MODIFICATION
58 -- Request for Information for Airborne Wideband MILSATCOM Terminal. Seeking input to formulate operational concepts and to understand operational cost savings associated with maximizing use of the WGS resource.
- Notice Date
- 10/4/2012
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 334220
— Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, ESC - Electronic Systems Center, 9 Eglin Street, Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts, 01731, United States
- ZIP Code
- 01731
- Solicitation Number
- VIPSAM
- Point of Contact
- Valeta A Miller, Phone: 7812715067, Bill Lyons, Phone: 781-271-5028
- E-Mail Address
-
valeta.miller@hanscom.af.mil, bill.lyons@hanscom.af.mil
(valeta.miller@hanscom.af.mil, bill.lyons@hanscom.af.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Airborne Wideband Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) Terminal Request for Information (RFI) THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) is seeking information. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue a RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Air Force is not seeking proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs 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 is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps.gov) website and is envisioned to be a US only corporation opportunity. It is the responsibility of the potential Responders to monitor the FedBizOpps.gov site for additional information pertaining to this requirement. The Air Force is formulating contract approaches for combining Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) Military Ka-band/Commercial Ka-band airborne SATCOM terminal system, and is seeking industry input to formulate operational concepts and to understand operational cost savings associated with maximizing use of the WGS resource. Additionally, the Government requests industry recommendations for business case formulation associated with transitioning from existing Ku-Band Aero Mobile Satellite Services (AMSS) systems to alternative Ka AMSS systems to include maximum utilization of WGS. The approach must also include an interoperability roadmap between WGS and their respective commercial satellite system. These business case formulations should consider the relative cost benefit of commercial best effort AMSS with fair use policies and commercially managed, private government AMSS. As part of the Air Force's risk reduction activities, the Air Force is considering requiring Offerors to submit an airworthy prototype terminal system (modem, antenna, and ancillary components such as HPA, etc.) for an open architecture solution to be delivered, and tested, in a standardized ground-based Government test environment (configuration details are TBD at this time) at a single TBD laboratory location. Open architecture implies releasable specifications for all system signal and control interfaces with the intent to ensure interoperability for Aero Mobile Satellite Service (AMSS) competition. If a complete prototype system is not available, Offerors can submit functional terminal elements (modem at a minimum) to be integrated with an Air Force prototype low-profile airborne antenna developed by the Advanced Multi-Band Communications Antenna System (AMCAS) program. The Government selected prototype terminal will be installed in an operationally-representative military aircraft to be tested over-the-air using WGS and Commercial Ka-band satellite including separate WGS and commercial ground station hub/controllers. It is envisioned that the results of the prototype testing would be used to demonstrate maturity of COTS Military Ka-band/Commercial Ka-band airborne SATCOM terminal systems. Therefore, Offeror prototype terminals or functional elements must be functional and operational as they will be tested over-the-air. Based upon the information presented in this RFI, the Government requests the following information: 1. Would industry be supportive of submitting a prototype terminal to be tested in over-the-air demonstrations using WGS Ka-band/Commercial Ka-band installed in operationally-representative military aircraft at their own expense, as a method of demonstrating that their proposed solution is technologically mature? If a complete prototype terminal is not available, then, would industry be supportive of submitting functional terminal elements (modem at a minimum) to be integrated with the prototype AMCAS low-profile antenna? Is your waveform a MIL-STD waveform? In addition, would industry be supportive of providing commercial satellite capacity for the over-the-air proof-of-concept demonstrations? 2. Describe an operational concept(s) using your AMSS system in conjunction with maximizing use of WGS. The Government requests industry recommendations for business case formulation to include draft costing information (if available) associated with transitioning from existing Ku-Band AMSS systems to alternative Ka AMSS systems to include maximum utilization of WGS. The approach must also include an interoperability roadmap between WGS and their respective commercial satellite system. These business case formulations should consider the relative cost benefit of commercial best effort AMSS with fair use policies and commercially managed, private government AMSS. 3. Describe possible configurations that you believe would be at a TRL6 by FY14 that could support the following characteristics: a. Frequency Range: WGS and Commercial Ka-band b. Antenna Coverage: Hemispheric c. Data Rates: 1 - 5 Mbps (TX/RX) d. Antenna Group (size, weight, and power needs - SWaP) i. Antenna height (max): 6.5 inches ii. Radome Height (max): 7.5 inches iii. Antenna pedestal and aperture weight (max): 68 pounds e. Antenna Support Electronics (SWaP) i. HPA, ACU, Up/Dn Convertors, etc. combined weight (max): 35 lbs f. Airborne Qualified Modem (SWaP) i. Form Factor: < 1 ATR short ii. Weight: <25 lbs To assist the Government in gaining more insight into industry experience in accomplishing this kind of work, Responders who submit responses to this notice are requested to also provide the following information: 1. Knowledge of/experience with developing, manufacturing, testing, and/or installing complex military SATCOM systems onboard aircraft. 2. Demonstrated evidence of robust systems engineering discipline, systems analysis, and modeling and simulation experience. 3. Experience with the design, development, and test of equipment designated for airborne environments. Any experience associated with in-flight satellite acquisition and tracking would also be desired. 4. Experience with and/or ability in providing commercial satellite access. An Industry Day has been scheduled for 8:00am PT, 25 October 2012 at the following address: Los Angeles AFB, 2310 E. El Segundo Blvd. El Segundo, CA 90245 in building/room D8 1010. Preliminary responses to this RFI are requested no later than 4:00 p.m. 18 October 2012. Final responses to this RFI are requested no later than 4:00 p.m. 22 November 2012. Contractors should limit their response to a maximum of 50 pages. Submit your responses via email to Mark Tsarouha at tsarouha@mitre.org and Valeta Miller at valeta.miller@hanscom.af.mil. We remind firms interested in pursuing this opportunity in any prime, subcontractor, or teaming arrangement capacity of their responsibility to ensure they address and take steps to avoid and/or mitigate potential Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) issues. This is especially important if a firm is presently supporting the Government through an Advisory and Assistance Services contract. Guidance is found in FAR Part 9 - Contractor Qualifications, and possibly OCI clauses in other Government contracts your firm may have. A potential OCI issue exists for any firm that has personnel in any of the divisions working under contract for the Government and, therefore, through them has access to any related information originating either from the Government or from other interested firms. Such firms should examine any support contracts it has in place with the Government for provisions addressing OCI issues. A firm finding it has a potential OCI situation must submit, and have approved, a mitigation plan prior to engaging in any activities related to this acquisition. Since the approval process can be lengthy and approval of any plan is not assured, it is highly recommended that potential OCI identification and resolution processes begin in the pre-award phase as possible. An OCI may result in the canceling of an order or determining an Offeror to be ineligible for award. Firms should contact Bill Lyons at bill.lyons@hanscom.af.mil with any questions on this matter. Contractors planning to attend Industry Day should provide the following Visitor Request information for those who will be attending: Full legal name Organization Citizenship Status To ensure timely processing and coordination with Aerospace, provide the above information no later thatn 12pm EST on October 17, 2012 to Mr. Bill Lyons via the email address below. One-on-ones will be held in the afternoon of October 25, 2012. For scheduling purposes please indicate in your initial submission whether or not you want to participate in one-on-ones and the number of people attending.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/ESC/VIPSAM/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Various, United States
- Record
- SN02908579-W 20121006/121004235244-19b4975d205ef277a30da3836412a119 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |