Inactive

The purpose of Amendment 0003 is to publish Answers to Questions received during the eligible Questions and Answers time period. The purpose of Amendment 0002 is to revise the language of the Program ... The purpose of Amendment 0003 is to publish Answers to Questions received during the eligible Questions and Answers time period. The purpose of Amendment 0002 is to revise the language of the Program Objective, paragraph one, change the submittal instructions, and revise the small business questions. The purpose of Amendment 0001 was to update the question and response due date. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY – This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary; the United States Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the United States Government. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. Acknowledgement of receipt of submitted items will not be made nor will respondents be notified of the outcome of the information received. It is the responsibility of the potential respondents to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement. Responses are due by 1600 EST, 05 June 2020 and are not to exceed 25 pages. Please submit all RFI responses to Kadi-Jah Sheridan, Contract Specialist, kadi-jah.l.sheridan.civ@mail.mil and Sabin Joseph, Contract Officer, sabin.a.joseph.civ@mail.mil. The subject line for the email submission shall read as follows: SUBJECT: Product Manager Force Protection Systems (PM FPS) Common Command and Control (C2) Integration, Fielding, Sustainment and Maintenance Support RFI INTRODUCTION: The Army Contracting Command- Aberdeen Proving Ground- Belvoir Division (ACC-APG Belvoir), on behalf of PM FPS C2 Integration, Fielding, Sustainment and Maintenance Support is issuing a Request for Information (RFI), in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e). ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: 60 Months, consisting of a 36-month base effort and two (2), 12-month, option periods. CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS: U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) – Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) Belvoir Division 10205 Burbeck Road, Bldg 362 Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060 – 5863 CONFIDENTIALITY: No classified, confidential, or sensitive information, or proprietary information shall be included in your response. Interested parties are responsible for appropriately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. QUESTIONS TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT: All questions pertaining to this announcement are due within eight (8) days after release. Telephone requests will not be accepted. Questions regarding this RFI should be submitted via e-mail to Kadi-Jah Sheridan, Contract Specialist, kadi-jah.l.sheridan.civ@mail.mil and Sabin Joseph, Contract Officer, sabin.a.joseph.civ@mail.mil no later than 1600 EST on 21 May 2020. If answered, questions will be non-attribution published through the Federal Business Opportunities Website at https://beta.sam.gov/. If the Government has additional questions or a need for information following the evaluation of your response, you may be contacted and asked to provide that information. If an industry outreach event is anticipated in the future, details will be published through the Federal Business Opportunities website at https://beta.sam.gov/. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE: In accordance with FAR Part 10, ACC-APG Belvoir is conducting Market Research on behalf of PM FPS to survey the marketplace vendors capable of providing C2 Integration, Fielding, Sustainment and Maintenance Support. The Government is seeking industry respondents interested in supporting PM FPS Common C2 hardware and software. PM FPS is using the Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS), and Government Off-The-Shelf (GOTS) hardware and software components, developed for the Integrated Ground Security, Surveillance and Response-Capability (IGSSR-C), for its Common C2 systems. The Government has a mixture of data rights on the subcomponents of the system. The requirement is to integrate thirty-seven (37) Common C2 systems in support of the IGSSR-C Program of Record by FY24, and up to one-hundred and forty-three (143) Common C2 systems to replace obsolescence in PM FPS QRCs. The Common C2 is a software-centric, network-enabled capability to facilitate initiative and decision making. The Common C2 provides a layered approach to integrate sensor systems to create an in-depth security, surveillance and response capability. The Government-owned software being provided for the PM FPS Common C2 will be the IGSSR-C software. The IGSSR-C software was developed using a Modular Open Systems Architecture, and encompasses a software suite capable of providing sensor control, video analytics, video management, fusion, site planning, position estimation, and system management. Below is a brief description of each capability: Sensor Control (Ageon ISR developed by Novetta, Inc): C2 software to allow Force Protection personnel to make informed tactical situation decisions. Displays sensor locations, detection zones, detections, and entity tracks on the Common Operating Picture (COP). Allows personnel to manually control sensors to examine entities of interest. Incorporates Integrated Sensor Architecture (ISA) compliance, detection and exclusion zones, automated object tracking, video analytics, and fusion. Video Analytics (Surveillance, Persistent Observation, and Target Recognition (SPOTR) developed by Progeny Systems): Video Analytics automatically detects entities of interest in sensor video streams. Video Analytics sends annotated video (e.g., with “bounding boxes”) to the C2 for display. Detections are simultaneously sent to the C2 for immediate display as well as to Fusion to synthesize entity tracks. Incorporates the ability to tag objects of interest with annotations, ability