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FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT (SSA) ISSUED 4 NOV 2021, CLOSES 12 Noon EST, 3 DEC 2021 Purpose: The Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO ... FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT (SSA) ISSUED 4 NOV 2021, CLOSES 12 Noon EST, 3 DEC 2021 Purpose: The Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S) Project Manager, Intelligence Systems & Analytics (PM IS&A) for the Product – Joint Tactical Terminal is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the below future requirement. This SSA should not be construed as a solicitation announcement, invitation for bids, request for quotations, or a request for proposals. The request for this information by the Government is for planning purposes only. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to acquire any products or services, nor does the Government intend to award a contract based on this SSA or otherwise pay for the information solicited. All responses shall be treated as information for the Government to consider. Those responding will not be entitled to payment for direct or indirect costs that they incur in developing a response to this SSA. The Government may use the information obtained from this SSA to develop an acquisition strategy, Statement of Work, Performance Work Statement, and/or Statement of Objectives. Interested parties are responsible to mark proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information appropriately in their response. Future Requirement: To identify acquisition options for an affordable, data-only Integrated Broadcast Service (IBS) radio/terminal set capable of multimode transmit/receive on multiple Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Satellite Communication (SATCOM) channels to replace the current JTT terminals that provide (1) the Integrated Broadcast Service (IBS) capability used by the Joint fleet of JTT systems in the field, and (2) adds a capability for IBS over Multi-User Objective System (MUOS) Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA). The intention is to procure these services on a competitive basis. The intent of supporting multiple mode, simultaneous IBS broadcast channels is to support “failover” with redundancy between available channels, with all channels operating simultaneously via separate waveforms as a preferred goal. All interested vendors shall indicate any limitations on simultaneous, multiple channel operations and capacities. The IBS radio/terminal solution shall be capable of operating in maritime, aviation and ground vehicle/shelter platforms, and shall be available in both transceiver (TX/RX) as well as receive-only (RX) configurations. The Government is considering acquiring up to a total of approximately 1100 radios/terminals, with approximately 70% Receive-only and 30% Transmit/Receive. The waveform software source code for MUOS W-CDMA will be made available as Government Furnished Information (GFI) for integration in accordance with (IAW) DODI 4630.09, using the Joint Tactical Networking Center (JTNC) DoD Information Repository (https://www.dodir.mil/). Unclassified IBS/JTT software source code can be made available for evaluation purposes via a request to the Army’s Contracting Officer Ms. Erin Hynes at erin.l.hynes.civ@army.mil and signature of a non-disclosure agreement. The Government intends to obtain, at a minimum, Government purpose data rights to all software delivered for this product for sustainment and future procurement. Finally, if resulting IBS terminals/radios are depot repairable, the Government intends to purchase hardware technical data for hardware sustainment purposes. Background: This IBS requirement is currently supported by a family of Joint Tactical Terminals (JTT) acquired for the Joint Services (Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force) by the U.S. Army. Currently, two JTT systems are fielded that provide the IBS capability (without MUOS): (1) AN/USC-62A JTT-Senior and (2) AN/URC-145A JTT-IBS. Both of these systems have been in the field for many years and sustainment costs have become a significant concern due to obsolescence. All current fielded Army JTT systems are maintained using a two-level maintenance system (Field Maintenance and Depot Maintenance). Users utilize the Army Standard Retail Supply System to requisition parts for remove/replace repair activity at the Field Maintenance level. JTT exclusively serves the Joint IBS battlespace awareness enterprise. The Joint IBS program documented a requirement to add MUOS W-CDMA dissemination to its enterprise in March 2021. The desired MUOS/IBS/JTT radio/terminal shall have COMSEC updated for Advanced Cryptographic Capability (ACC) compliance, and be capable of supporting multiple configurations to include (1) Receive Only, and (2) Transmit/Receive. The radio/terminal shall use Secret-and-below encrypted IBS waveforms including MUOS W-CDMA v3.2 IAW MIL-STD-188-187A; the Common Interactive Broadcast (CIB) IAW MIL-STD-188-181C, MIL-STD-188-182B, MIL-STD-188-183B, and MIL-STD-188-186, the IBS CIB Interoperability Specification; IBS-Alternate Path (IBS-A) IAW the Broadcast Data Specification (BDS) for the Tactical Related Applications Data Dissemination System; and processing of Common Message Format (CMF) data IAW MIL-STD-6018. IBS-CIB currently runs across the Integrated Waveform (IW). IBS intends to take advantage of developments with Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) SATCOM by broadcasting over UHF channels which could be implemented similarly to existing IBS-A channels. IBS Receive-Only radios/terminals shall be capable of receiving a minimum of five (5) or more IBS broadcasts using CIB and IBS-A over