M792 High Explosive Incendiary with Tracer Cartridges

Description:

The United States (U.S.) Army Contracting Command, Rock Island (ACC-RI), on behalf of the Office of the Project Manager, Maneuver Ammunition Systems (OPM MAS), is seeking to identify potential sources capable of manufacturing the M792 High Explosive Incendiary with Tracer (HEI-T) Cartridge. The nomenclature and estimated quantity for each item are listed below. The cartridge is identified by a unique Department of Defense Identification Code (DODIC) and National Stock Number (NSN) that describes the caliber, cartridge type, and the method of pack-out. The DODIC must meet the requirements of the applicable Military Specification and/or the Technical Data Package (TDP) associated with each item.

DODIC A975, 25mm M792 HEI-T, NSN: 1305-01-356-0188, Part Number (P/N): 12944496, in support of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) tactical requirements. The M792 HEI-T cartridge is the current and primary tactical cartridge fired from the M242 Bushmaster from the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the Light Armored Vehicle 25 (LAV-25) to engage enemy personnel, weapon emplacements and conduct reconnaissance by fire for the U.S. Army and USMC. The M792 is packed with 30 linked cartridges per PA125 container. Current total requirements for FY24-29 are approximately 600,000 cartridges with potential future increases. The main components are the fuzed projectile, cartridge case, percussion primer, flash tube, propellant, packaging, and link.

The manufacturing process for this cartridge includes, but is not limited to manufacturing of projectiles, fuzes, propellant, cartridge cases; flash tube loading; cartridge case priming and loading with propellant; projectile insertion; case crimp; and load, assemble, and pack-out (LAP) of the completed cartridge. The LAP requires highly specialized facilities, equipment, and tooling for the safe storage, handling, transportation, weighing, consolidation and testing of explosives. The facilities must be specially designed and fabricated to meet Department of Defense (DoD) hazard/safety standoff requirements to mitigate the risk of propagation in the event of an unintended initiation of explosive materials. Additionally, the LAP personnel must be specially trained to work with explosives. For each step of the manufacturing process, sophisticated test and measuring equipment is required to ensure the final products comply with Government requirements. Approval of Measurement System Evaluation (MSE), Critical Characteristic Control Plan (CCCP), First Article Test (FAT) Plans/Reports, etc. will be required prior to production. Production support equipment includes material handling systems, tool room equipment, furnaces for heat treat and annealing, metal forming and machining equipment, anodize and phosphate systems, nondestructive testing (NDT) equipment such as but not limited to eddy current, ultrasonic and x-ray test equipment, pack-out equipment, and metrology and metallurgy laboratories. Other critical skills required to manufacture these 25mm cartridges include, but are not limited to, ammunition process/design engineers, set-up mechanics and operators, quality management systems (QMS), quality control engineers, certified NDT technicians, packaging engineers, metallurgists, and ballistics test personnel.

Specification: 25mm M792 HEI-T cartridges will be procured to Performance Specifications which are marked Distribution Statement D .

Distribution Statement D means distribution is authorized to the DoD and U.S. DoD contractors only (Critical Technology). The Performance Specification contains technical data whose export is restricted by the Arms Export Control Act, (Title 22, U.S.C., Section 2751 et seq.) or the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended, Title 50, U.S.C., app 2401, et seq. Violations of these export laws are subject to severe criminal penalties.

Planned Acquisition:

The Government is seeking interested sources to fulfill FY24-FY29 requirements under the Medium Caliber Family Buy Contract which is inclusive of all 20mm, 25mm, LW30, and 30x173mm tactical and training ammunition.

Submission Information:

Interested U.S./Canadian firms who feel they are capable of manufacturing the above cartridge are invited to indicate their interest by providing the Government: 1) A brief summary of its company's capabilities, facilities, personnel, and past manufacturing experience, 2) Monthly production capacities with assumptions about number of shifts and any other production factors that may affect monthly capacities, and 3) Manufacturing lead time for each DODIC listed. Information shall be provided electronically to Mr. Benjamin Styvaert at benjamin.w.styvaert.civ@army.mil and Ms. Julie Schmoll at julie.a.schmoll.civ@army.mil. Offerors are instructed to include 25mm M792 Medium Caliber Cartridges as the subject of their response. Please respond no later than 7 calendar days from this sources sought's posted date.

This sources sought is for planning purposes only and the requirements may change. This shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal or as an obligation on the part of the Government. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this market survey or otherwise pay for information solicited.