to search and sort archived data based on the metadata, and provide imagery and metadata compliant with MISP 2017.1. Video Management Service (Persistent Surveillance and Dissemination Systems of Systems (PSDS2) developed by Raytheon): Video Management ingests, archives, and disseminates video from IGSSR-C Electro-Optic/Infrared (EO/IR) sensors. C2 software can discover and retrieve archived video for forensic analysis from Video Management software catalog. Create, modify, and delete EO/IR video stream distributions as sensors get added or dropped from the IGSSR-C architecture. Fusion (Fusion Exploitation Framework (FEF) developed by Polaris Alpha): Fusion synthesizes entity tracks by correlating sensor tracks and detections. Incorporates track association and fusion algorithm, receives input from video analytics as well as non-video sensors (e.g., ground radar) to create, update, and drop tracks of the entities causing the detections. Perform track association/fusion algorithm for anticipated Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI), Video Moving Target Indicator (VMTI) and Positive Lot Identification (PLI) track loading. Site Planning (Optimal Placement of Unattended Sensors (OPUS) / Environmental Awareness for Sensor and Emitter Employment (EASEE) Site Planning Tool developed by NextGen Federal Systems and Atmospheric Environmental Research). The Site Planning tool predicts ideal sensor placement using physics-based performance modeling of sensors, location terrain, obstructions, and environmental conditions. Position Estimation (Position Estimator tool developed by QinetiQ): Position Estimator converts video detections into Video Moving Target Indicator (VMTI) updates and allows fusion software to ingest video detections to estimate tracks of the detected objects. System Management (System Management tool developed by QinetiQ): System Management provides operator the means to monitor IGSSR-C health and remediate issues. Monitors the execution of IGSSR-C applications and the run-time environments provided by the virtual machines. This requirement supports post development of the Increment 1 Common C2. The Army will require industry support for its post Milestone C technical reviews, product documentation, system accreditations, material release documentation, system production, system fielding, field setup and maintenance, system sustainment, and hardware/software technical refresh. The Army anticipates contractor assistance may also be necessary to support development as needed to support Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) urgent needs and an Increment 2 system. RESPONSE SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS: Participation in response to this RFI will not preclude any vendor from responding to future acquisitions, either individually or as part of a team. For this RFI, the Government seeks information regarding your capabilities and experience related to the delivery of capabilities as described in the Program Objective section of this RFI. Sources able to address the above request are invited to submit information describing their approach. Please limit White Paper submissions to a maximum of 25 pages (including a cover sheet) and provide the following information: 1. Please provide the following information: – Point of Contact – Title – Company name – Date of incorporation – Number of years in business – Number of employees – Location – Mailing address – Phone number – Website address – Email address – Note that RFI respondents shall designate a single point of contact for receipt of all information pursuant to this RFI. 2. Describe your company’s experience with the following, including detail on specific expertise, contracts, company roles, business partners roles, and metrics/measured performance: a. Integrating, maintaining, fielding, and sustaining system of systems software with varied data rights and a mix of COTS and GOTS software. b. System engineering to include requirements analysis, life-cycle planning, architecture framework analysis and design, configuration and data management, cyber security planning for a classified Authority to Operate (ATO), and interoperability planning for Army Interoperability Certification (AIC). c. Product development and improvement to pre-existing Government developed systems such as new technologies, sensors, systems, and software designed to enhance Force Protection systems including: reduced latency, improved ruggedization, improved reliability, reduced down-times/maintenance, improved probability of detection, decreased false alarm rates, and increased sensor resolutions. d. Hyper-converged infrastructure experience with management, hardware life-cycle planning with respect to Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) infrastructures. 3. Please provide a detailed methodology on the following, including technical challenges, considerations, constraints, resource requirements, estimated costs, and schedules for the following: a. How would your company modify Forward Operating Base (FOB) configurations and how different configurations would be managed? Address variations to hardware and software for scalability, cybersecurity, and networking. b. How would your company perform troubleshooting of the subsystems, interfaces, and component issues as well as how issues would be corrected? As an example, explain your methodology to go from failure to deployed solution for an issue related to video interruptions. c. How would your company add a new COTS subsystem under the Common C2 open architecture? As an example, assume that a new COTS subsystem provides integrated sensor control and display on a three dimensional (3D) map. Describe efforts to validate compliance with a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), ISA, and Motion Imagery Standards Board (MISB) standards. Walk through the factors, considerations, and system limitations for data processing, exploitation, and dissemination. 