACTICAL
BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: This is the Initial Announcement of BAA FA9451-24-S-0001, BAA With Closed Calls
BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: FA9451-24-S-0001
CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER(S): Not Applicable (N/A). No assistance instrument or CFDA opportunities exist under this announcement.
BRIEF PROGRAM SUMMARY:
This is a five (5) year Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) describing the research areas of interest for the Directed Energy Directorate. This BAA approach allows for proposal submittals at a specified date and time, which will be posted through the issuance of Calls at various times against this BAA. This BAA will be reviewed no less frequently than annually and updates will be published in the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://sam.gov). Any changes or cancellation of the BAA will be posted as amendments to this BAA. This annual review and subsequent amendment to the BAA shall meet the requirement of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 35.016 to publish the BAA no less frequently than annually. As technical requirements are identified, Calls may be issued in SAM.gov to request proposals for specific research efforts. These subsequent Calls will contain specific descriptions of the research effort to be addressed, anticipated period of performance, information peculiar to the specific research technical topic area, and the estimated funding profile for the Call.
PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: NO PROPOSALS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AGAINST THIS OVERARCHING BAA. Proposal due dates and times will be specified in each Call announcement. Proposals received after the due date and time specified in the Call shall be governed by the provisions of the FAR 52.215-1(c)(3). It should be noted that this installation observes strict security procedures to enter the facility. These security procedures are NOT considered an interruption of normal Government processes, and proposals received after the due date and time specified in the Call because of security delays will be considered late”.
Furthermore, note that if offerors utilize commercial carriers in the delivery of proposals, they may not honor time-of-day delivery guarantees on military installations. Early proposal submission is encouraged.
GENERAL INFORMATION: This acquisition is unrestricted. This BAA is issued under the provisions of FAR 6.102(d)(2) that provides for the competitive selection of research proposals. Proposals submitted in response to this BAA that are selected for award are considered to be the results of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of PL 98-369, the Competition In Contracting Act of 1984. Offerors MUST monitor SAM in the event this announcement is amended, and for the posting of Calls.
ANNOUNCEMENT MODIFICATIONS: Due to the dynamically evolving nature of US warfighter directed energy needs, this announcement is potentially subject to include updates, revisions, or additional topic areas. Therefore, Offerors are highly encouraged to continually monitor SAM to ensure they receive latest guidance to this announcement.
TYPE OF CONTRACTS/INSTRUMENTS: The Air Force reserves the right to award the instrument best suited to the nature of research proposed. Accordingly, the Government may award any appropriate contract type under the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
The Government anticipates that a mix of contract types will be used throughout the life of this BAA. Generally, awards under this announcement may be Cost-Plus-Fixed Fee (Completion and Term), Cost Contract, or Firm Fixed Price. There are no opportunities for Other Transactions, Grants, Cooperative Agreements, or other types of non-FAR instruments under this announcement.
Cost-type contracts will require successful Offerors to have an accounting system deemed adequate by Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) for tracking costs under a cost reimbursable contract (DFARS 242.75). If an Offeror does NOT have a DCAA approved accounting system, a cost-type contract cannot be awarded.
ANNUAL REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS: Potential offerors are notified that effective 01 Jan 2005 to be eligible for an award and in compliance with FAR 52.204-7 and DFARS 252.204-7007 Alternate A, they must submit Annual Representations and Certifications, via SAM.gov. Before submitting the electronic Annual Representations and Certifications, Contractors must be registered in the SAM Database. Online registration instructions can be accessed from the SAM at https://sam.gov. These FAR and DFAR level representations and certifications are required in addition to the representations and certifications that may be attached to each Call.
ESTIMATED PROGRAM COST: Anticipated funding for the program (not per Call, contract, or award):
FY24 FY25 FY26 FY27 FY28 TOTAL
$100M $100M $100M $100M $99M $499M
This funding profile is an estimate only and will not be a contractual obligation for funding. All funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability. All potential offerors should be aware that due to unanticipated budget fluctuations, funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice.
ANTICIPATED NUMBER OF AWARDS: The Air Force anticipates awarding a minimum of one contract per specific Call. However, the Air Force reserves the right to make multiple awards or no awards pursuant to a Call. There is no limit on the number of contracts that may be awarded to an individual Offeror.
SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM) REGISTRATION: Before the Government can award a contract, an Offeror must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). It is in the Offeror’s interest to visit SAM and ensure that all the Offeror’s data is up to date from SAM and other databases to avoid delay in award. SAM allows firms interested in conducting business with the federal government to provide basic information on business capabilities and financial information. To register, visit https://www.sam.gov.
POINT OF CONTACT:
a) Administrative, technical, or contractual questions should be sent via e-mail to [email protected]. All requests must include a name, e-mail address, and phone number of an organizational point of contact.
b) Each Call will include specific contracting points of contact.
