SOURCES SOUGHT
58 -- Communications at Speed and Depth for U.S. Navy Submarines
- Notice Date
- 12/22/2005
- 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_327B2
- Response Due
- 1/26/2006
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- 1.0 DESCRIPTION 1.1 The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) is seeking sources for the potential development and production of Communications at Speed & Depth (CSD) capabilities for U.S. Navy submarines. This capability will provide communications with submarines while they are submerged at normal operating depths and traveling at speeds required to perform tactical operations. CSD extends the FORCEnet construct to stealthy undersea Navy platforms with the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of these platforms in achieving the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) SEAPOWER 21 vision. Currently, the Navy is interested in the development and/or production of a Family of Systems including Buoyant Cable Antennas, Tethered Expendable Communications Buoys, Untethered Expendable Communications Buoys, Undersea Acoustic/Radio Frequency Communications Buoys, Recoverable Tethered Communication Buoys, and Distributed Undersea Communications Networks. 1.1.1 A Buoyant Cable Antenna (BCA) is a 1500-foot long, 0.65-inch diameter, polyurethane wrapped antenna that is sail mounted on all submarines in the U.S. inventory. It is deployed and retrieved as necessary to receive low data rate ELF to VHF communications. The system is capable of being deployed throughout a majority of a submarine???s speed/depth range. For the purposes of CSD, the Navy is seeking an upgrade to the current BCA, enabling the ability to receive and transmit HF communications, as well as the potential option of adding the ability to receive SATCOM communications. 1.1.2 The Untethered Expendable Communications Buoy (UECB) system is a one-way, expendable, 3-inch signal ejector launched, satellite communications buoy (utilizing Commercial Iridium Satellite Communications), which transmits data stored in memory prior to launch. The UECB provides the required IP data connectivity using a low cost commercial Iridium satellite transceiver and a commercial standard data interface. The system will be employed at slow to medium speeds and at all operational depths. Transmission can be delayed for up to four hours after launch to minimize submarine detection and localization. After transmission, the buoy will erase its memory and scuttle itself. 1.1.3 The Tethered Expendable Communications Buoy (TECB will be a two-way, expendable, fiber optic tether, 3-inch signal ejector launched, IP Satellite communications buoy that utilizes the commercial Iridium satellite communications network. This system will provide two-way IP connectivity at 2.4 kbps over a broad submarine speed and depth envelope for a period of 10 to 30 minutes after the buoy is launched. The fiber optic tether will allow for the buoy to transmit and receive data and then relay it down to a slow moving submarine, providing real-time data transfer with a submerged operating submarine. 1.1.4 The Tactical Paging Buoy is an Acoustic / RF Gateway that will be a persistent means of paging a submerged submarine. A submarine, an aircraft, or a ship would deploy the TPB. TPB acts as placed communications doorway, receiving RF signals, and transforming the signal into an acoustic transmission that a submarine would be able to pick up via the sonar???s hydrophones. Initial production would be one-way, acting as a ???doorbell??? signaling the Submarine to come up on a communications posture. Spiral development would eventually allow for two-way communications between the submarine and the aircraft with the refinement and development of improved hydrophones and software. The aircraft deployed variant will be required to fit within a standard sonobuoy slot on U.S. aircraft. 1.1.5 The Recoverable Tethered Communications Buoys will offer better performance capability than an expendable buoy and significant potential for flexibility regarding communication payloads that could be used. In addition the buoy could accommodate surveillance payloads, which may have significant value in some operations. The Recoverable Tether Communications Buoy has the potential to replace the AN/BRR-6. 1.1.6 Distributed Undersea Communications Network is a large field of undersea acoustic communication nodes can be used to create an undersea communications network suitable for submarines, UUVs, SEAL delivery vehicles, and battery- powered off-board sensors. The Distributed Undersea Communications Network is a part of the SeaWeb experiment. 1.2 It is anticipated that Lead System Integrator (LSI) concepts may be utilized for this effort either at the FoS level or at the functional domain level (e.g., Buoyant Cable Antennas or Expendable Communications Buoys). The scope of integration includes segments such as launcher or deployment equipment hardware and interfaces, system control software, and shore site hardware/software integration (if applicable). Interested parties shall take this into consideration when providing responses to this synopsis. 