Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL -- Rome Research Site, AFRL/Information Directorate, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY, 13441-4514

A -- AFFORDABLE MOVING SURFACE TARGET ENGAGEMENT II (AMSTE II) SOL Reference-Number-PRDA-00-05-IFKPA POC Joetta Bernhard, Contracting Officer, Phone (315) 330-2308, Fax (315) 330-7790, Email bernhard@rl.af.mil WEB: Visit this URL for the latest information about this, http://www.eps.gov/cgi-bin/WebObjects/EPS?ACode=P&ProjID=Reference-Num ber-PRDA-00-05-IFKPA&LocID=1142. E-MAIL: Joetta Bernhard, bernhard@rl.af.mil. Points of Contact: Stephen Welby, DARPA Program Manager, (703) 248-1545, email swelby@darpa.mil; Jon S. Jones, AFRL Program Manager, (315) 330-1665, email jonesj@rl.af.mil; Joetta A. Bernhard, Contracting Officer, (315) 330-2308, email bernhard@rl.af.mil. The DARPA Special Projects Office (SPO) and the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, Information and Intelligence Exploitation Division are seeking firms to conduct research and development of innovative concepts and techniques for the engagement of moving surface targets. The overall objective of the Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE) program is to develop, integrate and demonstrate system technologies required for the precision engagement of moving surface threats from long range, to maintain positive track on these targets and to rapidly engage these moving targets with stand-off weapons. Characteristics of AMSTE System: Key characteristics of the operational AMSTE system include: all-weather engagement; rapid, high-confidence targeting; and precision engagement. An all-weather engagement capability requires a radar solution, nominally a fusion of ground moving target indication (GMTI) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) modes. AMSTE targeting requires the ability to maintain threat track from initial target nomination through engagement. This implies robust extended-duration tracking approaches, perhaps using signature aided tracking techniques to disambiguate movers and maintain combat identification. Improved Battle Management Command, Control, and Communications (BM/C3) techniques and processes are required to coordinate and control the multiple elements needed to prosecute moving targets in a dynamic environment. This encompasses the algorithms and logic required to advance a target through the kill chain seamlessly, without creating an unrealistic operator workload. Precision engagement implies netted sensors and weapons to provide selectivity in engagement and end-game accuracy. Netted sensors are also critical for high confidence, long duration target tracking. Incorporation of the weapon into the engagement net implies a weapon concept that uses fire-control aim-point updates from the sensor network during its fly-out to achieve desired engagement accuracies against a maneuvering target. Improving end-game accuracy will maximize lethality and minimize collateral damage. Operation at long range with standoff weapons is required for system survivability. Overall Program Approach: The technologies needed to implement an AMSTE GMTI fire control system have matured to the point where they are ready to be integrated into an experimental system. These technologies, noted later, require integration at both the subsystem and system levels; i.e., platform integration and networking, to implement a system capable of field experimentation. AMSTE II, the subject of this PRDA, will develop such an AMSTE system capability and will perform basic field-testing and experimentation across a range of scenario conditions with this system. Two key elements recognized during the course of AMSTE I as requiring significant research and development were signature-aided tracking, which is needed for long duration, high confidence tracking, and advanced BM/C3, which is needed to match action/decision cycles with the dynamics of moving target engagement. It is expected that participants in AMSTE II will address both of these technical challenges within the course of this program. PRDA Goal: The purpose of this PRDA (AMSTE II) is to develop and integrate the system technologies into an experimental system that will be used to demonstrate the feasibility and potential of the AMSTE concept. AMSTE II is focused on the development of an advanced AMSTE capability and the employment of this capability in a series of increasing realistic system experiments. The AMSTE II contractor(s) are expected to develop the critical technologies required by the AMSTE concept and integrate them, as appropriate, into their experimental system. The system experiments will assess and demonstrate the value and tactical potential of a robust AMSTE system, identify the technological advances that offer the highest payoff and explore the critical technical issues associated with real-time precision fire control and high-confidence engagement-quality tracking. While there may be multiple approaches to solving the AMSTE problem, there is a set of common challenges that must be addressed by any AMSTE solution. These include: multi-sensor and weapon grid-locking and geo-registration, association, target tracking and estimation using multiple sensors of varying metric accuracy, update rates, viewing angles, and data links. Innovative techniques are sought which exploit all potentially available sensor and situational information including terrain-aided and target feature-aided techniques. Additionally, it is expected the contractor shall develop the algorithms to perform automated sensor, communications, and weapons control as part of the AMSTE II program. Data from field and other testing should, therefore, also support tracking and targeting algorithm development and sensor mode development. Especially sought are innovative system solutions to the AMSTE problem, which are robust to natural interference sources and enemy countermeasures, and represent a clear advancement to the state-of-the-art in terms of both performance and cost. AMSTE II participants will participate in a government led test working group, which will be responsible for the development and maintenance of experimentation and data collection plans to support the evaluation