U.S. CUSTOMS BORDER PROTECTION HYBRID-SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS OPENING PILOT PROGRAM PRE-SOLICITATION DESCRIPTION Business concerns are notified that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intends to solicit Hybrid Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (H-sUAS) using the commercial solutions opening (CSO) procedure in accordance with Section 880 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA 880) for Fiscal Year 2017, Title VIII, §880 (Public Law 114-328), and will be subject to the limitations outlined in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program (CSOP) Guide. This anticipated solicitation is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Customs and Border Protection (CBP) CSOP and is intended to be used to competitively procure innovative commercial item and technologies. CBP has developed this pilot program to be implemented outside the normal Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements to engage traditional and non-traditional Government Contractors, including start-up companies. This pilot program is intended to promote competition with a streamlined approach to address specific needs for innovative commercial items. This pilot program offers a range of advantages to open up the field of competition so that the Government and taxpayers benefit from a large pool of solutions at a better cost and performance, including: General solicitation requiring only minimal corporate and technical information; Fast track vendor selection timelines; Preference for the vendor retaining core intellectual property. The purpose of the U.S. Customs Border Protection (CBP) Pre-Solicitation Notice is to invite business concerns to review the desired functional capabilities for the anticipated H-sUAS general solicitation. Please see Attachment A – List of H-sUAS Desired Functional Capabilities. THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE; NO SUBMISSIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED AT THIS TIME. The H-sUAS pre-solicitation period is twenty-one (21) days from date of initial pre-solicitation posting. Potential submitters may submit technical questions during the twenty-one (21) day pre-solicitation period. The technical questions shall be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of the H-sUAS desired functional capabilities. Telephone inquiries or meeting requests will not be addressed. Potential submitters should not seek advice or guidance on its solution to any given topic nor submit any materials other than questions(s) regarding the requirements. The U.S. CBP shall not respond to requests for advice or guidance on any Offeror’s solution to any H-sUAS, and shall not consider any submitted materials other than questions. Potential submitters shall not include in the question(s) any information that they do not wish to be made public. CBP intends to publish all questions and corresponding responses to the public. Technical questions shall be submitted to the contract specialist and contracting officer via email at
[email protected] and
[email protected]. Only technical questions received via the email addresses provided above during the twenty-one (21) day pre-solicitation period will be compiled and responded to by CBP. The pre-solicitation technical questions and responses will be posted at sam.gov before or at the same time that the H-sUAS general solicitation is released. Release of the H-sUAS general solicitation is tentatively scheduled for the fourth (4th) quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2020. Upon release, it is anticipated that all sources will be eligible to provide submissions to the U.S. CBP H-sUAS general solicitation.