Parachutist Oxygen Delivery System (PODS) Prototype

PODS: Parachutist Oxygen Delivery System THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. IT IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations Part 10 responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Please respond by 26 June 2026 at 11:59 PM. Objective This Request for Project Preproposal (RPP) is issued to request preproposals (white papers) in accordance with Section III, B, 1 of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (DEVCOM SC) Broad Other Transaction Authority Announcement (BOTAA) 22-01 competitive announcement and is being issued for planning purposes only. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to award an agreement, nor will the Government pay for the information solicited. Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment (PdM SCIE) is seeking information on the capabilities and willingness of private entities (non-profit and commercial) to provide a Parachutist Oxygen Delivery System (PODS) design that will support a prototype project, as defined on page 5 of the BOTAA. Background PdM SCIE is executing a project to evaluate prototype supplemental oxygen delivery systems. The PODS capability is intended to be single materiel solution that is suitable for Military Free Fall (MFF) operations utilizing the Advanced Ram Air Parachute System (RA-1). The PODS system is planned to support the U.S. Army’s MFF community by addressing a capability gap to support all high-altitude parachutist mission profiles (e.g., High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) and High-Altitude High Opening (HAHO)) requiring supplemental oxygen. The PODS will comprise the following components: Parachutist Oxygen Mask (POM), Individual Oxygen Source (IOS), pre-breathing ports, transfer pump, and test stand. Included is a Non-traditional Defense Contractor Certification form to be filled out. Requirements The purpose of this RPP is to request preproposals to conduct Test and Evaluation (T&E) of systems that can meet PODS capability requirements. The proposed designs may be based on reusing, modifying, or enhancing existing designs. The preproposals shall address the full requirements of this RPP for a technology that is at or above Technology Readiness Level (TRL) six (6) as defined in the attached Technology Readiness Assessment Guidebook. Proposed solutions shall be fully compliant with the Berry Amendment, Defense Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.225-7012, and the Buy American Act, DFARS 252.225-7001. PdM SCIE will conduct a phased T&E approach to select the best materiel solution for the Army. The T&E will include the following phases: Developmental Testing (DT) Phase 1, DT Phase 2, and Operational Testing (OT). The Government will make the final down-selection to one (1) candidate system at the conclusion of DT Phase 1 Live Jumps at 17,999ft Mean Sea Level (MSL). However, failure to meet performance criteria at any stage of DT Phase 1 may result in candidate systems being disqualified from continuing to the next stage. DT Phase 1 will include: Chamber test Environmental test Benchtop testing as required to verify KPPs, KSAs, and APAs Integration Assessment User Evaluations including Live Jumps up to 17,999ft MSL Following Live Jumps at 17,999ft MSL, the Government will down-select to one (1) candidate system to continue T&E. Selection will be based on best value. Life cycle costs, including initial procurement and sustainment based on the proposed maintenance concept, will be considered in addition to technical performance. DT Phase 1 will then conclude with the down-selected candidate system completing Live Jumps at 24,999ft MSL. DT Phase 2 will consist of a series of Live Jumps by Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) test jumpers up to 24,999ft MSL. OT will consist of Live Jumps by the operational force to include various mission profiles including those outlined in the requirements. In addition, the test stand, console, and maintenance concepts will be evaluated. A Production OTA may be awarded to the down-selected vendor after successful completion of OT and obtaining Milestone C and Low-Rate Initial Production decisions. Production OTA award is contingent on availability of funds. PODS Performance Requirements The system performance requirements are given in Tables 1, 2, and 3 below. These tables provide both Threshold (T) and Objective (O) levels. The objective level is the performance goal, whereas the threshold level is the minimum acceptable level. PdM SCIE strongly prefers a solution that can meet objective levels of the PODS performance requirements. Table 1: Key Performance Parameters Key Performance Parameter (KPP) Production Threshold Production Objective KPP #1 – Performance (POM). ​ Shall be capable of delivering the parachutist with O2 during pre-breathe, jump and landing (T=O). ​ T=O ​ KPP #2 – Performance (IOS). ​ Shall provide parachutist with sufficient supply of O2 for minimum of 45 minute parachutist descent using a minimum 400 liter capacity utilizing the POM (T). ​ Shall provide parachutist with sufficient supply of O2 for minimum 1 hour descent, plus provide sufficient O2 to support parachutist through pre-breathing phase of 75 minutes (O). ​ KPP #3 – Reliability and Confidence (IOS and POM). ​ Shall have reliability of 0.95 @ 90 percent (90%) confidence level without occurrence of system abort or system failure (T). ​ Shall have reliability of greater than (>) 0.95 at 90 percent (90%) confidence level without occurrence of system abort or system failure (O). ​ Note on KPP#2 – (O) allows for different capacity/size IOS than the stated minimum size in the (T) Table 2: Key System Attributes Key System Attribute (KSA) Production Threshold Production Objective KSA #1 - ​ Performance (Pre-Breather Port…