of recommended concepts/techniques. AMSTE II will emphasize the use of emerging sensor, weapon and platform technologies with modest or minimal requirements for AMSTE-specific modifications or upgrades. This implies the use of test bed sensors, weapons, communication, and low cost seekers representative of systems that are expected to be in the later stages of development by 2007. AMSTE will exploit recent advances in the state of the art, including high-range-resolution GMTI, highly accurate Global Positioning System/inertial navigation System (GPS/INS) navigation and weapon guidance, and highly capable, low-cost computers, to achieve improvements in engagement precision without requiring concomitant investment in sensor or seeker capabilities. No new platforms or weapons are desired, and the sensor net is expected to be implemented as a specialized use of existing communications systems such as JTIDS/Link 16. Experiment Descriptions: The yearly AMSTE II experiments are defined by the following themes: FY01 -- Airborne experimentation demonstrating precision fire control and weapon delivery with limited target association challenges (Part I of PRDA). FY02 -- Airborne experimentation demonstrating integrated high-reliability track maintenance and precision fire control (Part II of PRDA). FY03 -- End-to-end field demonstration of AMSTE engagement capabilities (planned -- not part of this PRDA). These experiments and demonstrations will providea series of increasingly challenging scenarios for moving target engagement. The principal focus of the first year's experimentation is on exploring the issues of precision fire control and accurate weapon delivery against moving and stopped targets and will culminate in an actual guided weapon delivery against a GFE target. The second year's experiments will increase the complexity and density of the vehicle motion, and will require the contractor to begin the engagement earlier in the kill chain. The system will be expected to accept a target nomination of a specific target, track the target for an extended period of time without losing track or confusing its ID with that of another moving or stopped vehicle, and transition this target into end-game fire control. The principal focus of this second year is on expanding the portion of the kill chain being addressed by the AMSTE II experimental system, and exploring the issues with long duration, high confidence target tracking and the impact of mis-associations on end-game accuracy. The first two years of experiments will be highly scripted so that sensor and weapon platforms can be pre-positioned in appropriate orbits, modes correctly set, and sensor, communications, weapons, tracking algorithms are correctly initialized. The third year of experimentation, which is planned but is not part of this PRDA, is expected to be unscripted, where the contractor is expected to demonstrate an end-to-end AMSTE capability in a military exercise-like scenario. This experiment would therefore stress the need for automation in sensor mode control, multi-sensor communications, weapon delivery platform control, and weapon data links. It is expected that each experiment will include live weapons drop(s) on moving targets. The FY01 and FY02 experiments provide an opportunity to exercise the AMSTE II capability in a government-defined, realistic field environment. These experiments are intended to validate and extend prior performance analysis. It is expected that program participants will conduct analyses, simulations, and range tests in preparation for these experiments. In addition, the contractor may perform additional field-testing, laboratory testing and simulation to evaluate alternate AMSTE approaches and/or to evaluate the capability in a wider range of environments or conditions. These experiments will also provide the contractor the opportunity to collect data for ongoing and future technology development required for the next year's experiments. Due to the diverse nature of the technologies and activities involved in AMSTE II (platforms, sensors, data links, tracking algorithms, weapons, BMC3, system integration, flight testing, etc) the government encourages the use of contractor teams to integrate best-in-class capabilities into an AMSTE solution. Technical Goals: The goal of this PRDA is to establish technologies to allow rapid, high confidence, selective targeting and precision engagement of moving surface targets in all weather. The numeric goal for weapon delivery accuracy is 10 meters, independent of the operation of any end-game seeker. For systems that employ a seeker, the numeric goal is 3 meters. The numeric goal for high-confidence targeting is to correctly maintain track of a set of targets, without losing their identification, for a period in excess of 20 minutes. This should be accomplished in varying levels of scenario complexity, including cases for which kinematics alone is insufficient to resolve targets, and cases that involve move-stop cycles. While there is no simple metric that defines the quality of the end-to-end system, it is expected that the contractor will demonstrate a system that can seamlessly transition through the steps in an engagement, from target nomination through weapon on target, without significant operator workload. Program Reviews: Quarterly program reviews (QPRs) shall be conducted to track technical, financial and schedule performance and risk. Additional technical meetings may be required for coordination and planning. An ExperimentDesign Review (EDR) shall be conducted approximately three months before the beginning of each yearly experiment. The EDR shall be the decision point for entering into any flight or range experiment. The EDR shall describe the experiment objective, scope, conditions, test assets, test approach, instrumentation, and data analysis plans. It is expected that performers will provide monthly status reporting and a comprehensive technical performance report on a semi-annual basis. Government Furnished Equipment (GFE): The Government intends to arrange for range support for the three years of experimentation, including range instrumentation and remotely controlled targets for weapon delivery testing. It is expected that the