The Air Force is soliciting information from industry to assist in planning for the procurement of its Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase and beyond, according to a notice posted on Federal Business Opportunities.

The service requests offerors provide an estimated cost with associated rationale for a fixed-price Third Party Data Reprocurement Package (3PDRP) option on the EMD contract. The Air Force also requests offerors identify and articulate potential challenges related to proposing on, and delivering, full-rate production (FRP) based on another offeror’s 3PDRP. The Air Force also requests offerors provide an estimated cost with associated rationale for a firm fixed-price data package including identification of key interfaces that provides for operation and sustainment (O&S) throughout the lifecycle of the system.

The Air Force issued a sources sought notice Sept. 28 looking for offerors qualified to provide the critical design, multiple test article manufacturing, specification sell-off, test and evaluation and low-rate production associated with the EMD phase and Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase of 3DELRR (Defense Daily, Oct. 1).

Lockheed Martin [LMT], Raytheon [RTN] and Northrop Grumman [NOC] have all expressed their intent to bid for 3DELRR. The Air Force in August awarded firm fixed price contracts worth approximately $35 million to the three contractors for the pre-EMD phase of 3DELRR (Defense Daily, Aug. 22).

The 3DELRR will be the main Air Force long-range, ground-based sensor for detecting, identifying, tracking and reporting aircraft and missiles in support of theater commanders, according to the service. It will replace the service’s current long-range radar, the TPS-75. The Marine Corps is also interested in 3DELRR as a replacement for its AN/TPS-59 ballistic missile defense (BMD) radar (Defense Daily, Sept. 29, 2011).

Responses to the RFI are due Oct. 31.

View the RFI here: http://1.usa.gov/R4cDoC