Combined Solicitation Notice - High-Performance AI/ML Workstation (NVIDIA Grace/Blackwell Architecture)

This is a Combined Solicitation Notice for commercial products prepared in accordance with the format in RFO Part 12 and RFO Part 5, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.

This requirement is a 100% Total Small Business Set-Aside under NAICS code 334111 (Electronic Computer Manufacturing), with a size standard of 1,250 employees, and Product Service Code 7E20 (IT and Telecom - Compute Hardware).

2. Requirement Description & Salient Characteristics
The 812 TSS/ENT AI/ML section at Edwards AFB, CA requires one (1) turnkey, high-performance localized laboratory workstation. The technical baseline is established as the Exxact Valence Workstation (P/N: VWS-158270643) utilizing the brand-name NVIDIA Grace/Blackwell hardware architecture. In accordance with RFO 12.102(a), the technical requirement is restricted to the specified NVIDIA hardware architecture to maintain compatibility with the unit's pre-compiled CUDA libraries and deep learning frameworks.

Any proposed "or equal" system must meet or exceed the following technical thresholds:

• CPU/GPU Superchip: Brand-name integrated co-processor combining a 72-Core NVIDIA Grace CPU and an NVIDIA B300 GPU (GB300) (1400W TDP) on a single cohesive board.

• System Memory: Minimum 496GB LPDDR5X system memory + 252GB High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM3e), providing a minimum memory bandwidth of 7.1 TB/s.

• Expansion Slots: Minimum of 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 FHHL slot; 2x PCIe 5.0 x16 Single-Wide slots (wired with x8 signal); 1x PCIe x1 22x32 M.2 slot for WiFi/BT.

• Primary OS Storage: Exactly two (2) 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 5.0 SSDs. Must be preinstalled and pre-configured in a hardware-integrated OS MDADM RAID 1 array prior to shipment. Configuration is locked and non-changeable post-delivery.

• Accessory Storage: Two (2) M.2 NVMe 22x80mm PCIe 6.0 x4 SSDs routed through an on-board high-speed switch.

• Secondary GPU: One (1) NVIDIA RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell desktop graphics card with a minimum of 16GB GDDR7 ECC memory (Dual-slot, half-height, active fan design drawing a maximum of 70W).

• Networking: Two (2) 400G QSFP112 ports (NVIDIA ConnectX-8 SuperNIC equivalent supporting 800 GB/s peak bandwidth); one (1) 10GBase-T (RJ45) port; and one (1) dedicated GbE management port.

• Power Supply: One (1) 1600W 80 PLUS Titanium certified power supply with a C20 inlet. Must include one (1) heavy-duty C19 to NEMA 5-15P 6-foot power cable.

• Chassis Enclosure: Standalone tower chassis with a maximum case depth of 595mm (23.4 inches).

• Preinstalled Software: Ubuntu 24.04 (LTS) operating system with standard NVIDIA AI Development Tools (CUDA Toolkit, parallel computing libraries, and GPU drivers) preinstalled and verified.

• Warranty & Support: Comprehensive 3-Year Parts and Labor hardware warranty and maintenance agreement provided directly by the OEM or authorized system integrator.

3. Submission Instructions
All quotes must be submitted via email directly to the Contract Specialist (josiah.broadway@us.af.mil) and the Contracting Officer (christina.day@us.af.mil) no later than the response deadline established in this notice.

Quotes must be submitted in two separate volumes:

• Volume I - Technical Proposal: Must include a detailed Bill of Materials (BOM), technical data sheets demonstrating compliance with all salient characteristics, a completed Section 508 Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR/VPAT), and active proof of authorized/approved reseller status directly from the OEM (NVIDIA/Exxact). No pricing details shall be included in Volume I.

• Volume II - Price Proposal: Must include your completed firm-fixed-price schedule.

• Lead Time: Offerors must state their firm delivery lead time in Days After Receipt of Order (ARO) (FOB Destination to Edwards AFB, CA 93524).

4.

Evaluation Criteria (Best Value Tradeoff)
The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quote represents the Best Value to the Government, considering three factors: Technical Capability, Delivery Schedule, and Price.

• Factor 1: Technical Capability: Evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis. The quote must demonstrate exact compliance with all technical salient characteristics in Section 2.

• Factor 2:Price: Evaluated for completeness and reasonableness.

• Factor 3: Delivery Schedule: The Government will evaluate the feasibility, speed, and reliability of the offeror's proposed delivery schedule. Shorter, highly reliable delivery timelines are of significant value to meet critical tactical test schedules and will be rated more favorably.