Inactive

The Government is seeking industry unclassified comments to the DRAFT RFI listed below. This request for comments is for information and planning purposes only and it is not to be construed as a commi... The Government is seeking industry unclassified comments to the DRAFT RFI listed below. This request for comments is for information and planning purposes only and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. No classified information will be released by the Government for this request for comments. The Government requests all comments be provided NLT 30 days from the posting date of this request for comments. Comments should be sent to: christopher.b.williams94.civ@mail.mil, and scot.m.west.civ@mail.mil. Please indicate RF-ECM RFI Comments in the subject line. The Government intends to release a final RFI for Industry response in June 2020. This date may be adjusted based on current events. Relevant Industry comments will be incorporated into the final RFI. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing its acquisition approach. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI. The information received will not obligate the Government in any manner nor will the Government reimburse contractors for any costs associated with submittal of the requested information. This request does not constitute an Invitation for Bid or a Request for Proposal. Although no decision has been reached at this time, the Government reserves the right, and intends, to exclude foreign participation in this RFI. The Army Contracting Command - Redstone on behalf of Project Manager - Aircraft Survivability Equipment is seeking interested domestic sources to participate in the US Army RF-ECM Capability demonstration. The Army is seeking information on RF-ECM systems which can be fielded to rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft. This RF-ECM capability must be able to operate anywhere in the world and in any environment suitable for Army fixed and rotary wing aircraft. This RF-ECM capability has a planned First Unit Equipped (FUE) date of FY2028. This capability must support the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) ecosystem and the enduring Army Aviation platforms. The Army is seeking common technologies and/or component technology that can be scaled to application on various Aviation platforms and component applications to Air Launched Effects (ALE). The Army anticipates conducting independent demonstrations of suitable RF-ECM prototypes in late FY21. The Army intends to utilize an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) through the Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium (AMTC) to conduct this demonstration. The Aviation and Missile Technology Consortium (AMTC), comprised of the National Armaments Consortium (NAC) and the Vertical Lift Consortium (VLC), has partnered with the U.S. Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center and the Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA) to develop innovative aviation and missile technologies that rapidly and affordably enhance warfighter lethality, survivability, and combat effectiveness. As part of the OTA process for RF-ECM, in early FY21 AMTC will publish a request for members to submit enhanced white papers. To be eligible to submit a white paper, parties must be a member of the AMTC consortium. Instructions on how to join are detailed at https://www.amtcenterprise.org/. Vendor investment shall be required to participate in the independent demonstration. Details of this independent demonstration as well as OTA timelines will be provided at a later date. The Government requests information on vendor technologies to address the desired capabilities listed below. RF-ECM Desired Capabilities - The vendor shall address the following: Complete the classified response matrix and submit as a separate attachment. Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for the system operation as installed on an aircraft. Ability to either interface with the on board RWRs or provide alternative approaches for providing RWR functionality. If interfaced to the on board RWR, the RF-ECM system shall receive threat activity detection and cueing from the RWR and provide threat information back to the RWR. Description of the system’s Digital System Model (DSM) and its capabilities to incorporate threat models. For those requirements not met, the vendor shall identify a growth path to meet the full RF-ECM capabilities. Current vendor In-house RF-ECM test Capabilities - The vendor shall provide the following: Details of relevant vendor in-house test capabilities for RF-ECM. Describe RF-ECM prototype system capabilities that could be demonstrated in the vendor’s in-house lab environment. Description of how and what RF-ECM requirements would be tested in the vendors in-house lab environment. For those requirements not tested, identify the growth path to meet the full RF-ECM testing requirements. System Architecture/Design – The vendor shall provide the following: Proposed system’s architecture to include A-kit, B-kit, and platform interfaces. Describe any constraints or special requirements imposed on aircraft installation. Description of how the architecture supports scalability, modularity, and extensibility for various platform types and other component applications, such as Airborne Launched Effects (ALE). Description of how the open system architecture design supports future hardware and software upgrades both internal and from third party applications. Description of how the system design is based on open system architecture standards and principals. Identify components or system environmental and electrical qualification status and under what standards those qualifications were achieved. If not qualified have components or systems been designed for application to rotary winged aircraft? Provide references to qualification reports as an attachment. Space, Weight and Power-Cooling (SWaP-C) for the system and LRUs and ability to meet a gross B-kit weight provided in the classified supplement. Top level description of software description and detection, tracking, and jamming algorithms. Top level description of algorithm update process, timetable, and data required to update the receiver and jamming algorithms to improve system performance Top level description of software update process and timetable. The Army is seeking a capability to easily and rapidly reprogram ECM techniques. Describe the process to rapidly reprogram software and hardware/firmware components with new ECM techniques. Technology Readiness - Provide a TRL and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) assessment for the proposed technologies. Describe how these assessments were conducted (self or independently assessed). Identify Critical Technologies associated with the proposed design. Discuss methodologies (simulations/lab tests, etc.) used to conduct TRL and MRL assessments. General The Government desires, at a minimum, Government purpose rights for any technologies proposed for the RF-ECM capabilities. Discuss data rights, Government right to source code, and Intellectual Property claims on the proposed technology. Discuss key interfaces and the use of an Open Systems Approach which enables future upgrades at the LRU and component level. Briefly discuss the application of standard Information Assurance, cyber security, anti-tamper, and DO-178 requirements Provide information on planned IRAD investment in RF-ECM and applicable technology. Does any future investment include participation in Government sponsored demonstrations? Provide a description of how your proposed system will demonstrate core RF-ECM capabilities in an FY21 Government sponsored demonstration. Provide a schedule for the proposed system to meet the FY2028 FUE requirement. Describe the technical, cost, and schedule risks associated with this effort. Provide reliability projections for the system along with meeting a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) metric of not less than 730 hours. Provide uncertified cost estimates for B-Kit unit cost by LRU and ship set, A-Kit unit cost by platform variant, Non-Reoccurring Engineering (Hardware: A and B-kit, Software: Software/Firmware/Digital System Model, Algorithm), and programmatic/test support. Assume lot orders are in multiples of 100 ship sets. Estimate B-kit production rate and ramp up rate for prototype, Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), and Full Rate Production (FRP). Other Requirements Provide evidence of the ability to be able to field a complete system (A and B-kit) by 2028. Offerors responding to this RFI must have a current and validated SECRET level Facility Clearance (FCL) with the ability to store, process, and generate classified data up to the Secret Level Offerors with Foreign Control and Influence (FOCI) must provide the Defense Security Service (DSS) FOCI mitigation instrument implemented (i.e., SSA, Proxy, etc) and any imposed limitations The vendors shall provide relevant past performance data that demonstrates their subject matter expertise in RF-ECM system development of hardware and software equipment that has been qualified and fielded on military rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft. This past performance data should include contract numbers and a brief summary of work performed under these efforts. Other Instructions Industry Day: Attendance at industry day does not represent a contract, request for proposal, a promise to contract, or a commitment of any kind on the part of the Government. The Government does not assume liability for costs incurred by an attendee or for travel expenses or marketing efforts; therefore, attendee cost in response to this notice is not considered an allowable direct charge to the Government. All questions and responses provided during the one-on-one sessions will be made available to all attendees, to the extent possible. Vendors who wish to attend industry day must submit a request to PMO ASE at TBD@mail.mil to receive approval to attend. A maximum of four (4) participants per prime contractor team will be permitted to attend Industry Day. Vendor RSVP request must provide names, position within the company, email, phone #, and vendor cage (if assigned) to be vetted for access to industry day. The Industry Day will cover topics including an overview of RF-ECM timelines, draft acquisition strategy and key requirements and capabilities. All interested parties are invited to attend; however, attendance is restricted to U.S. firms and U.S. citizens only. The PM ASE government team will include Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) contractors with valid Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Registration for this event will open TBD. The deadline to request attendance is TBD. Visit approval is contingent upon email approval from, TBD@mail.mil. Upon notification of approval visitors will be provided with an Agenda. In order to promote an informative and successful conference, attendance is by registration only. Only those with a confirmed registration will be permitted to attend. Registration is limited to no more than four (4) representatives per company. The information presented will be unclassified; aside from registration and presentation material for one-on-one discussions, no other information is required. The Government will be conducting one-on-one discussions during this event. Registered vendors will be allowed 20 minutes to present relevant information to the Government team. All presentation materiel must be sent in advance of industry day NLT TBD to the email listed above. Vendors requesting one-on-one discussions must indicate so in their RSVP. Time slots will be allocated on a first come-first served basis only. Event location will be included in the message with approval to attend. You may submit questions via email to TBD@mail.mil. Questions must be received, in approved format only, no later than TBD. Questions may also be submitted prior to or during industry day; however, the Government may elect to defer responses to another forum. All questions from all forums (email submissions, industry day general session, one-on-one sessions) and corresponding responses will be made available to all participants NLT TBD. The page count for this RFI shall not exceed 75 pages. Official responses are due NLT TBD. Vendors can request a one day USG site visit as part of the RFI submission. Classification Requirements: Vendors considering a response to this RFI must ensure compliance with the US Army Version ASE Security Classification Guide. Vendors must contact PMO ASE at TBD@mail.mil to be vetted for access to the ASE SCG (require vendor POC contact information and vendor cage code), once validated the SCG will be sent to the vendor POC with handling and disposition instructions. Classified responses to this RFI must be shipped in accordance with DOD 5220.22-M, National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), section 4. Transmission. The vendor must have the appropriate Defense Security Service (DSS) facility clearance to submit a classified response. The instructions and address for a classified response to this RFI is: Outer Wrapping: PMO ASE (SFAE-IEW-SE) Attn: Security 6726 Odyssey Drive, NW Huntsville, AL 35806 Inner Wrapping: PMO ASE (SFAE-IEW-SE) Attn: RF-ECM RFI 6726 Odyssey Drive, NW Huntsville, AL 35806