Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203-1714

A -- SMALL UNIT OPERATION PROGRAM (SUO/SAS) INDUSTRY BRIEFING POC Jill Dunlap, Phone (703) 351-7755, Fax (703) 527-3199, jill.dunlap@cpmx.saic.com DARPA will hold an industry briefing on Thursday, January 29, 1998 from 0800-1800 at the Doubletree Hotel, Tysons Corner, VA to present information useful to potential bidders for Phases 2 & 3 of the Small Unit Operations (SUO) Situation Awareness System (SAS) development, integration, test and demonstration program. At this briefing DARPA will present its program objectives and describe its vision of the technical and performance characteristics of the Situation Awareness System. In addition, information will be presented on other related DARPA programs and the SAS acquisition strategy, schedule, and funding plans. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of the SUO SAS program is to develop a communications and situation awareness system for tactical ad hoc connectivity among widely dispersed dismounted (occasional supported with vehicles) maneuvering individual warfighters operating in highly restrictive environments (urban, mountainous, heavily forested). The system will incorporate capabilities for robust highly reliable secure communications, position determination, navigation, organic sensor control, and situation awareness while inside and/or adjacent to buildings, tunnels and other urban structures, caves, mountainsides, natural overhangs, and under double canopy foliage. The system will have communication modes with very low probability of detection, low probability of interception, low probability of exploitation and high jam resistance. The information must be delivered reliably and in a timely manner. In addition, the SAS will provide individual warfighters, team leaders, and other leaders up to the battalion headquarters, with the appropriate level of tactical planning, tasking, and controlling capabilities through software applications resident within the SAS. DARPA expects to see applications that are tailored to the warfighter's role and mission. The basic system will be designed to support deployments of 1 -- 70 small teams of 8 -- 30 warfighters each operating overan area of approximately 200 sq km. This should be accomplished with minimal installed infrastructure. The SAS should have the capability of scaling upward to support larger teams and forces and larger areas of coverage. SAS DESCRIPTION: DARPA envisions three major physical components to the SAS. These are the Individual Warfighter System (IWS), the Warfighter's Tactical Associate (WTA), and Relays. (1) The IWS is envisioned as being worn by the individual soldier and having severe weight constraints (1 kg w/o batteries) and power (0.5 kg/day of batteries). It will provide the individual warfighter's primary means of communicating with his peers, and withlower and higher echelons. Human factors will be an extremely important attribute in designing this device. The IWS will need to incorporate some degree of message routing capability. It will most likely require a simple display suitable for the individual warfighter. Primary communications will be centered around reporting and receiving geolocation data, orders, calls for fire, and voice communications. Freeze frame images and motion imagery use are expected to occur infrequently. Affordability is an important objective, particularly for the IWS. DARPA has a production price objective of $5,000 (FY97$) per IWS when procured in quantities of 5,000. (2) The WTA provides greater processing power, router/server network services, more powerful communications, and hosts the SAS database and data correlation engine. The WTA might come in several varieties depending upon the contractor's system design and upon the role and mission of the user. For example, a battery operated, man-portable version might be used, while another version might be installed in a vehicle and operated using vehicle power. Another version might be configured to be air-deployed and another base station might be located at the battalion headquarters. The WTA will incorporate capabilities for receiving, displaying, storing, fusing, and disseminating battlespace intelligence information by way of freeze frame and motion imagery; text reports, alerts and orders; maps and map symbology; and secondary sensor data. (3) SAS relays will provide additional communications range and connectivity when military operations permit their use. These relays may come in a variety of sizes, power consumption, and capabilities. For example, an extremely small and inexpensive attritable (or recoverable) relay might be used to enhance communications during a foray into a building or tunnel. Large quantities of these might be needed to leave a communications trail. Air dropped, self-installing, autonomously operating relays that are powered by self-contained batteries may be used. SAS INTERFACE INFORMATION: SAS contractors will need to interface the SAS with internal SUO sensors (acoustics, video, magnetometer, ...) and algorithms that are currently under development by DARPA and other sources. We expect the SAS contractor to coordinate with these sensor contractors and to provide sufficient quantities of the sensors to demonstrate their integration with the SAS at the Phase 3 field demonstration. This means that the SAS contractors must design the interface with these sensors in Phase 2, and budget for, and procure them in Phase 3 for the field demonstration. In addition, the SAS will need to interface with other sensor and data sources that are external to the SAS but that have the capability of providing important information to the SAS equipped warfighter. These are sensor data sources such as BADD, JSTARS, Global Hawk and Predator, as well as communications sources such as SINCGARS. We expect the SAS contractors to include connectivity to these platforms and devices, and to incorporate their tailored data into the SAS. PROGRAM PLAN: The SUO SAS program has three phases. Phase 1 was managed by DARPA and consisted of a six month trade study effort that concluded in December 1997. The purpose of this phase was to explore potentially useful technologies and conduct initial trade studies. Five SAS contractor teams were selectedto perform this effort. The government has evaluated the results of this effort and has used the information to refine the system objectives presented in the System Capabilities Document (SCD) Revision 2.0 (DRAFT), which will be provided at the industry briefing. Phase 2 will be managed by DARPA. The objective of Phase 2, under full and open competition, is to (1) demonstrate key technology areas through lab tests, (2) refine the SAS system concept, (3) completely define the system specification, (4) design the SAS, (5) fully define all external and internal interfaces, (6) refine GFE/I requirements for Phase 3, and (7) refine the production unit price estimate. This phase will last twelve months. Approximately two contractor teams will be selected in an open competition. DARPA proposes to enter into an other transaction for prototype agreement for resultant awards. Phase 3 will be managed by DARPA. The objective of Phase 3 is to (1) complete the system detailed design, (2) build, integrate and test the SASto include its interface with external and legacy systems, (3) further refine the SAS unit price estimate, and (4) successfully demonstrate the system in a field demonstration. This phase will take approximately 24 months to complete and will begin following a down select from the Phase 2 contractors. At the conclusion of Phase 2, each of the Phase 2 contractors will be required to submit a Phase 3 proposal which updates the Phase 2 Agreement to include the Phase 3 effort. SCHEDULE: DARPA's intended schedule for the SAS program is: 1/29/98 -- Industry Briefing, 2/28/98 -- Issue Phase 2/3 Solicitation, 4/15/98 -- Proposals Due, 5/15/98 -- Award Agreements, 5/15/99 -- Phase 2 Complete, 6/15/99 -- Phase 3 Downselect, 9/30/01 -- Phase 3 Complete. FUNDING: For Phase 2, DARPA intends to enter into approximately two Agreements for approximately $10 million each. For Phase 3, DARPA intends to continue one Phase 2 contractor through the completion of Phase 3 for approximately $45 million additional funding. DARPA intends to use payable milestones in funding the Phase 2 and Phase 3 efforts. The government reserves the right to downselect to one contractor at any time during Phase 2 depending upon technical progress and availability of funds. INDUSTRY BRIEFING REGISTRATION: Due to the large response anticipated for this briefing, each company is limited to a maximum of 2 representatives. Large corporations may send 2 representatives per major division. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged to avoid long delays in registering on-site the morning of the briefing. Contact Ms Jill Dunlap at (703) 351-7755 (TEL), (703) 527-3199 (FAX), jill.dunlap@cpmx.saic.com (EMAIL) to pre-register. Provide the following information for each person attending the briefing: Name, Company/Division, Mailing Address, E-Mail Address, Tel #, Fax #. DARPA intends to make this bidders list public following the briefing. (0009)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0010 19980113\A-0010.SOL)