SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- AIRBORNE JOINT TACTICAL RADIO CLUSTER IV PROGRAM PHASE I REQUEST FOR INFOMATION (RFI)
- Notice Date
- 10/24/2002
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- ESC/DIGK, Global Grid (Product Area Directorate), 5 Eglin Street, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731-2100
- ZIP Code
- 01731-2100
- Solicitation Number
- DIGK-JTR-RFI
- Archive Date
- 5/12/2003
- Point of Contact
- Contracting Officer John Sorgini, 781-377-9317
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Request for Information (RFI) for the Airborne Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster IV program office. The following information is provided for planning purposes only and does not constitute a Request For Proposal (RFP) nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. PURPOSE Headquarters, Electronic Systems Center, Global Grid Product Area Directorate, (ESC/DIG) JTRS Airborne Cluster IV Program Office (ESC/DIGR) at Hanscom AFB, MA is requesting information and feedback (programmatic, risks, schedule, etc.) from industry in advance of the Pre-System Development and Demonstration (Pre-SDD) phase of the Airborne JTRS Program. The desired outcome from this RFI is to improve the quality of effort and resulting products related to the planned Pre-SDD solicitation. This RFI specifically seeks opinions, comments, and constructive advice from prospective prime contractors and their team members. INFORMATION REQUESTED: Prior to responding to the questions below, it is recommended that you visit the Hanscom HERBB Site (http://www.herbb.hanscom.af.mil/rfp_list.asp, then click on 'Airborne Joint Tactical Radio System') and review the Draft SOO; Program Strategy briefing; Airborne Networking briefing; JTRS Network SOW; JTRS WNW SOW, and ORD. (1) Proposed Acquisition Strategy: a. Given the current scope of the Airborne JTRS program, how would you develop an incremental/evolutionary approach to field an earlier interim operational capability that will meet the most urgent needs of warfighters? b. What are the overall schedule drivers (Hardware, Software, Testing, Certifications, etc.) and how can the schedules be shortened? How much schedule reduction do you envision to be possible? c. How will you interface with platform integration contractors/aircraft maintainers to gain a greater understanding of platform constraints (specifically related to form factors, power, cooling, EMI, etc.) for Phase 1 efforts? d. Please identify any "up-front" cost, schedule and risk drivers for the Airborne Network and JTRS Cluster 4 Radio design (including Logistics and Test and Evaluation considerations). Are there any Cost As an Independent Variable (CAIV) tradeoffs related to these drivers that you would recommend we analyze in Phase 1? e. What are the drivers for a 'family of modules' approach vs. separate radio variants? f. Expanding upon e. above, can we accommodate multiple legacy form factors & platform interfaces with a single modular design or limited number of variants? What are the key drivers for this assessment? g. What Modeling & Simulation tools or processes do you recommend to analyze proposed solutions from Phase 1? Are any of these off-the-shelf? h. What types of Government Furnished Information (GFI) will you require in Phase 1? What types of agreements (i.e., Associate Contractor Agreements (ACA)) do you think you will need to facilitate the effort addressed in Phase 1? i. How can we integrate the results of the Lincoln Laboratories efforts with Industry's efforts on Phase 1 and Phase 2? j. What are the key technology or risk reduction areas that Government should address using its laboratory resources? (2) Airborne C4ISR Network Concept: a. Is the architecture for the envisioned Airborne C4ISR network concept realistic, and can it accommodate legacy Tactical Data Link transitions. Can the Airborne Cluster system architecture accommodate future evolutionary requirements growth? b. What alternative approach(s) would you suggest and why? c. What are the key architectural and/or technology trade-offs? d. What are the critical issues in integrating the Airborne C4ISR network with the greater DoD enterprise? e. What are the five most important architecture definition tasks/objectives for the Phase 1 effort? f. What directly funded or internal research and development (IR&D) products, standards, and protocols are you aware of that would offer capabilities required by the JTRS Airborne C4ISR Network or for the Airborne JTRS design? g. Identify and explain specific technology voids (networking RF, modem, etc) that will require funded R&D to provide the envisioned capabilities for a C4ISR network or to comply with ORD requirements for the Airborne JTRS. (3) Risk Areas and Mitigation Efforts: (specifically near-term mitigations) As part of our Pre-SDD acquisition preparation, the government has reviewed responses to ASC/RA's RFI for ISR Network F33657-02-R-5423 for applicability to this effort. From those who submitted a response, this office is seeking any additional input that is specifically related to the JTRS Airborne Cluster Program. From those contractors who did not submit a response to ASC/RA's RFI, our program is seeking input as to whether or not the risks identified below are properly focused and appropriate. Please describe what other risks may impact the Airborne C4ISR Network implementation and/or the Airborne JTRS system development and production effort. Also, describe any possible risk mitigation activities you suggest we pursue for each area. The risks identified below are not in any order of importance nor do we presume this to be a complete list: a. Routing - The platforms and associated networks participating in the Airborne C4ISR Network will be highly mobile, often connected by dynamic and potentially adaptive wireless links. The changing nature of the network in terms of topology, bandwidth, and membership will present unique challenges to the network architecture. b. Quality of Service (QoS)- The dynamic tactical operating environment, in combination with wireless data links that are bandwidth constrained, will most likely create contention for available bandwidth. Providing and managing end-to-end quality of service to control latency, manage and allocate bandwidth to specific data flows, and provide reliable service in the tactical environment are also anticipated challenges, particularly when different