Phillips Laboratory/PKVC, Directorate of Contracting, 2251 Maxwell Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5773

A -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) - COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS VIA SATELLITES AS APPLIED TO MILITARY USES POC PL/VTRA, Teresa Hinojosa, Project Officer, (505)846-4287 or Monica Obermier, Project Offocer, (505) 846-5102. This RFI shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal or as an obligation on the part of the Government for any follow-on acquisition. The Government does not intend to award any contract on the basis of this RFI, or otherwise pay for information solicited. No entitlement for payment of direct costs, indirect costs, or charges including postage and shipping, shall arise as a result due to submission of the respondents information and the use of such. All information submitted in response to this RFI shall be unrestricted and unclassified. Other than the information provided in this RFI, there is no additional written documentation available to support the information contained herein. Phillips Laboratory, Active Sensors Branch, Space Communications Group (PL/VTRA) is evaluating the suitability of existing or soon to be fielded commercial satellite communication systems for government applications. The communication systems of interest would have the following features: (1) Mobile, easily transportable communication handsets; (2) Operational within the next five years; and (3) Both voice and data transmission. PL/VTRA is interested in design information which would allow it to judge the usability of these systems for military applications, including performance with some degree of signal security including jam-proofing and low probability of intercept. In a separate part of the study, VTRA will be collecting and evaluating the RF environment in which such performance is required. For those companies participating in this evaluation, VTRA will share RF environmental data that is collected from multiple locations. Companies interested in responding to this RFI, are requested to provide a white paper, limited to five (5) pages, describing their system as it pertains to the features listed above, including launch dates and status of FCC licensee. Companies will be selected based on the technical merit of their systems as evaluated by PL/VTRA. Subsequent discussions will be held with those selected companies to develop a forum for technical interchange. To be most useful for the VTRA study purposes, the Government requests limited access to company simulators and preliminary system design. Please provide your concurrence with your response to the RFI. Information (data) submitted to the Government will be protected to the extent permitted by law, but the Government assumes no liability for the use or disclosure of information. All companies will be notified of their selection status. Two copies of your response should be submitted within 18 days from publication of this RFI. Submit responses to Phillips Laboratory, VTRA, Attn: Teresa Hinojosa or Monica Obermier, 3550 Aberdeen Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5776. Faxes to (505) 846-5805 are acceptable. (0144)

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