Request for Information– Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility Self-Righting Personal Flotation Device (PFD) Market Research Background: The U.S. Navy seeks to ensure the safety and survival of their Submarine topside watchstanders. COMSUBPAC and COMSUBLANT require an inherently buoyant body armor system for Submarine topside watchstanders, performing Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP), which simultaneously meets the competing demands of ballistic protection and topside safety. Currently, the Navy owns the Maritime Armor System (MAS) which meets all ballistic requirements and provides neutral to positive buoyancy, however it lacks the capability to self-right an unconscious Sailor. Description: This Request for Information (RFI) seeks to identify capable and reliable sources who may be interested in submitting a proposal for market research purposes only. NCTRF seeks to identify potential solutions from industry or Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) items that meet the following requirements: Can be worn with/in addition to watchstander force protection equipment and must allow for the required freedom of motion, without restrictive interference, to support the ability to function as Force Protection watchstanders (to include the ability to shoulder sling a rifle or shotgun). The system shall support inherent buoyancy in fresh water, and have the ability to upright an unconscious individual to prevent drowning. Assume Sailor weighs 200lbs and is donning full force protection equipment including steel toed boots, helmet, ballistic vest, 9mm pistol w/ fully loaded magazine, M4 riffle w/ fully loaded magazine, and radio. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT DIRECTLY FROM THE RESPONSE TO THE RFI/SOURCES SOUGHT, OR TO OTHERWISE PAY FOR INFORMATION RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO THE RFI/SOURCES SOUGHT. Candidates: To respond to this RFI, interested candidates are required to address the following capabilities within their submission to enable the Government to efficiently evaluate the system and assess how it can interface with the MAS and ancillary equipment. Technical specifications describing the system Any relevant material/component or system level test data User instructions / manual Maintenance requirements and how to make repairs to the system Berry Amendment Compliance Cost per unit Lead time Available sizes / Size prediction chart Projected wear life/shelf life Interested parties shall provide information with regards to their particular company to include Company name, address, point of contact, email address, phone number. Responses to questions and information regarding the Self-Righting PFD submitted by interested candidates are due electronically by COB 14 AUG 2020. Information will be handled as proprietary. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this notice. Contact: Please submit responses to this RFI electronically to
[email protected] . This notice is a market survey and is for information only. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION OR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. No solicitation document exists. POC for this request is Desiree Marquant, 508-206-2767,
[email protected]