4. Describe your company’s unique capabilities: a. Describe the role you anticipate your company to have in supporting the PM FPS Common C2. b. What unique characteristics does your company possess that provide increased value or reduce risk for the Government? c. What can your company provide that would add unique value to the Government? 5. Please identify your company's business size standard based on the primary North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code of 541330. For more information, refer to http://www.sba.gov/content/tablesmall-business-size-standards: a. Large Business Concern b. Small Business (SB) Concern c. 8 (a) d. Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Concern e. Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Concern f. Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Concern g. Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern h. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern Small Business Questions The responses to questions 6-15 will not be included in the page count 6. If you identify your company as a Small Business as it pertains to the associated size standard for the above NAICS, is your company interested in a prime contract? Under the current SB recertification regulations, do you anticipate your company remaining a small business, under primary stated NAICS code 541330? 7. If you are a small business and plan to be prime contractor on this effort please inform how you will meet the limitations on subcontracting Clause 52.219-14. If not, please list which requirements your company can provide. 8. If you are a small business, can you go without a payment for 90 days? 9. Does your company possess the capabilities to provide the entire range of these requirements? If not, please list which requirements your company can provide? 10. Please provide details regarding proposed joint ventures, teaming arrangements, strategic alliances, or other business arrangements to satisfy requirements. Respondents are encouraged to identify teams, indicating each team member's size based upon the NAICS code of the work that the team member may be doing. 11. Has your Company performed this type of effort or similar type effort (to include size and complexity) in the past? If so, provide Contract Number; Point of Contact (POC); e-mail address; phone number; and a brief description of your direct support of the effort (provide up to 5 contracts). 12. Does your firm possess an approved Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) accounting system? 13. Provide the total number of individuals currently employed by your company that are capable of supporting the requirements. 14. Please describe your company’s experience with OCONUS operations. 15. What industry standards, certifications, and/or accreditations does your company have for quality control and management (i.e. CMMI, ISO 9001, ISO 17025, NADCAP, etc.)? Respondents shall not be obligated to provide the services described herein and it is understood by the United States Government that the cost estimates provided as a result of this request are “best” estimates only. The Government requests that interested sources submit an electronic response of not more than twenty-five (25) pages, 8.5" x 11" paper, 12-point, Times New Roman font, with a minimum of one (1) inch margins all around. Responses to Small Business Questions (6 thru 15) are in addition to the above stated twenty-five (25) page limitation. All responses should include the company name, address, Commercial and Government Entity Code (CAGE) code, point of contact’s name and contact information as requested above. Supporting documentation (such as marketing brochures, fliers, published presentations or papers and other materials that summarize the technology and more about your company) is acceptable (up to two (2) pages worth), and may be referenced by reviewers only in support of claims identified in the White Paper, and only where specifically referenced in the White Paper. The Government makes no guarantee that the supporting documentation will be reviewed and/or considered. Any company proprietary information, performance capabilities and/or future modification plans should be clearly identified and MUST be marked accordingly and will be protected by the Government. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Responses to the RFI may be used to develop Government documentation. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosures to non-Government personnel and entities. Your interest in this response is appreciated. All interested companies or organizations are encouraged to respond to the RFI by providing the information by 1600 EST on 05 June 2020. Respondents are requested to submit one electronic copy of the responses to Sabin Joseph, Contracting Officer, at sabin.a.joseph.civ@mail.mil, and to Kadi-Jah Sheridan, Contract Specialist, kadi-jah.l.sheridan.civ@mail.mil. Files should be sent in a Microsoft Word compatible file or a PDF file. Files greater than 10MB cannot be transmitted through the network firewall. DISCLAIMER: THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THIS RFI OR REIMBURSE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PREPARATION OF RESPONSES. This Sources Sought announcement is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses will not be returned nor will the Government confirm receipt. Inquiries regarding upcoming potential Solicitations in regards to this announcement will not be entertained. Whatever information is provided will potentially be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for determining how to proceed in the acquisition process. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. All Government and Contractor personnel reviewing responses will have signed non-disclosure agreements and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described in 41 USC §2101-2107. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations.