SOURCES SOUGHT
58 -- AN/WSC-6(V)XX SHFSATCOM System
- Notice Date
- 10/9/2002
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- 4301 Pacific Highway Bldg OT4 Code 02, San Diego CA 92110-3127
- ZIP Code
- 92110-3127
- Solicitation Number
- SPAWAR Headquarters MKTSVY 1FE82
- Point of Contact
- Point of Contact - Sandra J Jones, Contract Specialist, 858-537-0306
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Contract Specialist
(sandra.jones@navy.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- 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. This request for information does not commit the government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), Program Management Warfare-176, San Diego is interested in identifying sources who can provide a fully integrated C, X, and Ka band SHF SATCOM system. Background The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) intends to seek sources capable of designing and producing the next generation of the Navy?s wideband super high frequency (SHF) shipboard satellite communications (SATCOM) terminal for surface ships, the AN/WSC-6(V)XX, via a solicitation planned for the Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2003. This request for information (RFI) seeks responses that will be used in developing the contract specification for the AN/WSC-6(V)XX. The AN/WSC-6(V)XX shall support full duplex communications simultaneously in multiple frequency bands to communicate with the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS), commercial SATCOM, and the planned Wideband Gapfiller System (WGS) Satellites. Defined by the frequency plans of present and planned military and commercial communications satellites, these simultaneous multi-band capabilities shall include the ability to support full duplex communications (a) in the Government X (7/8 GHz) band at the same time as in the Government K/Ka (20/30 GHz) band, or (b) in the non-Government C (4/6 GHz) band at the same time as in one of the non-Government Ku (11/12/14 GHz) bands. Capability (a) and (b) are not required simultaneously; switching between the two capabilities must be accomplished in less than or equal to 30 minutes. Maximum conformance of the AN/WSC-6(V)XX to MIL-STD-188-164A as is reasonable in the shipboard application is desired. AN/WSC-6(V)XX certification for operation on military and commercial SATCOM systems is a threshold requirement. The AN/WSC-6(V)XX contract specification will contain a common terminal with four variants distinguished by antenna size intended for various ship classes. The four antenna aperture diameters are currently envisioned to be approximately 38, 60, 93 and 108 inches although the actual sizes shall be proposed by offerors in response to the G/T and EIRP requirements in the final contract specification. The terminal will not be required to provide C-band capability in the smallest antenna size. The AN/WSC-6(V)XX shall provide external modem interfaces at intermediate frequencies (IF) of 70 MHz, 140 MHz and L-band frequencies consistent with those required by the emerging Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) specification. In addition, the terminal shall provide a dedicated IF output at 950-1950 MHz in order to make available Global Broadcast Service (GBS) signals received in the Government K or X space-to-Earth bands to a separately procured GBS receiver. It is desired that the AN/WSC-6(V)XX operate only with external modems and not contain an internal modem. The AN/WSC-6(V)XX shall provide 10/100 Base-T Ethernet and EIA/TIA-422 serial outputs for simultaneous control of up to four external modems from the terminal?s operator interface unit (OIU). The AN/WSC-6(V)XX shall be capable of controlling one, two or four topside antennas simultaneously. In the multiple antenna configurations, the terminal shall be capable of handing off from one antenna to another (configured for the same radio frequency bands) with a means for preserving bit count integrity (BCI) that is independent of the modem. (BCI is defined here as the maintenance of cryptographic equipment synchronization.) An interface shall provide a signal indicating initiation of a handover event for use by the external modem. It is envisioned the antennas will operate in single or pair configuration with handover events occurring only between a dedicated pair of antennas operating in the same bands with the same satellite. Requested Information Commercial companies and other technical organizations are hereby invited to provide information on their previous demonstrations of, and/or capabilities to develop technologies to support any of the following capabilities in the AN/WSC-6(V)XX. This information will be considered in developing the final contract specification for the AN/WSC-6(V)XX such that this new terminal expands the Navy?s shipboard wideband SATCOM capabilities in a fashion that can be realized affordably. X/K/Ka Feed The terminal shall have a feed system capable of supporting simultaneous communications with two full duplex carriers in the Government X-band and at least one transmit carrier in the Government Ka-band and two simultaneous receive carriers in the Government K-band. The threshold frequency coverage is as follows; X: 7.25-7.75 GHz space-to-Earth, 7.9-8.4 GHz Earth-to-space; K/Ka: 20.2-21.2 GHz (K) space-to-Earth, 30-31 GHz (Ka) Earth-to-space. The objective frequency coverage would add a portion of non-Government K/Ka:19.2-20.2 GHz (K) space-to-Earth, 29-30 GHz (Ka) Earth-to-space without compromising RF performance in the threshold frequency ranges by more than 1 dB. As a threshold requirement, the feed system shall provide left hand circular polarization (LHCP) for reception of X-band signals and right hand circular polarization (RHCP) for transmission of X-band signals. An objective capability would add non-simultaneous selectable right hand circular polarization (RHCP) for reception of X-band signals. As a threshold requirement, the feed system shall provide simultaneous RHCP and LHCP for reception of K-band signals and selectable LHCP and RHCP for transmission of Ka-band signals. An objective capability would add simultaneous transmission of two carriers, one each at LHCP and RHCP, in the Ka-band coverage of the feed. SPAWAR seeks information on state-of-the-art simultaneous X/K/Ka feeds with the capabilities described above. C/Ku Feed The terminal shall have a feed system capable of supporting simultaneous communications with at least one full duplex carrier in the non-Government C-band and at least one full duplex carrier in the non-Government Ku-band. The threshold frequency coverage is as follows; C: 3.7-4.2 GHz space-to-Earth, 5.850-6.425 GHz Earth-to-space; Ku: 10.70-12.75 GHz space-to-Earth, 14.0-14.5 GHz Earth-to-space. An objective C-band capability would extend the space-to-Earth frequency coverage down to 3.4 GHz and the Earth-to-Space frequency coverage up to 6.65 GHz. An objective Ku-band capability would extend the Earth-to-Space frequency coverage down to 13.75 GHz. "As a threshold requirement, the feed system shall provide selectable RHCP and LHCP for reception of C-band and Ku-band signals and selectable LHCP and RHCP for transmission of C-band and Ku-band signals. An objective capability would provide simultaneous RHCP and LHCP for reception of C-band and Ku-band signals and simultaneous LHCP and RHCP for transmission of C-band and Ku-band signals. The feed system shall also be re-configurable to support the reception and transmission of linearly polarized signals in the C- and Ku-bands, providing as a threshold requirement selectable vertical and horizontal polarizations. An objective linear polarization capability would provide simultaneous vertical and horizontal polarizations to support the reception and transmission of C-band signals. The feed system shall provide electronic or electromechanical means for rotating the linear polarization orientation of the C- and Ku-band feeds over +/- 90 degrees to maintain alignment with the linear polarization of the received signal(s). SPAWAR seeks information on state-of-the-art simultaneous C/Ku feeds with the capabilities described above. Wideband Radome To simplify logistics, SPAWAR prefers to procure radomes with a single attenuation versus frequency characteristic for every antenna, regardless if the antenna is outfitted with the simultaneous X/K/Ka feed or the simultaneous C/Ku feed. Therefore the desired radomes shall provide attenuation less than 2 dB in all frequency bands of interest between 3.7 GHz and 31 GHz. However, the smallest of the four radomes, the one for the nominal 38? diameter antenna, need not provide for C-band. All radome sizes shall be capable of surviving the rigors of the warship topside environment, which include ice loading (up to 4.5 pounds per square foot), salt atmosphere, ship motion forces, gun and missile blast pressure fields, shock, vibration, wind loading, blowing sand and dust, and exposure to solar radiation (causing temperature elevation to 65 degrees Celsius within the radome). The moisture seals of the radome must keep the enclosed antenna and other equipment dry in all environmental service conditions. Low Radar Cross Section Considering that the radome will be largely transparent across a significant portion of the threat bands, the antenna pedestal and reflector must have provisions for yielding a low radar cross section (RCS). Nonetheless, radome shape will also contribute to the RCS of the topside antenna groups. SPAWAR seeks information on state-of-the-art design concepts for reducing the RCS of topside antennas. Methods for Antenna Remoting With its four antenna size variants, the AN/WSC-6(V)XX will see service on virtually all US Navy and Military Sealift Command (MSC) surface ship classes. On some of the larger ship classes, the cable run distances from the below decks equipment group to the topside antennas can be quite large. Therefore, the AN/WSC-6(V)XX will require the capability to support cable run distances up to 450 feet