Contracts Group, Bldg 588, Mail Stop 32, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, MD 20670-5304

A -- MODULAR AVIONICS INTEGRATION NETWORK (MAIN)/MODULAR AVIONICS INTEGRATION LABORATORY (MAIL) CAPABILITIES SOL N00421-97-RFI-5000 POC Mr. Michael J. Klem; Technical Point of Contact E-MAIL: Email address for Technical Point of Contact, KLEM_MIKE%PAX5A@MR.NAWCAD.NAVY.MIL. This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this synopsis or to otherwise pay for the information requested under this synopsis. This is NOT a request for proposal (RFP) or an invitation for bid, merely a request for information only. The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) through its Avionics Department (AIR-4.5) is interested in obtaining information from industry in response to its future establishment of a Modular Avionics Integration Laboratory (MAIL). NAVAIR is reviewing ways of improving its avionics engineering capabilities. One major enhancement under consideration is the establishment of a MAIL capability to be utilized as part of the Naval Air systems development and acquisition process and to be shared with industry. This added laboratory capability would expand upon and further integrate existing Navy laboratory facilities to provide improved capability for avionics systems demonstration, prototyping, and integration. The initial implementation of MAIL is planned for the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Aircraft Division at Patuxent River, MD. This laboratory capability will be linked to the existing Air Combat Environment Test and Evaluation Facility (ACETEF), currently in operation at Patuxent River, to provide the Navy with a higher fidelity environment for avionics systems development. An allied concept under consideration is called the Modular Avionics Integration Network (MAIN). The MAIN concept seeks to improve the NAWC's overall airborne electronics systems capabilities by networking together laboratory/simulation facilities at its Aircraft Division (Patuxent River) together with laboratory/simulation facilities at the major Weapons Division complexes at China Lake, CA and Point Mugu, CA. Linking the laboratory capabilies at these three development centers is envisioned to enhance the total development/simulation capability as a whole and to increase the overall effectiveness and utilization of each of the laboratories involved. Ultimately, the concept envisions a local MAIL capability at each of the development centers with principal emphasis: Avionics Integration (Patuxent River), Avionic-Weapons Integration (China Lake), and Avionics-Electronic Warfare Integration (Pt. Mugu). Through capabilities provided by the MAIN, these three sites can be linked so that certain projects can be shared by two or more of the development centers. An important element of the MAIN/MAIL concept is industry participation. The Navy anticipates that shared Industry/Government use of the laboratory/networking capability, under consideration, could serve as an important aid to industry for interfacing with the Navy, to provide industry avionics developers with a government-located, development, test and demonstration capability, provide a capability to perform prototype systems integration risk assessment studies (especially for commercial off the shelf (COTS) products), and to promote more effective joint government-industry Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) in the future. An important added feature of the MAIL would be the capability to test and evaluate avionics/electronics systems on a "hot bench" capable facility from multiple subsystems down to the module level. A "System of Systems" concept is envisioned in which a number of avionics subsystem functions formerly packaged in discrete enclosures or "black boxes" would be combined/integrated into a modular based integrated systems architecture. The MAIL would be utilized in this fashion to support the transition of naval avionics from the current federated configurations to the standardized modular open architecture required to meet future requirements. Navy involvement in avionics architecture standardization includes participation in the current efforts of the DoD Open System Task Force (OSTF) to facilitate a transition to open systems avionics architectures. Activities of the OSTF for standardization of the "Avionics Domain" includes evaluation of the Generic Open Architecture (GOA) model as an open systems basis for the development of government avionics systems and the identification of a set of recommended standards that define the avionics domain. OSTF avionics standardization is being conducted under the Society of Avionics Engineers (SAE) Avionics Systems Division (ASD). NAVAIR engineers participate in the avionics standardization activities of the SAE and this participation would be supported by use of the MAIN/MAIL capability to evaluate avionics standards under consideration. NAVAIR (AIR-4.5) is seeking information from industry avionics components, subsystem and system developers and avionics integrators to ascertain the potential value of the MAIL capability for improving the avionics systems development/acquisition process. Response to this RFI requires submission of answers to a series of questions listed below. It is requested that Industry representatives with possible future interest in using the MAIL/MAIN capability provide responses to these questions within 35 days of the publication of this synopsis. Industry comments on the MAIL/MAIN will have an important bearing on our decision to implement this capability and on potential future development plans. Detailed responses are welcomed. 1. Does your organization feel that MAIL/MAIN would support government/industry cooperation in developing, selecting and refining open architecture standards for avionics? In what ways would MAIL/MAIN aid the process? Does your organization believe that the presence/availability of the MAIL/MAIN facility would aid or hinder the attempt to build greater cooperation through government-contractor IPT process? Please explain your answer. 2. One of the MAIL/MAIN proposed purposes is to provide a facility in a government location to demonstrate new commercial technologies and to support risk reduction engineering studies to resolve potential integration issues for prototype systems. Do you believe that the availability of the MAIL/MAIN capability would be of interest and potential value to Industry avionics developers, and would your organization be interested in using such a capability? If your answer is affirmative, how would you propose to use the MAIL/MAIN capability and what value would you expect to obtain from its use? Would your firm be willing to pay (or share) support costs for your use of the MAIL/MAIN? If so, please elaborate. 3. The use of Government/Industry Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRDAs) is one method by which government and industry can partner for shared innovative developments. Has your organization ever participated in a development/demonstration program under a CRDA? If so was the experience successful and/or rewarding for your organization? Please explain. Do you feel that the proposed MAIL/MAIN provides a suitable platform for potential CRDAs? If so, please elaborate with any general (or specific) concepts that you have for such use. 4. Generalized planning for the MAIL capability includes a spread hot bench capability with diagnostic tools to evaluate connectivity, data latencies, processor benchmarking and various other systems performance criteria. The laboratory would have available and/or linkage to various sensor simulations, stimulation signals etc. Has your organization had experience in using such a facility? Has your organization developed and/or configured such a facility? If your answer is affirmative to either or both questions please elaborate. What recommendations would you make for configuring a MAIL facility? What generic kinds of equipment do you consider essential? Please elaborate. What recommendations do you have for improving the efficiency of such a facility through automation, data handling, etc.? 5. Effectiveness of the MAIN/MAIL concepts is heavily dependent on networking capabilities. Local area networks (LANs) and data buses are suitable for networking together elements of the MAIL. To achieve the full capability of the MAIN concept requires long distance links/networks between the three Navy development centers identified. Has your organization participated in planning, developing, and/or implementing the kinds of links/networks required to achieve the connectivity required for the MAIN and the MAIL? If you have this type of experience what suggestions would you offer? Do you have "lessons learned" experiences to relate? Please elaborate. 6. If there are further suggestions, comments, or queries that you would like to relay to the MAIL/MAIN planning team, please include them in your response. A list will be compiled of organizations that fully respond to this RFI and provide written answers to the questions posed. NAVAIR will communicate a summary of the responses to this RFI to all respondents as soon as responses have been collated and analyzed. Responses to this questionaire will be treated as company confidential. The distributed summary positions will be generalized, with no organization's position specifically identified by name. (0191)

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