FY22-26:  Artillery and Mortar Parachutes – 155mm Drogue, 155mm Main, 105mm, 60mm, 81mm, 120mm, and 81mm Flash Bang Munition Sources Sought

The U.S. Army Contracting Command-Rock Island (ACC-RI), Rock Island, IL 61299-0001 on behalf of the Office of the Project Manager Combat Ammunition Systems (OPM-CAS), is conducting a sources sought to identify potential sources capable of producing and delivering the following Parachutes:

Drogue Parachute Assembling, supporting 155mm Illuminating Projectiles

Main Parachute Assembly, supporting 155mm Illuminating Projectiles

Parachute Assembly, supporting 105mm Illuminating Projectiles

Parachute Assembly, supporting 60mm Illuminating Mortar Cartridges

Parachute Assembly, supporting 81mm Illuminating Mortar Cartridges

Parachute Assembly, supporting 120mm Illuminating Mortar Cartridges

81mm Flash Bang Munition Mortar (FMB) Parachute Assembly

The purpose of this sources sought is to obtain current information on the capability of businesses to produce and deliver these products to the warfighter in the FY22-FY26 timeframe.

155mm Illuminating Projectiles are supported by two parachute assemblies: the Main Parachute Assembly and the Drogue Parachute Assembly. The Drogue Parachute Assembly is approximately 12 inches in diameter, and is designed to reduce the forward velocity and stabilize the Spin Brake Assembly. It is constructed of six (6) heavy nylon gores sewn together to form the canopy. The assembled Drogue Parachute is folded and packed within a (3) three piece plastic container.

The Main Parachute Assembly, supporting 155mm Illuminating Projectiles, is a flat octagon shaped main parachute approximately 100 inches in diameter. It consists of three (3) panels sewn together to form its canopy with all suspension lines attached to a steel riser cable assembly. The stability characteristics allow the chute to avoid the heat of the burning candle. The main parachute assembly is folded and packed within a stencilboard liner.

The Parachute Assembly, supporting 105mm Illuminating Projectiles, consists of a parachute assembly folded and packed into a protective bag.  The parachute assembly is constructed of sixteen (16) heavy nylon segments in a flat circular shaped canopy of approximately 23 inches diameter, attached with a combination of nylon and steel suspension lines woven through a shroud plate for attachment to the candle. 

The Parachute Assembly, supporting 60mm Illuminating Mortar Cartridges, consists of a main parachute folded and packed into a deployment bag with a drogue parachute. The 60mm flat octagon shaped main parachute is a subcomponent of the parachute assembly. The one piece, approximately 28 inch diameter, octagon shaped canopy is deployed by a 9 inch square nylon drogue chute.

The Parachute Assembly, supporting 81mm Illuminating Mortar Cartridges consists of a main parachute folded and packed into a deployment bag. The 81mm flat circular shaped parachute is a subcomponent of the parachute assembly. The one piece, approximately 43 inch diameter, nylon canopy is deployed by a separate 3.2 inch diameter aluminum drogue plate (drogue plate is not included as part of this survey).

The Parachute Assembly, supporting 120mm Illuminating Mortar Cartridges, consists of a main parachute folded and packed into a deployment bag with a drogue parachute. The 120mm flat octagon shaped flare parachute is a subcomponent of the parachute assembly. The main parachute is constructed of eight (8) gores sewn together to form the octagonal shaped canopy with all suspension lines attached to a single Kevlar riser cable. The eight (8) paneled, approximately 51inch diameter, nylon canopy is deployed by a 9 inch square nylon drogue parachute.

The 81mm Flashbang Munition Mortar Parachute Assembly consists of a 60mm parachute, 81mm parachute, and drogue parachute packed into a deployment bag along with three tethers.  The 60mm flat octagon shaped main parachute is approximately 28 inches in diameter, the octagon shaped canopy has a 1/8 technora tether approximately 13 1/4 inches long covered by a polyester sleeve.  The 81mm flat circular shaped parachute is approximately 43 inches in diameter and the nylon canopy has a 3/16 technora tether approximately 32 1/2 inches.  Both parachutes are deployed by a 9 inch square nylon drogue chute. Also, included in the Parachute assembly is the 3/16 technora line front tether covered in approximately 32 1/2 inches of heat shrink tubing. 

The TDPs will be made available through the Procuring Contracting Officer upon request, and after submission of a valid DD2345 and signed Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA).

Interested sources shall clearly identify all configurations in this sources sought providing adequate technical and manufacturing capability to produce and deliver the Artillery and Mortar Parachutes. If a respondent does not have adequate resources (technical, manufacturing, personnel, etc.) available, the respondent must be able to demonstrate its ability to obtain those resources. Respondents should provide the following information which will assist the U.S. Government in developing its acquisition strategy:

1. Provide evidence of capabilities including an ability to produce the Artillery Parachutes at a monthly rate of 2,500 per month and Mortar Parachutes at the monthly rate of 8,500 per month.
    
2. Manufacturing experience in the Artillery and Mortar Parachutes;
    
3. Description of facilities, equipment, manufacturing processes, inspection capability, personnel (number of employees, experience, specialized skill sets), and environmental compliance as it relates to the above production efforts;
    
4. Provide evidence of quality assurance in order to support this production program; and
    
5. Provide company name, address, telephone number, email address, technical point of contact, and company size (please specify as either a Large Business, Foreign-Owned Business, Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, 8(a) concern, Woman-Owned Small Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone concern, Veteran-Owned Small Business, or Service-Disabled Small Business).

All contractors interested in this potential future solicitation must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).

This sources sought is for information and planning purposes only and shall NOT be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or an obligation on the part of the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this sources sought. All submissions are requested to be made within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of this publication at no cost to the U.S. Government by electronic mail to David Baranowski at [email protected]. The U.S. Government will accept written questions by email ONLY. TELEPHONE INQUIRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. All information submitted will be protected in accordance with the identified markings. If a formal solicitation is generated at a later date, a solicitation notice will be published.