Airborne PTW Terminal Modem

AIRBORNE PTW TERMINAL MODEM REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Aerial Networks Division (HNA), 5 Eglin Street, Bldg. 1624, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731-2100 is issuing this RFI for information, planning, and market research purposes only - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Submittals will not be returned to the responder. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. Purpose and Scope The Air Force seeks to proliferate the Protected Anti-jam Tactical SATCOM (PATS) capability on size, weight, and power (SWaP)-constrained and integration-challenged airborne platforms. Currently, PATS hardware is primarily implemented as 1 rack unit (U) form factor Line Replaceable Units (LRUs). This hardware format is too large to be integrated with many Air Force platforms, and the Air Force is exploring the feasibility of implementing the Terminal Modem (TM) Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) portion of PATS as in a MIL 1/2 Air Transport Rack (ATR) or similar form factor, suitable for integration into an airborne terminal and suitable for operation in flight. The focus of this RFI is to explore the feasibility of achieving that goal. Terminal Modem Subsystem As described in PATS TM LRU TRD, the desired TM subsystem functionality is comprised of multiple inter-connected components, to include the Modem Controller, End Cryptographic Unit (ECU), the Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) Modem transceiver, and hardware and software interfaces. The objective of this RFI is to seek industry feedback and gain understanding of industry capabilities to develop and implement the above described PTW TM subsystem functions in a - ATR form factor, suitable for airborne operation. The PTW TM is intended to be used generically with a variety of aircraft antenna systems and both military and commercial satellites. Gaining this understanding will allow the Government to finalize the acquisition strategy and plan for necessary risk reduction work. For the purposes of this RFI, the Air Force seeks information on solutions to meet the preceding high-level technical requirements for packaging a PTW TM. Please note, the requirements are currently being refined and should not be considered finalized at this time. Requested Information Based on the information provided in this RFI, the government requests the following information: a. Provide a characterization, to include any engineering drawings and studies of the design and expected performance of the proposed - ATR PTW TM implementation. Please provide details such as card dimensions, maximum power dissipation, external I/O connector options, etc. b. Describe your experience in implementing PTW and the associated ECU. Describe to what extent any current PTW hardware design or implementation approaches already meet portions or all the requirements of this RFI. c. Specific aircraft may require integration of the PTW TM with existing aircraft hardware. Based on past experience and understanding of existing military aircraft communications systems, provide any recommendations for design approaches, attribute and features, including hardware and software interfaces, to promote interoperability with as many military aircraft as possible. Please provide rationale for any recommendations. d. A flight-worthy, - ATR TM must survive the aircraft vibration, temperature, and pressure extremes of flight, Provide details on an appropriate packaging design and any perceived limitations. Please propose applicable flight environmental specifications, supporting thermal control analyses, and dimensioned conceptual drawings of a physical design which could satisfy these requirements. e. Describe what specific unique or custom designed integrated circuit (IC) chips, printed circuit board technologies, shielding/circuit techniques, and thermal control provisions will be required to achieve both the desired size, weight and power (SWaP) and TEMPEST certification. Please provide the availability and maturity of any assumed new technologies and any supporting reliability data. f. Provide a rough order of magnitude estimates (ROM), not a formal proposal, for the effort required to develop and demonstrate a fieldable 1/2 ATR PTW TM with full PTW TM LRU functionality. Include the following in your response: 1. A schedule with milestones for a system functional requirements review (SFRR), preliminary design review (PDR), critical design review (CDR), and delivery of long lead items. 2. Estimate of cost, keyed to the schedule milestones, which also identifies and estimates development cost-drivers. 3. Estimates for production quantities of 50, 100 and 500 PTW TM units. g. What level of support would be required from the NSA to achieve full certification of the End Cryptographic Unit (ECU)? Is support from any other agency or organizations required or anticipated? h. Describe any information assurance related considerations in designing a PTW TM for operation in an airborne platform. Please include any impacts regarding the design for cybersecurity, keying, validation, authentication, etc. i. Identify any risks along with mitigation approaches for the operation of a PTW TM on a military aircraft, including motion, platform dynamics, mission-planning, handover, and unmanned operation. j. What, if any, TM functional capabilities specifications could be appropriately relaxed or eliminated that would result in necessary reductions in SWaP? k. Provide any additional details that will help the Government make an informed decision on developing the capabilities outlined, such as alternative strategies and relevant government furnished equipment (GFE). References a) PTES-8700 PTES PTW ICD V 3.0 (or most current) b) PTES-8100 PATS TM LRU TRD Rev 5.0, (or most current) Instructions for Responders Responses to this RFI are requested no later than 4:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on January 4, 2019. Interested parties who wish to receive the aforementioned references shall submit their CAGE Code to the below recipients for security verification. Contractors should limit their response to a maximum of 30 pages. Submit your responses via email to the Contract Specialist (CS) at joel.dickerson@us.af.mil, ramon.barreto@us.af.mil, and the Contracting Officer (CO) at edna.alonis@us.af.mil. Target Date for submittal of Questions is 7 December 2018 at 4:00PM ET. Questions received after the target date may not be answered. The Air Force will handle all information submitted in response to this Request for Information consistent with federal information laws. Please be certain to identify any material that is confidential, propriety, commercial or financial information that is privileged, or trade secrets so that the Air Force will know it is exempt from disclosure to third parties outside of the U.S. Government. Additionally, please direct responses and all questions pertaining to the RFI to the contacts below.