QoS mechanisms are included in the end-to-end path. c. Network Management - Providing the warfighter tools to maintain control and to monitor the health of the network at various levels is critical to Airborne C4ISR Network operation. The network must have a robust management capability that will function in real-time with little operator intervention and that will "heal" and still manage to control the network even if it becomes segmented due to the loss or destruction of key links. Coordinating the control of the network between sub-networks that are managed by different domains or that may be managed at different levels in the command and control hierarchy is an anticipated difficulty. At the application layer, the ability to manage and throttle data production must be available to ensure no application floods the network. At the network layer, the warfighter must be able to monitor and control connections and quality of service. At the physical and link layer, the warfighter and the network must be able to obtain status on adaptive connections and set controls on operating parameters. Accomplishing these functions in the very dynamic mobile network environment while maintaining QoS requirements will be challenging. d. Integration/Interoperability - The JTRS Airborne C4ISR Network will operate as an integral part of the broader Global Information Grid. The ability to operate with existing (DCGS infrastructure, SIPRNET, etc.) and planned networks (Future Combat System, Information Technology for the 21st Century) is a mandatory feature. Integrating across the DoD enterprise including legacy capabilities, providing interoperability with current systems, and providing a path for growth compatible with evolving and new technologies will be challenging. e. Security - The JTRS Airborne C4ISR Network must support data at multiple levels of security classification on the same network. In addition, the network will create new security vulnerabilities that must be mitigated in the overall network architecture (e.g. traffic analysis, spoofing, denial of service). Accomplishing this and complying with existing security policies are technical and management challenges. f. RF Technology - The potential flexibility from a software based radio and the networking capabilities of the WNW won't be fully realized with current antennas and power amplifier approaches. Identify and explain technology areas or architectural changes that should be explored (i.e., broadband, multiplexed, and adaptive techniques). g. Platform Integration - The cost of integrating the Airborne JTRS into the multiple platforms will be the driving factor to the affordability of the system. Successful integration will be highly dependent on the physical, functional, and electrical interfaces that are chosen. What tasks/analysis would you recommend for Phase 1 to best generate the interface information we need for Phase 2? (4) Please comment on any other items/areas you deem important to our strategy or architecture. Request to Review Draft SOO: (This area is related to Draft Phase 1 SOO, dated 16 Oct 2002, Ref HERBB Site). We offer these questions to help focus your SOO review. Responses to SOO questions should be provided as part of your comments on the DRAFT SOO as a separate submission and not as part of your response to this RFI. a. Do any of the objectives in the Draft Phase 1 SOO need to be modified to better enable you to provide Phase 1 recommendations and/or rationale without proprietary restrictions? Please explain. b. What tasks or objectives would you recommend adding or deleting from our draft SOO, if any, and why? c. Is there anything in the Draft SOO that would prevent you from providing a firm fixed price offer for any or all of the Phase 1 effort? PROGRAM BACKGROUND: Program background information can be found in the Program Strategy Briefing and Draft SOO posted on the Hanscom HERBB Site (http://www.herbb.hanscom.af.mil/rfp_list.asp, then click on 'Airborne Joint Tactical Radio System') HOW TO RESPOND: The Government would like to obtain preliminary answers to the above questions as part of the one-on-one sessions at the JTRS Airborne Cluster IV Industry Day 28 October 2002, with final responses no later than close of business November 12, 2002. The intent of this request is to improve the Phase 1 SOO. As such, we request that your response be non-proprietary. If you feel that your data is proprietary, please clearly mark only the portions of your submittal that are deemed proprietary. Your written responses should not exceed twenty-five (25) single sided pages. The Government will not reimburse contractors for any cost associated with preparing or submitting a response to this notice. The Government is under no obligation to award any contract associated with this RFI. This invitation to respond to the JTRS Airborne RFI does not constitute an invitation for bid or request for proposal. Any procurement action for JTRS Airborne Cluster IV will be the subject of a separate, future announcement. The JTRS Airborne Cluster IV draft Phase 1 (SOO) information and other related documentation are posted on the Hanscom Air Force Base HERRB web site at the following address: http://www.herbb.hanscom.af.mil/rfp_list.asp, then click on 'Airborne Joint Tactical Radio System'. Send 2 copies and 1 electronic copy (i.e., CD) of your response to the following: Mr. John Sorgini, Contracting Officer, Joint Tactical Radio System Airborne Program, ESC/DIGK, Bldg 1612, 5 Eglin Street, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731, E-mail: John.Sorgini@hanscom.af.mil, Phone: 617.377.9317 or to: Pat Forest, Contract Specialist, Joint Tactical Radio System Airborne Program, ESC/DIGK, Bldg 1612, 5 Eglin Street, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731, E-mail: Pat.Forest@hanscom.af.mil, Phone: 617.377.7512. Please direct any questions you may have concerning this RFI to Mr. John Sorgini, Contracting Officer (ESC/DIGK) at (781) 377-9317, or Major Ron Norton, Deputy Program Manager, JTRS Airborne Program Office, (ESC/DIGR) at (781) 377-6110. See Note 26.
- Web Link
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(http://www.herbb.hanscom.af.mil)
- Place of Performance
- Address: N/A
- Zip Code: N/A
- Country: N/A
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- Record
- SN00193285-W 20021026/021024213356 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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