Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AAC -- Air Armament Center, AAC/PK, 205 West D Avenue, Suite 433, Eglin AFB, FL, 32542-6864

A -- PLUG AND PLAY (P2) PARTICIPANT PACKAGE PROGRAM SOL F08635-00-R-0044 DUE 062300 POC Elmer Bonnell, Contracting Specialist, Phone (850)882-9391 ext. 5061, Fax (850)882-3130, Email bonnelle@eglin.af.mil -- Roland Baez, Contracting Officer, Phone (850)882-9391 ext 5050, Fax (850)882-3130, Email WEB: Visit this URL for the latest information about this, http://www.eps.gov/cgi-bin/WebObjects/EPS?ACode=M&ProjID=F08635-00-R-0 044&LocID=1182. E-MAIL: Elmer Bonnell, bonnelle@eglin.af.mil. A -- INTRODUCTION: ONLY ITEMS CHANGED ARE IN BOLD PRINT. THIS AMENDMENT DOES NOT CHANGE THE PROPOSAL DUE DATE. Air Armament Center, Range Instrumentation System Program Office (AAC/WMRR) hereby requests proposals for the Plug and Play (P2) Participant Package Program. Award(s), under this solicitation, will follow the general guidelines and methodology used for a Program Research and Development Announcements (PRDAs), in accordance with procedures in AFMC FAR Sup Part 5335. Since this is a PRDA, there will be no formal request for proposal or other solicitation regarding this announcement. Offerors should be alert for any PRDA amendments that may be published. The Government reserves the right to amend the due date to allow for subsequent proposal submission dates. If sufficient proposals are selected to satisfy the PRDA objectives as a result of the first submission, subsequent opportunities for proposal submission will not be available. Proposals in response to this announcement must be received no later than 3:00 p.m., CDT, on 23 June 2000. If using Federal Express, United Parcel Service, or if hand carrying, deliver to Source Selection Facility, Bldg. 373, Attn.: Mr. Roland Baez, Eglin AFB 32542. If mailing, send to AAC/WMRRK, Attn.: Mr. Roland Baez, 102 West D. Avenue, Suite 300, Eglin AFB, FL 32542-6808. This solicitation is restricted to U.S. firms. Proposals submitted after the cut-off date and time specified herein shall be treated in accordance with FAR 52-214-7, "Late Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawal of Bids (Nov 99)." A technical library, containing supplemental technical information, is available. For access to the RISPO Technical Library, a current DD 2345 is required. The library is located at SEMCOR, 368 Adams Avenue, Valparaiso, FL 32580, and contains hard copies of some current pod and interface documentation. Call SEMCOR, Mr. Bob North, at (850) 678-7887, to make an appointment and verify the DD2345 is on file. Offerors are advised that the Air Force has entered into contracts with TEAS and TAMS Contractors for services to provide technical, engineering, evaluation, and acquisition management support for Eglin activities. These individuals have signed Non-Disclosure statements and will be authorized access to only those portions of the proposal data and discussions that are necessary to enable them to perform their respective duties. By submission of your proposal, you agree that your proposal information may be disclosed to those selected individuals for the limited purpose stated above. Any information not intended for limited release to these individuals must be clearly marked and submitted segregated from other proposal material. It is the policy of AAC/WMRR to treat all proposals as privileged information prior to award, and to disclose the contents only for the purposes of evaluation and negotiation. The Offeror must indicate any limitation to be placed on disclosure of information contained in the proposal. The U.S. Air Force reserves the right to select for award one, several, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. Contractor(s) selected for award will participate in Phase I of this effort, which is the study effort described in this announcement. Important, additional information concerning Phase I can be found on our website. Based on the results of the Phase I study effort, a down-selection is contemplated and only selected offerors will asked to participate in Phase II, which is the demonstration effort. See Section D, Proposal Preparation Instructions, below for further details concerning Phases I and II. Offerors may contact the individuals on sections listed herein to obtain generally available clarification of technical/contractual issues and cost proposal format or pricing information. Points of contact at AAC/WMRR, 102 West D Avenue, Suite 300, Eglin AFB, FL 32542-6808 are: Contracting/Cost: Mr. Roland Baez, Contracting Officer, or Mr. Elmer Bonnell, Contract Specialist, (850) 882-9391, ext. 5050 and 5061, respectively; Technical: Mr. Thinh Nguyen, (850) 882-9391, ext. 5084; and Program Management: Joe Giangrosso, (850) 882-9391, ext. 5082. The fax number is (850) 882-3130. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear serious concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. The Ombudsman does not diminish the authority of the program director or Contracting Officer, but communicates Contractor concerns, issues, disagreements and recommendations to the appropriate Government personnel. When requested, the Ombudsman shall maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the source selection process. Matters of a routine or administrative nature concerning this acquisition should not be addressed to the Ombudsman but rather to the Contracting Officer, Contract Specialist, or the Program Manager previously identified. For any other concerns, interested parties may call the AAC Ombudsman, Dr. Mario J. Caluda, (850) 882-5558, at AAC/CD, 101 W Eglin D Avenue, Suite 123, Eglin AFB, FL 32425-5495. B -- REQUIREMENTS: (1) Technical Description: The purpose of this program is to prove the concepts for an open architecture participant package and allow for easier replacement of future technologies. Interface standards between major modules in the participant package will be defined based on common use commercial standards in order to maximize the use of Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) modules or components. An open architecture will allow leveraging of commercial technology developments with minimum Research and Development costs. The system must have the flexibility to respond to day-to-day mission changes of the major DOD test and training range instrumentation programs. An open architecture P2 Participant Package will address the needs for enhanced test & training instrumentation capabilities, enhanced flexibility for test & training missions, lower cost, smaller size, lower power requirements, and facilitate internally mounted systems as well as pod mounted systems. (2) Requirements. (a) The Phase 1 study effort will include defining interface standards for interchanging modules of a typical test and training airborne instrumentation system. The study will consist of an investigation of existing and future test and training instrumentation hardware and software interfaces, and defining the open architecture and protocols along with standard interfaces. The output of Phase 1 will be a detailed report describing: . The work effort, including the key issues that are addressed and the rationale for the recommended approach to the P2 Participant Package architecture. Alternative approaches that were considered and dismissed will also be presented and rationale provided for why they were dropped from consideration. . An interoperable P2 Participant Package architecture with the flexibility needed for test and training. . A delineation of key interfaces that need to be defined. . A basis of giving the government better configuration control by controlling the interface specifications and being able to use non-proprietary standard interfaces. . A common architecture that supports both existing field capabilities, and future capabilities of the next generation systems. (b) The intent of this program is to develop a foundation for future instrumentation procurement programs. The following capabilities should be addressed in the development of the P2 participant package: . Modular state-of-the-art GPS and Inertial Systems with advanced capabilities, including SAASM. _ Real-time Kinematic sub-meter accuracy _ Wide Area GPS enhancement (WAGE) and other accuracy enhancement software processing capabilities, (available to P(Y)-code GPS receivers only) _ Up to 50 Hz TSPI downlink and recording for test purposes _ Jam resistant GPS receivers _ Lower cost TSPI systems with modular components that can be adapted to meet the mission requirements. _ Multiple configurations of GPS receivers and inertials depending on the training and test mission requirements _ GPS Receivers that incorporates the Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) architecture. _ GPS receivers that are capable of processing the new military M-code signals when they become available. . Enhanced Computer Processor Module with the flexibility to selectively record bus data and have the capability to run weapon simulations in the participant package. In addition this module should be able to interface with a variety of GPS receivers and inertial systems. . Flexible data link modules to operate in different frequency bands with flexibility to meet ever-changing test requirements. The data link components must be designed to be spectrally efficient with low noise levels and a high data rate capability. Due to the continuing shrinkage in the allowable spectrum frequency bands for military data links, the data link components must be designed for maximum flexibility and spectral efficiency and must have the capability to be tuned into different frequency bands to meet different mission requirements. . Enhanced and flexible recording systems using removable COTS recording media. . Adaptability to use a variety of encryption devices or no encryption device depending on the mission requirements. . Advanced antennas. _ Combined GPS/data link antenna _ Low observability _ Conformal/wrap around configurations . Adaptability for transmission and recording of full-bandwidth and compressed video. . Enhanced power distribution. (d) Minimal use of proprietary data and markings is preferred. It is envisioned that the final study phase results will become releasable information to DOD and DOD contractors. (3) Deliverable Items: The deliverable data items shall be DI-MISC-80508/T, Technical Report -- Study/Services, DI-NDTI-80566/T, Test/Demo Plan, and DI-NDTI-80809B/T, Test/Inspection/Demo Report. See web-site for preparation and delivery instructions. C -- ADDITIONAL PHASE I INFORMATION: (1) Anticipated award: Late Jul 00. (2) Anticipated Period of Performance: Late Jul through 31 Oct 00. (3) Funding Estimate: The total funding available for Phase I is $275K. That amount will be divided among the offerors selected for award. Phase I is a Firm Fixed Price effort. (4) Type of Agreement: The use of the innovative type of Agreement known as a "PRDA" will be used. This type of Agreement allows a great deal more flexibility and has far fewer regulatory requirements than a typical Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contract. (5) Government Furnished Property (GFP): It is the Offeror's responsibility to identify any equipment to be used whether Contractor-owned and furnished or Government-owned and furnished. The Government will assist in providing Government-owned property as appropriate and if available. Depending on the GFP requested, Offerors may require authorization/permission to use certain components. D -- PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: Proposals submitted must be in accordance with the requirements of this announcement and the additional proposal preparation instructions on the web-site. Responses should reference the PRDA number WMRRK-00-0001. Additional supplemental technical information, including an expanded technical description "white paper", and Phase II requirements, have been posted on the P2 home page found at http://www.eps.gov. E -- PROPOSAL EVALUATION: The selection of one or more sources for contract award shall be based on scientific and engineering evaluation of the proposals in response to this PRDA. Proposals will be evaluated as received using the factors given below. The underlined areas in each factor should be considered the key elements in the factor. Each proposal will be subjectively evaluated by the Government as to whether or not the proposal meets the minimum government expectations for the factors listed below, or exceeds government expectations in cases where innovative ideas and concepts are proposed. No further evaluation criteria will be used in selecting the proposals. Basis for Phase I award rests on how well the proposed program addresses the following factors (all weighted equally): TECHNICAL FACTORS: (1) Definition of a flexible, open architecture P2 participant package which provides for the best growth capability, and also supports the efficient and economical replacement of obsolete parts, insertion of state-of-the-art technology, and provides flexibility for future capabilities and instrumentation needs. (2) Approach presented provides for the maximum interoperability of pods and internal instrumentation components or signals used for instrumenting participants on the joint test and training ranges, and allows for the maximum use of common components on the ranges. (3) Clear definition of key P2 participant package interfaces, including recommendations for the optimum plug and play architecture, or optimum architectures if more than one are considered feasible, and a clear identification of all risk areas. (4) Systems engineering approach that demonstrates an understanding of the various test and training range participant system components. Describes an architecture that will ensure the maximum use of COTS modules and components, and minimizes the requirements for hardware and/or software modifications in order to change instrumentation configurations. (5) An innovative system design concept, which is well defined and sound, embracing the latest state-of-the-art technology and common industry standards. Concept provides the government with a basic architecture for the economical production of future plug-and-play participant packages. (6) Initial study proposal describes the capabilities and relevant technical experience of the study group, with a summary of the reasons why the study group has been determined to be technically qualified to participate in studying and reporting on the interface standards for the P2 participant package. The technical evaluation will rank proposals into three categories as defined and required by AFMC FAR Supplement 35.016(d). The three categories are as follows: (1) Category 1: Category 1 proposals must be well-conceived, scientifically and technically sound, pertinent to program goals ands objectives, and offered by a responsible contractor with the competent scientific and technical staff and supporting resources needed to ensure satisfactory program results. Category I proposals are recommended for acceptance (subject to availability of funds) and normally will be displaced only by other Category 1 proposals. (2) Category II: Category II proposals are scientifically or technically sound but may require further development. They can be recommended for acceptance, but are a lower priority than Category 1. Proposals in this category are not usually funded. (3) Category III: Category III proposals are not recommended for award. PAST PERFORMANCE FACTOR: The government will evaluate your present and past performance as an overall assessment of your capability to perform as you proposed. This evaluation will consider the information provided in your Past Performance Volume and any other information that is available. The currency and relevance of the information, source of the information, context of the data, and the general trends in your performance will be evaluated. COST: It is anticipated that cost will be negotiated with selected offerors ranked in Category I technical ratings. Offerors must divide their proposed Statement of Work into severable tasks in order to facilitate the Government negotiating a price for part, or all, of their proposal. A FFP price for the demonstration must be included with the proposal. CONCLUSION OF PHASE I: At the conclusion of the Phase I, the contractor shall provide a study report and a preliminary demonstration plan. Posted 05/26/00 (D-SN459281). (0147)

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