This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), which sets forth technology areas of interest to the U.S. Department of the Army, Joint Program Executive Office Armaments & Ammunition (JPEO A&A), Project Lead Joint Services (PLJS), Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, is issued under the paragraph 6.102(d)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which provides for the competitive selection of proposals. Proposals submitted in response to this BAA and selected for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provision of Public Law 98-369, "The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984" and subsequent amendments. Proposals and white papers putting forth new and novel ideas are sought to address Industrial Base (IB) technology gaps in line with Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) Modernization Goals through interactive collaborations with industry and academia and the Government expects to advance the development and maturation of areas of technology as applied to JPEO A&A Portfolio. Proposals and white papers shall be evaluated only if they are for scientific study and experimentation directed toward identifying state of the art industry manufacturing processes necessary to maintain overmatch capabilities for our U.S. warfighters. In order to conserve valuable offeror and Government resources, and to facilitate determining whether a proposed effort meets the guidelines described herein, prospective offerors contemplating submission of a white paper or proposal are strongly encouraged to contact the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC). The TPOC name and e-mail address is listed below. If an offeror elects to submit a white paper, it SHALL BE PREPARED in accordance with the instructions contained in PART II of this document. Submission not in accordance with the instruction shall be discarded and not reviewed. Upon receipt of a white paper, it will be evaluated, and the offeror shall be advised of the evaluation results. Offerors whose white papers receive a favorable evaluation may be contacted and encouraged to prepare and submit a complete proposal in accordance with instructions contained in PART III, Section 3 of this document. The costs of white papers and/or complete proposals in response to this BAA are not considered as an allowable direct charge to any award resulting from this BAA, or any other award. It may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18. Offerors submitting proposals are cautioned that only a Contracting, Agreements, or Grants Officer may obligate the Government to any agreement involving expenditure of Government funds. If the technology so dictates, it is preferred that proposals be submitted to cover up to a 3-year period of performance, and include a brief summary of work contemplated for each 12-month period. This facilitates the negotiation of awards for an entire 3‑year program funded on an incremental basis. …