Solicitation
USCG Response Boat Small Third Generation (RB-S III)
Department of Homeland Security · U.S. Coast Guard
AI summaryPhase I (written proposals) for the U.S. Coast Guard's Response Boat-Small Third Generation (RB-S III), solicitation 70Z02326R93250001, is due November 13, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern; only up to four Phase I winners go on to Phase II. The Coast Guard plans up to four order-as-needed (IDIQ) contracts for 29-foot-class replacement boats and trailers, then picks one firm for all production orders. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 2 of 14 attachments weren't read (J-3 Government Furnished Information (GFI).zip, J-1 Pricing Schedule.xlsx). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Phase I (written proposals) for the U.S. Coast Guard's Response Boat-Small Third Generation (RB-S III), solicitation 70Z02326R93250001, is due November 13, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern; only up to four Phase I winners go on to Phase II. The Coast Guard plans up to four order-as-needed (IDIQ) contracts for 29-foot-class replacement boats and trailers, then picks one firm for all production orders.
Who can bid
- Small business under the size standard for NAICS 336612 (Boat Building): the notice is a total small business set-aside
- No past boat-building experience or past performance is required
- Restricted Government furnished information (Section J) goes only to authorized offerors who request it by email
How to submit: Electronically through the Department of Defense Secure Access File Exchange (DoD SAFE), under Section L of the solicitation. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (9)
From the version posted Oct 22, 2026.
- Serious: Two-phase down-select; Phase II is for Phase I winners only. Phase I proposals are due November 13, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern, open to all small businesses. Only the up to four Phase I awardees build a demonstrator boat for the in-water demonstration of up to 90 calendar days, and no price changes are allowed in Phase II.
- Serious: Only one firm keeps the contract. After Phase II the Government picks one IDIQ contractor for all production orders. The other contracts end without options, so a Phase I award may lead only to a demonstrator order.
- Serious: Production capacity of 60+ boats per year. Offerors must show facilities, workforce, scaling plans and quality systems that support a delivery rate of upwards of 60 boats per year. This is hard for a small shipyard to prove.
Show all 9Show fewer
- Serious: Request a DoD SAFE drop-off before submitting. Proposals can only be sent through DoD SAFE, and you must email the contracting staff at least five working days before the response due date to get a drop-off request.
- Worth checking: Specification and deliverables changed in Amendment A00004. Amendment A00004 revised the statement of work, the specification (Attachment C-1), the List of Deliverables (Attachment C-4) and Section L, and more answers may follow. Re-check pricing and design against the latest versions.
- Worth checking: Pricing workbook rules can get a proposal rejected. A price proposal may be rejected if it leaves out required unit prices or changes Government formulas. The Government uses only the submitted native Excel file.
- Worth checking: Restricted design information not posted publicly. Some Government furnished information is released only to verified offerors through DoD SAFE, so you must request it early to price and design correctly.
- Worth checking: Aluminum hull required. The Coast Guard refused other hull materials, so a builder without aluminum boat-building capability cannot meet the requirement.
- Minor: Questions were due Oct 14, 2026. Check the amendments for the agency's answers.
Read from the notice and 12 attachments. 2 of 14 not read. Show which files.
- RFP No. 70Z02326R93250001_A00004_Conformed.pdf (read)
- C-1 RB-S III Specification_A00004.pdf (read)
- SF-30 Amendment A00004.pdf (read)
- SF-30 Amendment A00003.pdf (read)
- SF-30 Amendment A00002.pdf (read)
- SF-30 Amendment A00001.pdf (read)
- C-4 List of Deliverables_A00004.pdf (read)
- J-2 List of RB-S Delivery Location.pdf (read)
- C-2 2D TDP Option Selection Worksheet.pdf (read)
- C-3 3D TDP Option Selection Worksheet.pdf (read)
- Attachment 2 - Questions and Government Responses v3.pdf (read)
- Attachment 1 - Questions and Answers.docx (read)
- J-3 Government Furnished Information (GFI).zip: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- J-1 Pricing Schedule.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Design, build, test and deliver the RB-S III boat and a purpose-built trailer to replace the aging 29-foot RB-S II fleet
- Meet performance goals: 45 knots or more, 0 to 30 knots in under 15 seconds, full-speed stop in under 15 seconds, heavy-weather operation in up to six-foot seas and 25-knot winds
- Build one demonstrator boat and trailer after a Phase I award for a Government in-water demonstration lasting up to 90 calendar days
- Support a delivery rate of upwards of 60 boats per year, with quality assurance during construction
- Provide shipping inside and outside the continental U.S., crew familiarization training, technical documentation, configuration management and supply support
- Provide spares, retrofits, a display model and other items priced on the order lines (CLINs, the priced lines of the contract) in Section B
- Meet the specification (aluminum hull, gasoline outboard engines) and the List of Deliverables (Attachment C-4)
- Contract type
- Indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ): orders are placed as needed. Boats are fixed price with economic price adjustment; shipping, crew training and several other lines are firm-fixed-price; travel is reimbursed at cost.
