The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Cold Regions Research Laboratory (CRREL)’s Force Projections & Sustainment Branch in Hanover, New Hampshire intends to award a contract on a sole source basis to Ridgeline Defense LLC upon the basis of the authority provided at FAR 13.106-1(b). ERDC-CRREL requires the rental of a winter vehicle testing facility to conduct winter vehicle testing and evaluation in partnership with MILREM Robotics utilizing MILREM’s Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System (THeMIS) Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) for research topics including traction and handling, autonomous navigation, and other related research. Requirements : The specialized winter testing facility must adhere to the following constraints: 1) The facility must provide mechanically packed snow testing surfaces (e.g., by rolling or driving over) of approximately 50’x100’. 2) The facility must have an ice surface (by spraying or flooding) of approximately 20’x70’ or more. 3) The facility must have a virgin snow surface of approximately 50’x100’ or more. Surface should be flat with undisturbed natural snow (whatever has fallen in the region). 4) Facilities must be located in the New England area and within a 4- hour drive from ERDC-CRREL’s facilities located in Hanover, New Hampshire. 5) Facilities shall be available for testing for a minimum of two (2) continuous 5-day periods. Ridgeline Defense LLC has been identified as the only source capable of offering the rental of a specialize winter testing center. Maintenance of winter driving facilities including ice and uniform packing of snow-driving surfaces requires specialized equipment, knowledge, and terrain / facilities. Ridgeline has these capabilities available and maintains winter driving facilities for winter driving for research and events. These facilities include large, flat areas where ice surfaces can be maintained and where snow can be left to accumulate (for undisturbed snow testing) or packed for testing. The facilities are within a ~3-hour drive of ERDC-CRREL allowing for day testing and can be accessed by ERDC-CRREL’s test vehicles and test vehicle trailer. Due to the specialized equipment, knowledge, and terrain / facilities and the uniquely availability of winter driving surfaces within day driving / test distance from ERDC-CRREL, Ridgeline has been determined to be the only provider capable of fulfilling the Government’s requirement. 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 CDT, 9 August 2022 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.