US Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), PGAS, Procurement Operations Division, 1325 East West Highway, Station 4301, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3283

67 -- HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTER STUDY SOL 43-AAEX-7-09009 POC Joel Perlroth, Contract Specialist, and Diane C. Husereau, Contracting Officer The United States maintains export controls on high performance computers (HPC) as part of a U.S.- Japan bilateral arrangement on export controls, and as part the multilateral export controls required by the Wassenaar Arrangement. Within the U.S. Government, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) is responsible for administering the U.S. export control program for dual-use goods and technologies, which include HPC.The pace of development in computer technology continues to accelerate in a global security environment marked by great change. To this end, many of these changes have important consequences for computer-based applications that constitutechallenges to U.S. national security. Indeed, HPC are important tools for developing and operating advanced military systems. In order to monitor the evolving HPC market and support potential export policy decisions, the Interagency Working Group on Nonproliferation and Export Controls, chaired by the National Security Council, directed that a study be conducted that would examine important aspects of HPC technology and usage, including (1) the potential application of computers to various national security problems; and (2) the availability of comparable capabilities outside the United States of HPC's and related subsystems. This study is intended to update the findings of the November 1995 report entitled Building on the Basics: An Examination of High Performance Computing Export Control Policy in the 1990s, as issued by the Center for International Security and Arms Control at Stanford University.2.0 SCOPE OF WORK Task 1: Building on the findings of, and using the methodology developed in Building on the Basics: An Examination of High Performance Computing Export Control Policy in the 1990s, the study should identify computer technology developments and trends which affect the ability to effectively control HPC technology and related systems. This should include a forecast of the HPC computer market assessment from 1997-2000 (e.g., demand by end use, U.S. and foreign suppliers, and external sales markets). Other considerations should address development cycles, number of units, distribution networks and size, and scalability of systems fielded. Where possible, the Contractor shall develop quantitative measures of difficulty and risk associated with HPC controllability, and shall apply those measures to various representative classes of HPC. Task 2: The study should also identify a minimum of five current and future national security applications which use HPC. For each application, a determination should be made as to whether there is a threshold of computing power required for the application below which the application cannot be performed at a reasonable standard of success. Emphasis should be placed on the following applications: 1) support for conventional military operations such as advancing situational awareness (processing satellite-transmitted imagery and data), disseminating intelligence, improving operational planning, development of advanced operational concepts through simulation; and, 2) research and development, test and evaluation, and production of conventional weapons. 3.0 DELIVERABLES Deliverables will be as follows, in accordance with a mutually agreed schedule: Informal briefings will be provided on an ongoing basis as requested, and monthly written summaries of progress will be provided by the contractor to the Departments of Commerce and Defense: beginning (+ 2 months from contract award date), Major progress review and briefing: (+ 6 months from contract award date), Preliminary findings and briefing: (+ 8 months from contract award date), Final briefing of results: (+ 10 months from contract award date), Final written report: (+ 11 months from contract award date) 3.1 The Departments of Commerce and Defense reserve the right to review any version of the report that is intended for publication by the contractor or any subcontractors, to ensure that any business proprietary information used will be appropriately protected and that no classified information is included in the published version. Such review will be conducted prior to publication. The necessary analytical and organization expertise in HPC technologies and applications, the offeror shall: a.) Demonstrate in-depth analytical experience with the technical and policy aspects of export controls on HPC, as evidenced by published technical papers, reports, and analyses on this subject; b.) Demonstrate broad knowledge of, and access to, the U.S. and foreign HPC-producing and marketing companies, including the ability to gather and analyze proprietary marketing and technical data directly related to the HPC product development cycle in accordance with the methodology outlined in the November 1995, report entitled Building on the Basics: An Examination of High Performance Computing Export Control Policy in the 1990s, issued by the Center for International Security and Arms Control at Stanford University; c.) Provide a proposed outline of inquiry, including specific contacts to be used and data to be gathered, from the Department of Defense (including all branches of the Armed Services as necessary), the Department of Energy and its laboratories, and the Department of Commerce in order to complete tasks 1 and 2; and d.) (along with any subcontractors as necessary) Possess valid U.S. Government security clearances at a level of Secret or above, which may be used in conducting research with representatives of, and in facilities maintained by, the Department of Defense (including all branches of the Armed Services as necessary), the Department of Energy and its laboratories, and the Department of Commerce in order to complete tasks 1 and 2 as outlined in section 2.(1). All interested sources shall respond by submitting a written narrative statement of capability, including detailed technical information where applicable. This information shall be sent to the procuring office within 15 days from the date of this synopsis. Please reference the following number in your response: 43-AAEX-7-09009. (0318)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0151 19961114\67-0001.SOL)