A -- Space Based Radar Battle Management Command, Control and Communications Risk Reduction (SBR BMC3 Risk Reduction)

The purpose of this modification is to republish the original announcement, incorporating all previous modifications, pursuant to FAR 35.016(c). This republishing also includes the following changes: (a) provide instructions for the submission of white papers in FY06, (b) extend the open and effective date to 30 Sep 2006, (c) update the AFRL Program Manager in the body of the announcement and (d) update the contractual POC in the body of the announcement. No other changes have been made. AFRL Program Manager: Capt. Brian Yoshimoto, email contact@example.gov, 315/330-3385; Alternate: Jon S. Jones, e-mail contact@example.gov 315/330-1665; Technical Points of Contact: Steve Scott, email contact@example.gov, 315/330-4414; Contracting Officer: Lori L. Smith, email contact@example.gov; +1 (555) 000-0000. The Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, Information and Intelligence Exploitation Division (AFRL/IFE) in cooperation with the Space Based Radar Joint Program Office (SBR JPO) is seeking innovative solutions for the reduction of risk associated with the development, deployment, and operation of the Battle Management Command Control and Communications (BMC3) segment of a Space-Based Radar (SBR) system. This effort is intended to directly support the activities of the Space-Based Radar program and compliment its ongoing system definition and risk reduction activities. Several significant efforts are currently underway. These include the System Concept Analysis task order executed via the Engineering, Analysis, Design and Development (EADDII) contract (awarded in December 2002) the ongoing SBR On-Board-Processor (OBP) and the Electronically Scanned Array (ESA) contracted activities that are planned to continue through 2003. Results of this effort may influence the design of the SBR Concept of Operations, OBP design, ESA design, and system design. Additionally, it is expected that significant insight to total system architecture and its performance will be gained through this activity by enhancing understanding of issues associated with reducing risk for as well as developing SBR BMC3 solutions. Due to the long lead-time to develop OBP and ESA, the SBR JPO is particularly interested in BMC3 design trade implications impacting these areas. This SBR System will consist of a satellite constellation with a multi-mode radar producing Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and High Resolution Terrain Information (HRTI) products. This SBR BMC3 Risk Reduction BAA will focus on the following technology areas: 1) Collection Management including dynamic tasking from CONUS and theater, 2) Information Management, and 3) Combat Operations Products including GMTI, SAR imagery, Combat Identification, and multi-intelligence products taking into consideration tasking, cueing and fusion with other sensor modalities such as SIGINT and air sensors. In the area of Collection Management, developments allowing the dynamic retasking of a satellite sensor from theatre in a timely, assured, secure, and robust manner are required. This area will explore different conceptual architectures, and their associated technologies to satisfy national and tactical users needs for satellite sensor retasking and timely notification of status. Tasking functions must also provide the capability task data archives to retrieve the appropriate data to do machine-level change detection in support of theater situational awareness. Objectives include defining the technical requirements for mission management and defining notional mission management architectures. This includes a study of available applications for satellite retasking, SBR resource allocation techniques, and available applications suitable for use in satellite retasking, such as track waveform scheduling, track loss/stop verification, track restart with continuity of identification, interrupted imaging modes, etc. Offerors must consider satellite orbits, including orientations that provide repeated views from the same look angle to provide additional SAR change detection capability, handoffs, gap times, coverage areas, revisit times, resolution, sensor modes available, task prioritization, etc. and notification of reprioritized task list to all potential interested users. In addition, other advanced modes such as passive ESM, X-band communications, and low power ocean surveillance modes should be considered. Offerors must consider event detection, activity level measurements, correlated movement of units, and ship tracking in their proposals. Ground processing must consider machine bulk filtering of data, SAR change detection and GMTI level of activity monitoring. In the area of Information Management (IM), support of BMC3 for SBR will be a critical factor for determining tactical Tasking, Posting, Processing, and Using (TPPU) alternatives, national Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (TCPED) alternatives, and CONOPS alternatives system design tradeoffs. This area will characterize IM technologies in terms of SBR BMC3 risk areas and summarize SBR requirements drivers for IM. In particular, after performing ground processing, the SBR system of systems must archive (post), catalog, and facilitate rapid database query, and dissemination of information to the user community. Development of an integrated and interoperable architecture for theater and national information management is the goal. This includes an assessment of technical requirements for this architecture, identification of technical deficiencies in data warehousing and data mining, and prototyping an implementation of national and tactical information management architectures and activities such as autonomous meta-data capture mechanisms, characterization of intelligent agents to process meta-data, and peer-to-peer mechanisms for information exchange. Some consideration should be given to appropriate meta-data descriptors, such as pedigree, and data-derived products. The area of Combat Operations Products has been identified as high risk and requires additional technical development. Current GMTI, SAR exploitation techniques are manual, operator intensive, based on single or multiple airborne sensor concepts, and very limited. In addition, utilizing a satellite constellation with rapidly changing viewing angles and varying sensor performance attributes has not been fully explored, and