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In accordance with FAR 10.002 and/or FAR 15.201, Project Manager Tactical Networks/Product Manager SATCOM is seeking whitepapers for industry solutions on the requirements/topics listed below. The Arm... In accordance with FAR 10.002 and/or FAR 15.201, Project Manager Tactical Networks/Product Manager SATCOM is seeking whitepapers for industry solutions on the requirements/topics listed below. The Army is interested in solutions that are available for demonstration and experimentation no later than Fiscal Year 2021. This Request for Information (RFI) is a follow up to RFI W15P7T-18-R-0000 issued on April 30, 2018; however the Government is requesting a standalone submission. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION: The Government is not obligated to make an award as a result of this request. This RFI is for informational purposes only; this is not an Invitation for Bid (IFB), a Request for Proposal (RFP), or Request for Quotation (RFQ). No solicitation document exists and a formal solicitation may or may not be issued by the Government as a result of the responses to this RFI. The Government will not be liable for payment of any preparation expenses in response to this RFI and is in no way obligated by the information received. Any costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement will NOT be reimbursed. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing a future acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement, Statement of Objectives and/or Performance Based Specification(s). Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. Terminal Requirements: The intent of this RFI is to determine if there are vendors capable of developing a vehicle agnostic, small or flexible form factor terminal, capable of supporting Extended Data Rate (XDR) links over Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites and be interoperable with AN/TSC-154A, AEHF Secure, Mobile, Anti-Jam, Reliable, Tactical-Terminal (SMART-T). The solution should be at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 at a minimum. The terminal must be able to meet the minimum capabilities as defined below: • AEHF system capable terminal • Small or flexible form factor terminal o Vehicle agnostic o Transit case(s) • Support data rates from 64K to 8.192Mbps • 2-Conditioned diphase (CDI) ports, 2-Non-Return to Zero (NRZ) ports, 2-Tactical Fiber Optic Cable Assembly (TFOCA) II Fiber Ports • Meet Army environmental requirements for tactical field use Additionally, vendors may request access to view the operational requirements. Vendors will need to submit request to the Contracting Officer. Topic Questions: Interested vendors are requested to respond to the following questions as part of its whitepaper submission: Overall / Terminal: 1. Describe the technical approach of your proposed solution, implementing the provided requirements. 2. Identify instances where your terminal may not meet the provided requirements and provide justification for non-compliance. 3. What cybersecurity considerations are included in the proposed solution design? Notes: • The system must be able to be achieve an Authority to Operate under the Risk Management Framework as a High Confidentiality, High Integrity, and High Availability Tactical National Security System. • The system must meet all National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-53 requirements; current revision: Protection of Information at Rest/Data at Rest. • The system must meet all NIST 800-53 requirements; current revision: "Fail In a Known State". 4. What is the Technology Readiness Level maturity of your proposed solution? Detail support for your assertion. 5. Describe your plan for obtaining AEHF terminal mission certification. 6. Explain the spare processing capacity that will provide support for future upgrades. For example, processing power used by current terminal design, memory space, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation, etc. End Cryptographic Unit (ECU) & National Security Agency (NSA) Certification: 7. Describe how your proposed terminal will achieve Interim Authorization to Test for over-the-air testing on the AEHF system. 8. Identify the crypto chip you plan to use in your proposed terminal and if it has been previously evaluated by NSA. Describe the progress in the NSA Certification process. 9. Provide information about your proposed terminal ECU and proposed TRANSEC solution, including planned steps for NSA certification. 10. Describe any impact to the ECU development if the Government provided an NSA approved crypto chip for embedment (including embedment manual) to support COMSEC engine for the terminal. Mission Planner: 11. Provide your proposed plan for Mission Planning Element (MPE) integration. 12. Describe your understanding of the Army's use of AEHF for inter-nodal links between tactical command posts and the utility of dual-simplex links, data rates and applicable MPE planning considerations. Test and Schedule: 13. Describe your test strategy. Include test concept to prove out reliability. 