- Period of performance
- 10-year ordering period: 2-year base ordering period plus one 8-year option ordering period
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Two-phase best-value tradeoff. Phase I judges written proposals on mission effectiveness, production and management, and price, and up to four firms win IDIQ contracts. Phase II compares the winners' demonstrator boats in water, with the Phase I price carried forward, and picks one firm.
- Offers due
- November 13, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Electronically through the Department of Defense Secure Access File Exchange (DoD SAFE), under Section L of the solicitation
What they'll judge offers on
- Factor I - Mission Effectiveness (Phase I, non-price): (a) mission capability: speed, acceleration, emergency stops, backing, seakeeping and stability, maneuverability; (b) human systems integration and crew endurance: ride quality and shock mitigation, ergonomics and layout, noise and environment
- Factor II - Production and Management (Phase I, non-price): (a) reliability and supportability, (b) structural details, stability and construction, (c) production capability, (d) configuration and change management, (e) contract deliverables
- Factor III - Price (Phase I, carried forward to Phase II): total evaluated price from the Excel pricing schedule, checked for completeness, math, reasonableness and unbalanced pricing
- Factor IV - In-Water Demonstration (Phase II, non-price): side-by-side comparison of how each demonstrator boat performs
What to include when you submit
- Email the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist at least five (5) working days before the proposal due date to request a DoD SAFE Drop-Off Request
- Submit the price proposal in the native Microsoft Excel workbook, Attachment J-1, Pricing Schedule; the Government uses only that file
- Give unit prices for all CLINs the offeror fills in, and do not change Government-set formulas or pre-filled entries
- Send a technical narrative with appendices (drawings, calculations) that back up every claim; unsupported claims may be rated a weakness
- Acknowledge each amendment (A00001 through A00004) as the solicitation instructs
- Include the deliverables Section L requires with the proposal; other material may go in the narrative or appendices
Current contractor
No incumbent is named. The boat replaces the aging 29-foot RB-S II fleet, and the answers mention earlier RB-S demonstrator boats whose builders are not named. Up to four Phase I awards are planned, then one production contractor.
Not in the notice text
- Only part of the RFP was read: most of Sections C through L (statement of work, delivery terms, special requirements, clauses, representations and full proposal instructions) was left out, and the pricing workbook (Attachment J-1) and the restricted Government furnished information file (J-3) are attached but not read
- SAM.gov gives no place of performance; the delivery locations list (Section J, Attachment 2) names Coast Guard units in several states
- The relative importance of the evaluation factors (Section M.2) and the proposal page limits (Section L) are not shown in the text read
- The minimum guarantee, the number of boats in each ordering period and the total quantity are not stated in the text read; only some pricing-example quantities appear
- Whether an extension of the response due date will be issued is not stated
- Bonding, insurance and any domestic-content rules are not stated in the text read
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 336612
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Electronically through the Department of Defense Secure Access File Exchange (DoD SAFE), under Section L of the solicitation. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 22, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- CG-Sea-C11, Washington, DC
- Product/service code
- 1940 · Small Craft
- Business type
- Aircraft, ship & vehicle parts (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 336612)
- Versions
5 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 22, 2026 · Amendment 0004 (this version)Due Nov 13, 2026
- Oct 16, 2026 · Amendment 0003Due Nov 13, 2026
- Oct 9, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 13, 2026
- Oct 7, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Nov 13, 2026
- Sep 30, 2026 · SolicitationDue Nov 13, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
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