Mercury Global - Strategic Deployable Terminals

Trade Agreement: Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid
Competitive Procurement Strategy: 
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements: 

1. PURPOSE

This Industry Consultation process seeks information from industry on its interest, capacity and ability to produce and deliver the systems that meet the requirements for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Mercury Global (MG) Strategic Deployable Terminals (SDT). The Industry Consultation process provides industry the opportunity to give feedback on the procurement and
In-Service Support (ISS) strategy and to solicit from industry feedback on their ability to support the MG SDT procurement and follow-on ISS.

The information gathered through this Industry Consultation process will be used by Canada to assist in the development of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the implementation of the MG SDT procurement.

2. BACKGROUND

The Department of National Defence (DND) has entered into an agreement with the United States (US) Department of Defence (DOD) and its allies, granting it access to the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) system until 2031. The US requires that all terminals operatingon the WGS system be WGS certified by the US DOD. DND has recently announced a procurement and support contract to Design and Build (DAB), and provide ISS for seven MG Anchor Stations (AS) that will provide a point of entry for deployed MG SDTs to provide a National Rear Link (NRL) for Command and Control.

The goal of the SDT portion of the MG project is to procure Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) terminals that will be the in-theatre component of the NRL, connecting deployed Headquarters (HQ) with National HQ.

User terminals are outside the scope of the MG Project. User terminals are SATCOM terminals that are or will be used by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Canadian Army (CA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), and other CAF operational user groups. They provide SATCOM links (commercial, WGS, or other military SATCOM links) between deployed units and their respective HQs (i.e. intra-theatre), or among deployed units in sub networks (i.e. tactical usage). The user terminals can be attached to mobile platforms such as ships, aircraft, and land vehicles, or even hand carried.
 
This RFI seeks to obtain a view of the prevailing market for Military Commercial off the Shelf (MILCOTS) X-band and Ka-band terminal products certified to operate over the WGS constellation. This is composed of a family of terminals along with training and ISS components in order to deliver a complete and comprehensive solution.

3. REQUIREMENTS

The following details highlight Canada's initial high-level vision of requirements for the Mercury Global SDT. As this RFI is the first step in engaging industry in the development and definition of the requirements, such requirements may be revised pending alternate solutions and discussions that take place during the RFI and any subsequent industry engagement process.

The SDT will be a suite of SATCOM terminals that provide a global Internet Protocol (IP) point of presence via the WGS constellation.DND seeks to fully support a variety of CAF missions via the WGS system through the purchase of three (3) different types of SDTs. The intent is to derive the three types from a similar technological family and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in order to best utilize limited support resources. The MG constellation will allow the CAF to have a common fleet of SDTs that in turn provide it with a common training, operation and maintenance program, reducing costs over the life of the MG SDT program. The three types or sizes of SDTs address two key criteria; transportability and maximum WGS bandwidth efficiency.

4.  REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

The MG Project Team is seeking responses from industry for challenges involving the proposed acquisition strategy and delivery of the SDT contract. In turn, an Industry Day information session was scheduled to pose and address questions regarding this RFI.

Responses to this RFI were requested on or before 16 February 2015.

5. INDUSTRY DAY 

The MG Project Team held an Industry Day information session to provide Industry with general information on the MG SDT procurement project, and obtain industry comments on the RFI. One-on-one meetings were held following the Industry Day information session. TheIndustry Day was held on 3 March 2015. The terms and conditions applicable to this engagement process are stated in Attachment 1 - Rules of Engagement Participation Agreement of the RFI.

In order to facilitate the one-on-one meetings, industry was encouraged to provide written comments and recommendations on the RFI as well as any additional topics industry wished to discuss.

Attendance at the Industry Day was not required in order to submit a response to any follow-on RFP.

6.   INDUSTRIAL ANDTECHNOLOGICAL BENEFITS

The Industrial and Regional Technological Benefits Policy, including Value Proposition may apply to these procurements. Vendors are encouraged to review the Value Proposition Guide, located on the Industry Canada website
(http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/086.nsf/eng/h_00005.html), to familiarize themselves with the requirements.

Vendors were requested to provide a response to the following questions related to the Value Proposition criteria:

a.  Where do you see the economic opportunities for your company to undertake work directly related to these procurements?

b.  Are these areas of opportunity already established in Canada or do these areas require investment?

c.  To what extent would Canadian suppliers be able toparticipate directly in these areas of opportunity?

d.  How would work in the areas outlined above position you and your suppliers for future export opportunities?

e.  To what extent do you propose to undertake R&D activities related to this procurement? What would you anticipate will be the proportion of R&D activities performed internally or externally? Is there scope for post-secondary institutions to be involved?

f.  Other areas of economic opportunity: Where do you see strategic opportunities for Canada that could be leveraged as a result of these procurements in the defence sector or in other economic sectors?

7.  DRAFT DOCUMENTATION

Draft documentation was made available starting on 10 September 2015 in order to allow further questions and discussions regarding the requirement and enhance industry's contributions to the development of the RFP.

Participation in the Draft documentation process is not required in order to submit a response to any follow-on RFP.

8.  DRAFT RFP

Draft RFP documentation was made available starting on 29 June 2016 in order to allow further questions and discussions regarding the requirement and enhance industry's contributions to the development of the RFP.

Participation in the Draft RFP process is not required in order to submit a response to any follow-on RFP.

9. NOTES TO INTERESTED FIRMS

This Industry Consultation process is not a bid solicitation and a contract will not result from this request.

Potential respondents are advised that any information submitted to Canada in response to this Industry Consultation process may be used by Canada in the development of a subsequent competitive RFP. However, the Government is not bound to accept any Expression of Interest or to consider it further in any associated documents such as a RFP.  

The issuance of this Industry Consultation process does not create an obligation for Canada to issue a subsequent RFP, and does not bind Canada legally or otherwise, to enter into any agreement or to accept any suggestions from organizations. Canada reserves the right to accept or reject any or all comments received.

There will be no short listing of firms for purposes of undertaking any future work, as a result of this request. Similarly, participation in this Industry Consultation process is not a condition or prerequisite for participation in any RFP(s).

Companies participating in this Industry Consultation process should identify any submitted information that is to be considered as either company confidential or proprietary.

All enquiries and other communications related to this Industry Consultation process shall be directed exclusively to the PWGSC Procurement Authority.

10.   PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY

All enquiries and other communications related to this Industry Consultation process shall be directed to the Procurement Authority as follows:

Mark Thorsley
Manager
Acquisitions Branch
Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC)
Procurement Directorate 11 Laurier Street
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0S5

Telephone: 873-469-4447
Fax: (819) 997-2229
E-mail address: mark.thorsley@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca


Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.