STAGE ONE (1) BATTERY REPLACEMENT (SOBR)

BACKGROUND: This requirement is to provide a fit/function replacement for legacy asset, Stage 1 Flight Control Unit (FCU) Battery for the Minuteman (MM) III Missile which is used on the MMIII Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).

DESCRIPTION: The current Stage 1 FCU Battery is a remote activated silver-oxide zinc (AgZn) chemistry battery. The Government intends to pursue a thermal battery chemistry design in place of the existing silver-oxide zinc chemistry.

SCOPE: Under the scope of this effort, the contractor shall develop a thermal battery for the Stage 1 FCU, conduct a Qualification test sequence, and following successful completion, provide initial spares and possible future deliverable assets to replenish the stock system inventory through the end of life for MMIII.

After review, the CO recognized the submission date of 23rd December for the SOBR proposal is not conducive to the holidays. As such, the CO is granting a one-time extension to the 10th of January 2025 for final submission of the SOBR proposal. No further extensions or request will be granted.

Further communications: For the award of CLINS 0001 to 0005, there is not a set target date, so much as a target duration for the CLINs.

Please note that in regards to qualification testing, the contractor/proposer is responsible for performing or outsourcing, where appropriate, the qualification, as part of their proposal/contract.

The Systems Requirements Document (SRD) specifies the material for the four battery terminals – copper alloy per UNS C14500. (See Note 8-1 of Figure 12 and Note 9-1 of Figure 13 in Section 3.2.2.2.3 of the SRD.) Can an alternative material for the battery terminals be proposed? Please note for design features, material incompatibilities, etc that potentially pose a risk to meeting requirements and/or schedule; accommodations could be possible in the form of a variance, and should be identified with potential mitigations posed, that meet other requirements as well as the perceived intent of the original requirement. However, variations to materials or other requirements could pose additional risks to complying with other system requirements (e.g., system interface, nuclear environments, safety, surety, etc.), and could incur extra complexity in analysis/testing later in the program.

The Government has an anticipated award date of 1 May 2025.

When the AF stated “three or more lots” in section 4.1.5.5, there was an assumption that some lots could be as low as 10 and therefore to meet the quantity required the “three or more lots” would be necessary. The AF recognizes that this assumption may not be accurate for each manufacturer and that lots could be defined differently. AF recommends adhering to the definition stated in Section 3.1.3 (Lot Definition) and its corresponding sub-sections and the AF will work to correct the “three or more lots” in Section 4.1.5.5 in the future. For reference, section 3.1.3 states the following:

“Batteries and EEDs shall be grouped into lots that are manufactured under a continuous production run with major components that are produced in the same manufacturing conditions and same material lots submitted for Conformance Inspections at one time, and manufactured or assembled in sequence without changes in design, materials, tooling, or processes.

Note: Any interruption of a continuous manufacturing process will be identified by the battery and EED manufacturers. Units on either side of the interruption will be considered to belong to sub-lots. If sub-lots have been identified by the battery and EED manufacturers, any further courses of action will be coordinated with the Procuring Activity.”

Additionally, the “major components” are listed in 3.1.1.2 and Table I, which help define what the AF considers as major components and therefore a lot.

Responses are due 10 January 2025.