targets for the track maintenance testing and the precision fire control testing would be representative of AMSTE threats or suitable emulation of these vehicle types. While the Government reserves the right to provide sensor platforms, weapon platforms, communication equipment, and/or weapons, the contractor should not anticipate or depend upon these being GFE. The contractor should include in their proposal their recommended approach, including the specific sensor, communication equipment, weapon platforms, and weapons, they intend to modify and use and the cost to acquire, modify, and when required, de-modify these assets. It is anticipated that Part I of this PRDA will have two (2) awards, with a period of 12 months, which culminates with the FY01 experiment described previously. Awards of efforts as a result of this PRDA will be in the form of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other transactions depending upon the nature of the work proposed. Awards for Part I are expected O/A 15 October 2000. Work to be performed may require SECRET/NOFORN facility clearance and safeguarding capability. Therefore, personnel identified for assignment to a classified effort must be cleared for access to SECRET/NOFORN information at the time of award. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. PROPOSALS ARE REQUESTED. Offerors are required to submit an original and (5) copies of their proposal (technical and cost) to AFRL/IFEM, ATTN: Jon Jones, 32 Brooks Road, Rome, NY 13441-4114 by 30 August 2000 not later than 4:00PM, EDT. Technical proposals are limited to a total page count of seventy-five (75) pages and shall be double-spaced with a font no smaller than 12 pitch. The technical proposal shall include the FY01 experiment and the FY02 experiment. The cost proposal for the FY01 effort (the initial contract) must be a full cost proposal as described in the Proposal Preparation Instructions. The costs for the FY02 effort should be a ROM based on the Cost Element Summary found in the Proposal Preparation Instructions following the Cost Proposal Table of Contents. An unclassified briefing for all interested firms will be held on 29 June 2000, at AFRL/IF, Bldg 106, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY 13441-4514 at 0900 hours. A briefing package, including complete instructions for proposal preparation, will be made available to all attendees. Please contact Jon S. Jones at (315) 330-1665, or e-mail jonesj@rl.af.mil, not later than 28 June 2000 if you plan to attend. Firms who do not attend the briefing, but desire to have a copy of the material should provide their firm name, point of contact, complete address, phone number, FAX number, and e-mail address to Joetta Bernhard at (315) 330-2308 or e-mail to: bernhard@rl.af.mil not later than 30 June 2000. Alternatively, the briefing and instructions may be obtained at the following Web address: http://www.if.afrl.af.mil/div/IFK/prda/prda-main.html, then scrolling down to PRDA 00-05-IFKPA. The previously cited Web site is also available to answer technical program and contractual questions. This site will be available to post questions for one week after the bidder's briefing. Responses will be posted to the web site within 48 hours after collection, providing time for the presenter to organize the response. This allows for anonymous questions. Evaluation of proposals will be accomplished using the following criteria: (l) overall scientific and technical merit, (2) potential contribution and relevance to this effort, (3) innovativeness of the proposed approach and/or techniques, (4) offeror's capabilities and related experience, and (5) cost realism and reasonableness. In addition, the Government will consider other factors, such as past and present performance on recent Government contracts and the capacity to perform the requirements of the effort. On 1 Jul 01, the cost and technical proposals for Part II of the PRDA will be required. Part II of the PRDA will have one (1) award with a period of 12 months, culminating with the FY02 experiment described previously. Part II of the PRDA will be open to all offerors, not just the Part I award winners. The Government will select the contractor for Part II based on the following criteria: (1) progress towards the second-year experiment, (2) overall scientific and technical merit and (3) cost realism and reasonableness. The total value for all awards under this PRDA shall not exceed $49,700,000. Foreign participation at the prime contractor level is not authorized for this acquisition. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this announcement is not an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract, but may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost in FAR 31.205-18. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear significant concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. Routine questions are not considered to be "significant concerns" and should be communicated directly to the Contracting Officer, Joetta A. Bernhard, (315) 330-2308. The purpose of the Ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the Contracting Officer or Program Manager, but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreements and recommendations to the appropriate Government personnel. The Ombudsman for this acquisition is Vincent Palmiero, Chief, Policy and Management Division, AFRL/IFK at (315) 330-7746. When requested, the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of the proposals or in the source selection process. This PRDA is open and effective until 31 October 2000. To receive a copy of the AFRL "BAA & PRDA: A Guide for Industry," Sep 1996 (Rev), write ATTN: Debra Cutler, AFRL/IFK, 26 Electronics Parkway, Rome, NY 13441-4514, or fax her at FAX 315-330-1795, or the guide may be accessed at: http://www.if.afrl.af.mil/div/IFK/bp-guide.html. All responsible firms may submit proposals, which shall be considered. Respondents are asked to provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) number with their proposal(s) and reference PRDA 00-05-IFKPA. Only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. Posted 06/21/00 (D-SN467085). (0173)

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