in length. SPAWAR seeks information on a variety shipboard SATCOM terminal design concepts that would allow such antenna remoting. Applicable concepts can include the use of fiber optics (a desirable solution, if practicable) for some signals, the placing of miniaturized system components (e.g., frequency converters, antenna controllers and high power amplifiers) at the antenna rather than in the below decks rack(s), and other techniques. Modem-Independent Dual Antenna Handover System (DAHS) In order to maximize commonality with the other Armed Services, SPAWAR envisions that the AN/WSC-6(V)XX would use a Joint external modem that does not necessarily contain provisions for antenna handover (e.g., the EBEM mentioned above). Therefore, the AN/WSC-6(V)XX BCI preserving antenna handover technique shall operate independently of the modem. The AN/WSC-6(V)XX Dual Antenna Handover System (DAHS) shall mitigate SATCOM disruptions caused by antenna handover switching when the AN/WSC-6(V)XX operates at full-duplex data rates from 64 kilobits per second to at least 24 megabits per second, with an objective maximum of 40 megabits per second. The DAHS shall maintain full-duplex communications with full BCI during handover interruptions of up to 80 ms on the ship-to-shore link, and up to 1 ms on the shore-to-ship link. Considering that shipboard SATCOM antennas are often separated by large physical distances, the DAHS must also accommodate satellite-to-modem path length changes up to at least +/- 900 feet during the handover event. (The maximum path length difference is calculated by adding the physical separation, in air, between the two topside antennas to the difference in the signal cable run lengths from the antennas to the below decks equipment.) The DAHS may require hardware both aboard the ship and at the corresponding shore terminal; however, SPAWAR prefers approaches that require DAHS hardware aboard the ship only. In either case, the DAHS will be separate from the shipboard and shore SATCOM terminal modems and not require modification of either modem. The DAHS may operate on either side of the modem, that is, on the modulated RF waveform (perhaps at an intermediate frequency [IF]) or on the demodulated baseband bit stream. DAHS approaches that require a dedicated modem or beacon receiver for each shipboard antenna will be considered. The DAHS will not degrade bit error rate (BER) performance when the time between handover events is greater than or equal to 15 seconds, with an objective of maintaining non-degraded BER performance when handover events occur as frequently as once every 10 seconds. SPAWAR seeks information on techniques for implementing a DAHS as described above. PACKET SWITCHED CAPABILITY The AN/WSC-6(V)XX shall be capable of accommodating the planned packet switched capability of future WGS satellites. This capability can be included with all terminals as a base capability or added when WGS implements packet switching. WEB-ENABLEMENT The AN/WSC-6(V)XX shall be capable of both local and remote terminal control and diagnostics for operation, maintenance, and technical assistance. This terminal control should be capable from a computer on the shipboard IT-21 LAN or from a computer ashore on the SIPRnet. The terminal should be capable of being fully incorporated into the Navy?s FORCEnet architecture. Responses White papers are requested from interested organizations describing your satellite communications experience and AN/WSC-6(V)XX concepts and technologies. White papers in Microsoft Word for Office 2000 compatible format are due no later than 27 November 2002. Responses shall be submitted via e-mail only to sandra.jones@navy.mil. Interested parties must limit their electronic response to no more than thirty (30) pages. Please include the name, phone number, fax number and e-mail address of your company's designated point-of-contact. Questions should be submitted to Sandra Jones via e-mail to sandra.jones@navy.mil. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and must be marked. To aid Navy planners, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become government property. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Navy has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed and release of the RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. It is emphasized that this is a Request for Information. It is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) of any kind and is not intended to guarantee procurement of these items/services. Further, the Navy is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondees are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any.
- Web Link
-
Click on this link to access the SPAWAR E-Commerce Central Web Site
(https://e-commerce.spawar.navy.mil/command/02/acq/navhome.nsf/homepage?readform&db=navbusopor.nsf&whichdoc=EE23AC57B373CE7088256C4D00747C66&editflag=0)
- Record
- SN00185320-W 20021011/021009213518 (fbodaily.com)
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