2.0 SYNPOSIS TERMS - THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS ONLY. THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF SOLICITATION ISSUANCE. This synopsis 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 synopsis does not commit the government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website and the SPAWAR E-Commerce Central website at https://e-commerce.spawar.navy.mil. It is the responsibility of the potential respondents to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this potential requirement. The information provided in this Sources Sought Synopsis is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Further, the release of the Sources Sought Synopsis should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Sources Sought Synopsis. All costs associated with responding to this Sources Sought Synopsis will be solely at the interested party's expense. Failure to respond to this Sources Sought Synopsis will not preclude participation in any future RFP, if issued. 3.0 REQUESTED INFORMATION - Responses to this synopsis shall provide, at a minimum, the name, phone number, fax number, and e- mail address of the designated point of contact of the respondent. Respondents shall indicate their business size, socio-economic status and the extent for which they can include Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, HUBZone Small Business, Women-owned, Veteran-owned, or 8(a) participation in any potential resulting procurement. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 334220 and the small business size standard is 750 Employees. Comments are also requested on the acquisition strategy described in this synopsis, e.g., the suitability of the requirement as a total small business set-aside; LSI approach; pricing methodology; potential incentive terms; any suggested evaluation factors, etc. Respondents are requested to provide a corporate capability statement that explains: 1) their technical capability to meet the Government's requirements either as a manufacturer of the required communication systems or as an LSI, including experience with and demonstrated capability to provide products and services required, 2) availability of staff with the expertise required, 3) past performance in development and production of these types of communication devices, and 4) any potential subcontracting arrangements that may be used in a requirement such as this. The capability statement shall also include the respondent???s website address, all applicable NAICS codes, number of employees, and annual revenue for the last three fiscal years. 4.0 RESPONSES 4.1 Responses to this synopsis in Microsoft Office 2000 compatible or Adobe PDF format are due no later than 26 January 2006 and should not exceed five pages excluding any advertising materials such as company brochures or comments on the acquisition strategy. Unclassified responses shall be submitted via e- mail only to karen.rainville@navy.mil. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become government property and will not be returned. Industry respondents should also include a statement that the respondent has a signed Proprietary Data Protection Agreement (PDPA) with Anteon, Booz Allen Hamilton, Predicate Logic and Tele-Consultants Inc. (TCI), that would permit these support contractors to review and evaluate responses submitted in response to this synopsis. If no such PDPA exists, respondents should execute a PDPA with the aforementioned contractors supporting SPAWAR in technical evaluations. For information on how to contact support contractors e-mail Karen Rainville at karen.rainville@navy.mil. For a sample PDPA please see Attachment 1. 4.2 A similar Sources Sought Notice, SPAWAR_Headquarters_MKTSVY_2046E, was posted on November 12, 2003 as well as an RFI posted February 16, 2005 under N00039-05-R-0021. Respondents who have previously submitted information should also respond to this Sources Sought as the information gleaned from this synopsis may directly affect future procurements for CSD. 4.3 Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail only to karen.rainville@navy.mil. Verbal questions will not be accepted. Questions will be answered via posting answers to the SPAWAR E-Commerce Central Website; accordingly, questions shall not contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions submitted after 23 January 2006, 2:00 PM PST would be answered. To access the SPAWAR E-Commerce Central website, go to https://e- commerce.spawar.navy.mil. Click on Headquarters; then Future Opportunities; then click on the yellow folder to the left of N00039-06-R-0007 to view other information related to this RFI. Interested parties are invited to subscribe to the SPAWAR website to ensure they receive any important information updates connected with this Sources Sought. To subscribe, click on N00039-06-R-0007; then click on "Subscribe" near the top of the screen, and follow the directions provided.
- 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=17B3124AF80EEFCF882570DF007E818A&editflag=0)
- Record
- SN00957258-W 20051224/051222212709 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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