Active

Contract Opportunity

I. DISCLAIMER

THIS NOTICE IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Responses will be treated as information only and will not be evaluated as a proposal. Further, the Government is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. A return response from the Government regarding RFI submissions is not guaranteed. The RFI respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation from future announcements or contracts. Respondents should indicate which portions of their response are proprietary and should mark accordingly. NOTE: This RFI is not associated with any previous or ongoing RFPs or Fair Opportunity Proposal Requests issued by the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO).

This RFI is a market research tool being used in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 15.2 to determine potential and eligible businesses capable of providing the services described herein prior to determining the method of acquisition and issuance of a solicitation. The Government will not return submittals to the sender. Respondents to this RFI may be requested to provide additional information based on their initial submittals for the Government to make a fully informed capability assessment.

II. BACKGROUND

The purpose of this RFI is to conduct market research for the integration and development of upgraded integrated F-35 Thermal Management Systems, to include the Power Thermal Management System (PTMS), Fuel Thermal Management System (FTMS), and Electrical Power System (EPS). Collectively, this is referred to as the Thermal Management Upgrade (TMU).

All answers provided shall be UNCLASSIFIED and not contain Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

III. SPECIFIC INFORMATION OF INTEREST

A. Problem Statement:

The F-35 JPO is adding and upgrading numerous systems that require additional cooling and power beyond current capabilities. As a result, the F-35 requires upgrades to its collective TMU system, including PTMS, FTMS, and EPS, to meet these increased cooling and power demands. The program anticipates technology development, integration, and testing to culminate in production in Lot 24 with retrofit kits starting delivery in 2032. Beyond increasing the aircrafts overall cooling and power generation, the system needs to be economically retrofittable, affordable, common across all three variants of the F-35, and partner releasable. Additionally, the integration of the TMU should not violate any air system specifications, and no changes to the air vehicle design will be considered.

B. Request for Information:

Any interested source shall submit responses electronically to include a Capability Statement addressing the requirements above as well as its capabilities to perform the following tasks:

• Integrating Thermal Management Systems (TMS) onto the F-35 air system

• Developing, designing, and testing a fully integrated PTMS, FMS, and EPS integrated architecture on the F-35 air system


• Integrating a PTMS that will provide the required F-35 Air System cooling (62kW threshold, 80kW objective)


• Upgrading a FTMS, to meet the heat rejection required to support a 62kW threshold, 80kW objective, cooling system, on post-production F-35 air system


• Upgrading an EPS to meet the power requirements of the post Block 4 F-35 air system upgrades, to include a new generator and electrical distribution system, on post-production F-35 air systems


• Supporting F-35 Government-led air system test flights

• Updating F-35 Operational Flight Program software to support the integration of new and upgraded systems


• Execution of F-35 air system production line incorporation of TMU


• Retrofitting F-35 air systems.

The Capability Statements should state any technical data requirements not otherwise addressed. e.g., what technical data is necessary to perform, what technical data the company already has, etc.

Statements are limited to no more than 15 pages, 10-point (Arial) font, and shall be Microsoft Office 2016 compatible or PDF format; no ZIP files or fold-out pages will be accepted. Exceeding page limits may result in the U.S. Government not reading beyond the allotted space.

IV. SUBMISSION AND INSTRUCTIONS

A. Due Date: 15 Days from the System of Award Management (SAM) published date of this RFI.

B. Instructions: It is the respondent’s responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any follow-on information. Responses shall include the reference number of this SAM.gov announcement. The response shall contain the respondent’s name, street address, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code, point of contact with phone number and email address, and the respondent’s web page URL.

To the maximum extent practicable, respondents should limit the delivery of proprietary information. If the response includes proprietary information, (1) ensure proprietary information is marked appropriately, (2) identify disposition instructions, and (3) indicate whether you require U.S. Government (USG) support contractors providing advisory and assistance services to the USG to facilitate the execution of information/proprietary exchange agreements with you. USG Support Contractors may assist in the review of any data provided by applicants. USG Support Contractors have entered into Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) with the USG, which precludes them from disclosing any proprietary data outside of the USG. However, if respondents desire a separate NDA with USG Support Contractors, respondents should submit an NDA form, along with instructions, to the POCs listed in this notice at the time of their submission. If respondents choose not to submit an NDA form for completion, their submission of a response to this announcement constitutes consent that the USG Support Contractors will have access to their proprietary information. The USG will NOT be responsible for the disclosure of any confidential/proprietary information not clearly marked. At any time after receipt of RFI responses, the U.S. Government may contact respondents independently for further clarification of the submital.

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