Amendment 1 – FY24 Request for Executive Summaries for Topic Area Group Inclusion (15 December 2023)
Under the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) TACTICAL Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), FA945124S0001, posted on SAM.gov on 22 November 2023, AFRL is issuing this Call for Executive Summaries for inclusion into Topic Area Groups (TAGs). The Government is interested in Executive Summaries as directed in Section VII of the BAA announcement. Executive Summaries shall be tailored to one specific Topic Area. Any offeror wishing to be considered for inclusion to multiple TAGs shall submit an Executive Summary for each TAG desired. Topic Areas are listed in Section I Paragraph 5 of the BAA announcement. Submission instructions are included in Section VII of the BAA announcement. Executive Summary Review and Evaluation Procedures are listed in Section VIII of the BAA announcement. Executive Summaries will be accepted from 1 January 2024 through 1600 MST on 31 January 2024. AFRL intends to announce TAG members by 15 March 2024.
TACTICAL Organizational Mailbox: [email protected]
Offerors shall use the following naming convention for the Subject Line of the email submission:
“Topic Area X: Company Name, (CAGE: XXXXX)”
***DO NOT SUBMIT CLASSIFIED EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES – If it is necessary to submit a classified Executive Summary, first send an unclassified request to the TACTICAL Org Mailbox for specific submission instructions***
(End of Amendment)
Amendment 2 – Revision to FY24 Topic Area Group Inclusion (13 February 2024)
AFRL has revised the date it intends to announce TAG members. AFRL now intends to announce TAG members by 29 March 2024.
(End of Amendment)
Amendment 3 –FY24 Topic Area Group Members (28 March 2024)
AFRL is pleased to announce the establishment of the TACTICAL Topic Area Groups (TAG).
NOTE: There is no appeal process for any Executive Summary (ES) submission evaluated as “Selected” or “Not Selected”. The only feedback that will be provided is captured under the Executive Summary Review Forms provided as a response to Offeror Executive Summaries.
For any Offerors not included in the TAG list below, AFRL welcomes Offerors to submit an ES for inclusion in topic areas in response to any future TACTICAL Request for Executive Summary announcements on this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). However, executive Summaries will only be accepted during the time periods specified in TACTICAL Requests for Executive Summary announcements posted to this announcement.
The Selected/Technically Qualified TACTICAL Topic Area Group (TAG) Members as of 28 March 2024 are as follows:
Topic Area 1: Laser Sources
Topic Area 2: Aero-Effects & Beam Control
Topic Area 3: Laser System Technologies, Integration and Demonstration
Topic Area 4: Laser System Modeling & Simulation
Topic Area 5: Laser Interaction Testing
Topic Area 6: Laser Interaction Modeling and Simulation (M&S)
Topic Area 7: Laser Vulnerability Assessments
Topic Area 8: Satellite Custody and Characterization (SCC)
Topic Area 9: Identification (ID) and Characterization Using Alternate Electro-Optics (EO)
Phenomenologies
Topic Area 10: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Autonomy for Space Domain Awareness (SDA)
Topic Area 11: High Power Electromagnetics (HPEM) Modeling and Effects
Topic Area 12: HPEM Sources and Components
Topic Area 13: HPEM Applications
Topic Area 14: Wargaming
The TAG members listed above will be included in any future Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for White Paper (RFWP) for Topic Area Groups.
Inclusion in a Topic Area Group does not directly result in a specific contract award. Any future contracts under Topic Area Groups will be awarded based on evaluation of proposals or white papers solicited directly from established groups Topic Area Group members.
Please note, regardless of Topic Area Group membership, at any time the Government may issue Standard Calls for any Topic Area under this TACTICAL BAA announcement.
(End of Amendment)
Amendment 4 – Revision to TACTICAL Science & Technology (S&T) Program Protection language (29 March 2024)
The purpose of this amendment is to revise the TACTICAL Science & Technology (S&T) Program Protection language included in Section I paragraph 8 of the TACTICAL full text announcement included in the attachments. The revised paragraph is as follows:
e. Science & Technology (S&T) Program Protection: Offerors notified that subsequent Call Announcements shall include a requirement for submission of: 1.) A completed Standard Form (SF 424), Research and Related Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form (See Attachments) for all Senior/Key Personnel proposed; and 2.) A Completed Security Program Questionnaire (See Attachments). Offerors may be asked to provide a mitigation plan for any identified S&T Protection risks.
The Government reserves the right to determine an Offeror unawardable on the grounds of unacceptable S&T Protection risk based on its review of the SF 424 and Security Program Questionnaire. During the security review process, if it is determined that personnel listed to perform work are identified as potentially having a conflict of interest/commitment. The Government will not award the contract at this time.
(End of Amendment)