ADVANCED RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT (ARA) TITLE: ADVANCED TRACKING ARCHITECTURE USING AI (ATA-AI)

NAICS CODE:  541715

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

ARA ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial Announcement 

ADVANCED RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT (ARA) TITLE:  ADVANCED TRACKING ARCHITECTURE USING AI (ATA-AI)

BAA or ARA NUMBER: FA8750-24-S-7004

PART I – OVERVIEW INFORMATION

This announcement is for an Open, 2 Step ARA which is open and effective until 12 July 2029.  Only white papers will be accepted as initial submissions; formal proposals will be accepted by invitation only.  While white papers will be considered if received prior to 5pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 12 July 2029, the following submission dates are suggested to best align with projected funding:

FY25 by 30 NOV 2024

FY26 by 30 NOV 2025

FY27 by 30 NOV 2026

FY28 by 30 NOV 2027

FY29 by 30 NOV 2028

Offerors should monitor the Contract Opportunities on the SAM website at https://SAM.gov in the event this announcement is amended.

CONCISE SUMMARY OF TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENT:   Seeking research to design, develop, test, evaluate, and deliver innovative technologies and techniques for Next Generation Target Tracking architectures, which exploit a wide array of data sources and leverage the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Machine Inferencing (MI) algorithms in a High Performance Computing (HPC) enabled framework.

ARA ESTIMATED FUNDING:  Total funding for this ARA is approximately $99M.  Individual awards will not normally exceed 48 months with dollar amounts normally ranging from $1M to $10M. There is also the potential to make awards up to any dollar value as long as the value does not exceed the available ARA ceiling amount.

ANTICIPATED INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:  Multiple Awards are anticipated.  However, the Air Force reserves the right to award zero, one, or more Procurement Contracts or Other Transactions, for all, some, or none of the solicited effort based on the offeror’s ability to perform desired work and funding fluctuations. There is no limit on the number of OTs that may be awarded to an individual offeror.

TYPE OF INSTRUMENTS THAT MAY BE AWARDED:  FAR based procurement contracts or other transactions (OT) under 10 USC 4021, 10 USC 4022 and 10 USC 4023 (previously 10 USC 4002, 2371, 10 USC 4003, 2371b and 4004, 2373)

In the event that an Other Transaction for Prototype agreement is awarded as a result of this competitive ARA, and the prototype project is successfully completed, there is the potential for a prototype project to transition to award of a follow-on production contract or transaction. The Other Transaction for Prototype agreement itself will also contain a similar notice of a potential follow-on production contract or agreement.

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION:  All white paper submissions and any questions of a technical nature shall be directed to the cognizant Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) as specified below (unless otherwise specified in the technical area):

ARA PROGRAM MANAGER:                                                   

Carolyn Sheaff                                                                     

AFRL/RIED                                                                             

525 Brooks Rd

Rome, NY 13441-4505                                                                                                                             

Email: AFRL.RIEDBAA.2024@us.af.mil

ARA DEPUTY PROGRAM MANAGER:

Peter Rocci                                                              

AFRL/RIED                                                                             

525 Brooks Rd

Rome, NY 13441-4505                                                                                                                             

Email: AFRL.RIEDBAA.2024@us.af.mil

Questions of a contractual/business nature shall be directed to the cognizant contracting officer, as specified below (email requests are preferred):

    Amber Buckley

    Email:  Amber.Buckley@us.af.mil

Emails must reference the solicitation ARA number and title of the acquisition.

Pre-Proposal Communication between Prospective Offerors and Government Representatives:  Dialogue between prospective offerors and Government representatives is encouraged.  Technical and contracting questions can be resolved in writing through email. Communications with any of the points of contact shall not constitute a commitment by the Government to subsequently fund or award any proposed effort. Only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government.

Offerors are cautioned that evaluation ratings may be lowered and/or proposal rejected if proposal preparation (Proposal format, content, etc.) and/or submittal instructions are not followed.

PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHMENT FOR FULL ANNOUNCEMENT DETAILS.

Amendment No. 1 to ARA FA8750-24-S-7004

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1. Section III, Paragraph 5, updates S&T Protection language;
2. Section V, paragraph 2.e, updates the language regarding the S&T review;

SEE ATTACHMENT FOR FULL AMENDMENT DETAILS 

                                      Amendment No. 2 to BAA FA8750-24-S-7004

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1. Part II, FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT, adds language regarding Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Act (FASCSA) Orders;
2. Section VI, paragraph 11, updates FINANCIAL RESOURCES requirements language;

1. FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Act (FASCSA) Orders: As of the date of this solicitation amendment, there are no applicable FASCSA orders. This requirement only applies to FAR based awards.

1. SECTION VI:

11. FINANCIAL RESOURCES: Proposals shall include information to determine adequate financial resources to perform the effort, taking into consideration all existing commercial and governmental business commitments. See DFARS 232.072-2(b) for a list of the types of information used to support financial responsibility. Examples include financial statements (e.g. Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, Compensation); disclosures of previous insolvency; business case/cash flow forecasts; financing arrangements; and/or letters of good standing from accredited financial institutions.  Proposals shall also include all significant ratios as outlined in DFARS 232.072-2(b)(10)(i)-(vi). This requirement only applies to FAR based awards.

No other changes are made.

AMENDMENT 3 to ARA FA8750-24-S-7004

The purpose of this modification is to republish the original announcement, incorporating any previous amendments, pursuant to FAR 35.016(c).

This republishing also includes the following changes:

1. Part II, Full Text Announcement:
   1. Section III.2.b.2, updates the FOCI guidance;
   2. Section IV.2, updates Content and Format;
   3. Section IV.4,b, updates the SAM provision date;
   4. Section VI.1, updates proposal formatting language;
   5. Section VI.3, updates debriefing language;
   6. Section VI.7, updates the provisions;
   7. Section VI., adds paragraph 9;
   8. Section VII: updates the OMBUDSMAN.

No other changes have been made.

Amendment No. 4 to ARA FA8750-24-S-7004

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1. Part II, FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT, updates the language regarding Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act (FASCSA) Orders;

FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act (FASCSA) Orders: Depending on the date of issuance of this solicitation, FASCSA order(s) may be applicable. Therefore, the Offeror shall search for the phrase “FASCSA order” in the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://www.sam.gov) for any covered article, or any products or services produced or provided by a source, if there is an applicable Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act Orders prohibition. This requirement only applies to FAR based awards.  

No other changes are made.

AMENDMENT 5 TO ARA FA8750-24-S-7004

The purpose of this modification is to republish the original announcement, incorporating any previous amendments, pursuant to FAR 35.016(c).

This republishing also includes the following changes:

1. Part I, Overview Information:
   1. Updates the Federal Agency Name;

1. Part II, Full Text Announcement:
   1. Section I, Important Notes Regarding paragraph 3, removes the word “basic” from the Other Transaction for Research Projects paragraph;
   2. Section IV.2.a.iii, updates the 10 U.S.C. 4023 language;
   3. Section V.3, updates the Simplified Acquisition Threshold to $350,000;
   4. Section V.4, updates the certified cost and pricing data threshold to $10M for large businesses;
   5. Section VI.1, updates the proposal formatting language;
   6. Section VI.3, updates the debriefing language;
   7. Section VI.5.b.3, updates the DFARS clause;
   8. Section VI.5.c, updates the DFARS clause;
   9. Section VI.7, updates the provisions;
   10. Section VI.8; updates the DFARS reference;
   11. Section VII: updates the OMBUDSMAN language.

No other changes have been made.

SEE ATTACHMENT FOR FULL AMENDMENT DETAILS.