therefore, requires development, testing, and analysis. Furthermore, software must combine the data from these satellite sensors into meaningful products. This area will develop the necessary extensions to current ground tracking algorithms to support the expected characteristics of a space-based radar constellation. Items of interest include extensions to existing capabilities and development of new feature-based classification approaches for SBR to support classification and track maintenance. Particular attention will be focused on developing algorithms and analyses for the use of selected feature data such as High Range Resolution (HRR), Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), and Micro-Doppler techniques to perform long-term track maintenance. These tools must be integrated with the synoptic machine-level processes described previously. Efforts under this BAA will provide prototype algorithms to enable the fusion of resources for the timely detection, track, and identification of ground moving targets. These efforts will also leverage existing developments in the operational area such as Moving Target Information Exploitation (MTIX) and develop on those architectures making it easily adaptable to existing architectures for technology transition. SBR Measures of Performance (MOPs) and Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) need to be developed and integrated into these new concepts. This will provide the methodology for consistent system evaluation. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. DO NOT SUBMIT A FORMAL PROPOSAL AT THIS TIME. Offerors are required to submit five (5) copies of a one-sided, 12 point type, single spaced, one inch margined white paper not to exceed ten (10) pages with a cover letter. All responses to this announcement must be addressed to AFRL/IFEA, ATTN: Capt. Brian Yoshimoto, (Reference BAA 03-04-IFKA), 525 Brooks Road, Rome, NY, 13441-4505. The white paper will be formatted as follows: SECTION A: Title, Period of Performance, Cost of Task and Name of Company; SECTION B: Task Objective and SECTION C: Technical Summary. White papers must reference BAA 03-04-IFKA. Offerors must mark their white papers/proposals with the restrictive language stated in FAR 15.609(a). White papers addressing different areas of applicability must be submitted under separate cover. The purpose of the white paper is to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of an offeror whose proposed work is not of interest to the Government. Offerors submitting white papers found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA may be invited to submit a technical and cost proposal. Complete proposal instructions will be contained in a letter accepting your white paper and requesting a proposal. Such invitation does not assure the offeror will receive an award. Proposals submitted will be evaluated as they are received. Individual proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or unacceptability without regard to other proposals submitted under this BAA. Evaluation of white papers and solicited proposals will be performed using the following criteria: (1) Soundness of Approach; (2) Relevance to the Air Force Mission; (3) Uniqueness of the Approach, and (4) Cost Realism and Reasonableness (proposals only). Note: Criteria 1 through 3 are of equal importance and Criteria 1 through 3 are more important than Criteria 4. Also, consideration will be given to other factors such as past and present performance on recent Government contracts and the capacity and capability to achieve the objectives of this BAA will be used. The technical and cost information will be evaluated at the same time. Awards of efforts as a result of this BAA will be in the form of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements or other transactions depending upon the nature of the work proposed. Options are discouraged and unpriced options will not be considered for award. The cost of preparing proposals in responding to this announcement is not an allowable direct charge to any resultant contract or any other contract, but it is an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. Selected offerors may be required to review classified material up to the SECRET level; therefore, personnel identified for assignment to the proposed effort must be cleared for, or eligible for, access to SECRET information. In addition, the offeror must have or have access to a certified and Government-approved facility available to support work under this BAA. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors are advised that their participation is subject to foreign disclosure procedures. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors should immediately contact the contracting focal point, AFRL/IFKA, Lori Smith, Contracting Officer, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY 13441-4514, email: contact@example.gov for information if they contemplate responding. Data subject to export control constraints may be involved and only firms on the Certified Contractor Access List (CCAL) will be allowed access to such data. This BAA is open and effective until 30 Sep 06. Principal funding of this BAA and anticipated awards will start approximately March of 2003. Individual awards will not normally exceed 18 months in duration, with dollar amounts normally ranging from $200K to $1.0M. Total funding for FY03 is $3M with an estimated total ceiling of $15.0M in anticipation of projected increases in support from AFRL Customers. It is recommended that white papers be received by the following dates to maximize the possibility of award: FY03 - 15Jan03; FY05 - 30Aug04; and FY 06 - 30Jun05. Questions, clarification, or concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition should be communicated directly to the IFKA Contracting Officer, Lori Smith at contact@example.gov. The email must reference the title and solicitation number of the acquisition. A copy of the Rome "BAA & PRDA: A Guide for Industry," Sep 1996 (Rev), may be accessed at: http://www.if.afrl.af.mil/div/IFK/bp-guide.html. An informational briefing is not planned. All responsible organizations may submit a white paper that shall be considered. Respondents are requested to provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code as well as a fax number and an email address with their submission and reference BAA 03-04-IFKA. Offerors are warned that only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the government.