Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
2/20/2015
Industry officials appear to be concerned about potential impacts that government inspection requirements could have on the delivery schedule for Reentry Field Support Equipment (RFSE) that supports work on the Minuteman 3 re-entry systems prior to attaching the system to the missile, according to a set of questions-and-answers for the procurement issued this week. According to the Statement of Objectives for the solicitation, the Air Force must do an agency technical review, ship all deliverables to the site, and complete all inspection and results before the government can supply RFSE components. One industry question notes that contractors will be able to complete Form DD 250—the standard Material Inspection and Receiving Report required of by the Defense Department for supplies and services in most contracts—only after hardware is shipped to the Air Force wing and set up.
The Air Force responded to an industry question about how the shipping/inspection schedule would apply to delivery requirements by stating that the service plans to arrange availability with the wings based on delivery dates in the joint/approved Integrated Master Schedule and any updates discussed by the contract planning team after the contract is awarded. “However, if the schedule changes at the last minute, all efforts will be made to accommodate that change, but the contractor will have to wait until the wing can support the delivery and checkout,” the Air Force said.
USAF Adds Items to GFP List
The Air Force also added items to the solicitation’s Government-Furnish Parts (GFP) list after industry stated that their internal reviews found that the original GFP was missing some needed items. Released Feb. 17, the updated GFP upped the number of Reentry System (RS) Install Kits and four-pin (W1F) connector cables from one each to three each, as well as one jumper plug and one W5RA cable, up from zero each. The service also added to the GFP list cables to connect the RFSE cables to the Mark 21 RS fuze, and corrected part numbers on the initial spares list, in response to industry concerns expressed.
Requirements of ATPs Could Force Contractors to Incur Unreimbursed Costs, Tighten Schedule
Prospective RFSE bidders also asked the Air Force about language in the original RFSE Request for Proposals stating that contractors were not allowed to incur any cost for work on RFSE Suites 2-6 until the government gave those companies an Authorization to Proceed (ATP), with the companies expressing concern that prohibition of advance purchases could impede contractors from delivering on time, according to the Q&As.
The service responded that if the contractor makes advance purchases and an ATP were never received or a contract option never exercised, then the government would not reimburse the contractor. “However, if costs are incurred and an ATP is subsequently received or an option is exercised, the costs would be covered if and as they would be covered if no ATP term was included in the [Contract Line Item Numbers] CLINs or the CLIN was not an option,” the answer reads. “The AF discourages contractors from making at risk purchases, because if a [Written Authorization to Proceed from the Contracting Officer] is not received or an option is not exercised, then these costs would not be covered.”
After releasing the RFP to build seven RFSE suites on Jan. 15, the Air Force announced on Feb. 9 that it was postponing the RFP response deadline from Feb. 26 to March 20, as a result of delaying the release of industry Q&As from Feb. 9 to Feb. 16. The RFSE suites support the construction of the Minuteman 3 reentry systems prior to attaching the system to the missile. The RFSE suites ensure proper cabling and system level functionality of the Mark 12A reentry vehicle’s front section. The solicitation has generated interest from companies including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