14. Describe your development schedule. Include timeline to produce at least two prototypes terminals including major milestones. Manufacturing and Production: 15. Describe your plan and schedule for establishing a production line for your proposed terminal after the completion of development, to include lead time and production rate. 16. Provide information about how the terminal is packaged and transported, to include approximate size, weight, and number of containers. Training, Sustainment and Maintenance: 17. Describe your overall plan for training operators to operate and perform maintenance for your proposed terminal. There will be three types of training needed: Initial New Equipment Training (NET); Institutional Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) training; and Unit Level Sustainment Training for operators to maintain proficiency. 18. Define how long it will take to conduct NET for your proposed terminal. 19. Summarize the system hardware and software maintenance concepts. 20. Identify who, where, and how the repairable hardware components/assemblies/parts of the system are repaired. 21. Do you have existing obsolescence issue(s) that need to be addressed in your proposed solution? Describe your overall plan to address obsolescence issue(s). Programmatic, Data Rights, Risk: 22. Describe any technical, integration, logistics, cost, schedule, and programmatic risks your company foresees in executing the proposed solution. 23. What level of data rights are offered for your proposed solution? Provide an estimate of any costs associate with the delivery of those data rights. 24. A) Explain how your technical data and intellectual property could be used to permit Army sustainment objectives to be met. B) Identify the data deliverables, data rights, license rights, and estimated cost to reach the Army sustainment objectives. Note: The Army sustainment objectives are as follows: • Organic Soldier Field Maintenance to enable system troubleshooting with removal and replacement of faulty components. • Interim Contractor Support (ICS) that transitions to organic DoD depot maintenance for repair of faulty hardware Depot Level Repairable (DLR) items and also transitions to organic software maintenance at DoD Software Engineering Centers (SEC). • Government Standard Army Supply System via the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP) with Government ability to competitively award contracts for spare and repair parts. 25. Do you believe this effort would be better suited for a Cost Reimbursement or Fixed Price Contract? Explain your reasoning. What would the estimated development cost be for each contract type? Submission Instructions: Interested parties should provide their electronic response not later than April 4, 2019 at 4:00 pm EDT via e-mail. Early submissions are acceptable and encouraged. Interested parties are not limited to one whitepaper and may submit multiple solutions. Email to: gregory.l.coben.civ@mail.mil Subject: RFI - W15P7T-19-R-AEHF - Your COMPANY NAME All information received in response to this RFI that is marked quote mark Proprietary quote mark will be handled accordingly. DO NOT submit CLASSIFIED material as part of your response. The email addresses above are for UNCLASSIFIED documentation only. Respondents are instructed to include a cover page on the first page of its submission including the following information: • Company name • CAGE Code • Date of incorporation • Number of years in business • Number of employees • Mailing address • Company Website address • The singular point of contact for all information pursuant to this RFI. • Phone Number • Email address •Topic areas addressed Responses must include sufficient discussion to address the how they will meet the operational need as well as address all questions listed above. The Whitepaper shall be submitted in MS Word*.docx format. Page Size: 8.5 x 11.0 inches Margins: 1 inch all around Font: Times New Roman Font Size: 12 point* Page Limit: 50 *Test data, drawings, illustrations, model outputs, etc. can be provided as attachments and will not be limited to font or page size. Post-Whitepaper Submission: Following the Government's review of the whitepapers submitted, the Government may elect to conduct an industry day, interchange meetings (group or one-on-one meetings), or hold presolicitation conference(s). Any one-on-one meetings will be with individual companies for the sole purpose of clarifying information contained within their whitepapers; consequently, some companies may not receive an invitation to meet. Those companies not invited will receive a letter from the Government providing a short summary of why an invitation was not extended. NOTICE: The Government does not reimburse companies for any costs incurred traveling and provides the option to meet via telephone or videoconference should a company not wish to travel.