multiple waveforms (including MUOS W-CDMA and CIB) using the protocols listed above. The radio/terminal will likely receive an IBS broadcast over MUOS W-CDMA using MUOS Group Services in emissions control mode. IBS Transmit/Receive Terminals shall be capable of transmitting and receiving one (1) or more channels and receiving five (5) or more IBS broadcasts over multiple waveforms (including MUOS W-CDMA, CIB, IBS-A) using the protocols listed above. The radio/terminal will likely transmit (and receive) tactical producer data into IBS using MUOS Point-to-Network (PtN) services, as defined in MIL-STD-188-187A. A MOUS emissions control mode is planned for operations. Request: Interested parties are requested to provide responses outlining possible technical solutions in response to the Government’s future requirement and background information provided, a Capabilities statement/document, and answers to ALL the Market Research Industry Questions. The cover page of the response shall include the company name, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code, Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, address, point of contact(s) including phone number, job title, and email address, as well as the small business status of the responding company. There is no specified format for this response. This request is subject to the following page limitations: Capabilities Statement/Document – No less than three (3) pages and no greater than seven (7) pages. The requested administrative information is not included within the page limitation. Capabilities Statement shall address the following: Present capabilities and past experience (does the company have past experience doing this type of work?). Interested vendors should indicate varying terminal module configurations needed to support the Joint Services with multiple channels and multiple modes on different warfighting platforms. Industry insight into how to field the most capable/reliable/available IBS terminal system for the lowest life cycle cost is requested. Vendors shall identify any software modifications needed for their existing platforms to meet the above IBS waveform requirements. The critical cost/schedule drivers related to providing MUOS W-CDMA capabilities. Vendors shall identify whether the MUOS/IBS radio/terminal has growth capabilities or resources for additional future requirements five years down the road. How will you meet the Government’s future requirement? Response to the Market Research Industry Questions – No page limitation. Market Research Industry Questions: Can an IBS-CIB channel run simultaneously with a MUOS channel on an existing radio/terminal? If so, can additional IBS-A (or IBS-LEO) channels also operate simultaneously? Can five (5) IBS-A (or IBS-LEO) channels run simultaneously with a MUOS channel on an existing radio/terminal? If not, how many can? If multiple radio/terminal modules are needed to provide required channel capacity, how would the combinatory processing be allocated? Which radio/terminal module would perform what function? Can an existing radio/terminal detect when an IBS channel is unavailable and automatically switch (failover) to another IBS or MUOS channel? What software modifications are required for existing platforms to meet the above IBS waveform requirements? Do existing MUOS/IBS radio/terminals have growth capabilities or resources to satisfy additional requirements five years down the road? How can the Government field the most capable/reliable/available IBS terminal system for the lowest life cycle cost? Can any best practices or lessons learned be leveraged in the planning or execution of this effort? What are the issues involved in data sharing, integrity, privacy, and security? If you were the Government, how would you do this? Are there general terms and conditions in federal contracts that would hamper your performance or creativity? Which portions of this project would constitute the “low-hanging fruit?” Are there incentives that are appropriate and if so, what would work best? What contract types/structures best supports these future requirements? How long would it take for the Government to obtain this new requirement if/when awarded? BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES (IN FULL OR IN PART) OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION, and multiple awards MAY be made. All Small Business Set-Aside categories will be considered. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE Location On-Site Government Off-Site Contractor (TBD – Contractor’s Facility) 5% 95% NAICS Codes: 334290/334220 - UHF SATCOM radio/terminal equipment Responses: Interested sources shall submit their responses via email addressed to all Point of Contacts (POCs) identified below: Responses to this SSA must be unclassified. Additional interested sources possessing the capability of meeting any or all of the requirements and conditions outlined above must so indicate by responding via email to all POCs identified herein. All submissions must include full company names, POCs to include, name, position, office and mobile telephone numbers and email address. All interested sources are encouraged to respond to this SSA by providing the requested information noted above No Later Than (NLT) 12 noon EST 3 DEC 2021. All proprietary and restricted information shall be clearly marked accordingly. All responses and inquiries pertaining to this announcement shall be emailed to all of the following POCs: Ms. Sylvia Grimsley sylvia.s.grimsley.civ@army.mil and Mr. Ned Rianhard, edward.n.rianhard.civ@army.mil. NO HARD COPY OR FACSIMILE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Questions concerning submissions should be directed via email only to all the above POCs.