CRADA Survivability and Mission Assurance Capabilities for Large Mobility Aircraft

United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is seeking United States-owned non-federal partners (Collaborators) in industry and/or academia to consider for entry into Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) as described in 15 USC 3710a to produce collaborative studies illustrating potential future capabilities for USTRANSCOM and Air Mobility Command (AMC). Studies will produce findings on technical and operational maturity, uses, economics, and risks/benefits for the use of advanced self-protection techniques and technologies for large USAF air mobility aircraft. This is not a solicitation for a procurement contract, nor should this announcement be construed as implying any future solicitation by USTRANSCOM or any other government agency in this area. Responses must be received by USTRANSCOM Office of Research and Technology Applications at transcom.scott.tcj5j4.mbx.orta@mail.mil NLT 20 March 2020. The white paper should be written with the purpose of demonstrating your innovation, experience, expertise, and success in developing, installing, supporting and operating self-protection systems for large aircraft against a variety of threats, to assure military mission accomplishment. You should state your willingness to enter into a non-paid, limited-time research collaboration with USTRANSCOM. Full details of actual research under a CRADA will be defined in discussions, if your organization is chosen from respondents to this RFI. USTRANSCOM may hold a virtual industry day for discussion of the topic with interested submitters, with a question submittal opportunity prior to the meeting. Detailed discussions toward defining agreement terms and deciding on actual participation in a CRADA will be held one-on-one after the government selects specific respondents. Potential Research Topics: A. Development and examination of concepts of operation (CONOPS) and supporting technologies, procedures and techniques for improving the survivability of air refueling and other Mobility Air Force (MAF) aircraft. B. Mission profiling, identification of cyber and physical vulnerabilities, mission system effectiveness trade studies, simulations, force structure implications and technology roadmaps. C. Analysis of proposed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) for improving survivability of the air refueling and large-aircraft fleets in anti-access/area-denied (A2/AD) areas of operation. D. Assessment of multi-disciplinary, system-of-systems integration and interaction challenges as a measure of developmental and operational risks. E. Other topics as discussed by the Parties. USTRANSCOM/AMC will provide as available: 1. Access to government subject matter experts. 2. Access to DOD facilities, aircraft, and other assets as agreed to by the CRADA parties for demonstration and development in laboratory and/or realistic environments and test ranges, as available, considering competing operational requirements. 3. AMC's assessment of the operational valued-added by integration of proposed self-protection systems and adoption of mission risk-reducing techniques. 4. Other resources, as discussed by the Parties to the CRADA. Small businesses are encouraged to respond to this announcement. Potential Collaborators may team with other suitable parties. Specific study outputs and any development and field trials/demonstration goals will be determined during discussions with Collaborators prior to CRADA signatures, and refined as necessary during the life of the CRADAs. Multiple federal agencies may participate on behalf of or in partnership with USTRANSCOM, including but not limited to agencies of Air Mobility Command, Air Force Research Laboratory, other Federal Laboratories, and other agencies of the U.S. Government, as USTRANSCOM and AMC choose. Supporting information, discussions, demonstrations, and information in the whitepaper should be UNCLASSIFIED. If classified information exchange is proposed by the Collaborator, Collaborator personnel must be appropriately cleared at the outset of discussions about and execution of the CRADA, at no cost to the government. Resulting CRADAs will be CLASSIFIED and will require the Collaborator to have the appropriate level of facility clearance. CRADAs are defined in 15 USC 3710a(d), in part, as - any agreement between one or more federal laboratories and one or more non-federal parties under which the Government, through its laboratories, provides personnel, services, facilities, equipment, intellectual property or other resources with or without reimbursement (but not funds to non-Federal parties) and the non-Federal parties provide funds, personnel, services, facilities, equipment, intellectual property, or other resources toward the conduct of specified research or development efforts which are consistent with the missions of the laboratory; except that such term does not include a procurement contract More info on USTRANSCOM's use of CRADAs and a model CRADA is found at https://www.ustranscom.mil/dbw/orta.cfm. CRADAs resulting from this announcement are forecast to be in effect for approximately 1 year, although duration can be tailored by mutual agreement to suit the Parties needs before or even after work begins. USTRANSCOM and other designated government agencies selected by USTRANSCOM will evaluate potential Collaborators white papers (submittal instructions follow). Based on responsiveness to the RFI's requested elements, demonstrated capabilities and qualifications, and Government interest and capacity to enter into such agreements, USTRANSCOM will choose one, multiple, or zero white papers as the basis for additional discussion, and so notify the respondents. Initial selection of white papers and subsequent discussions do not guarantee selection of any Collaborator by USTRANSCOM to actually enter into a CRADA. After initial white paper selection, the government will conduct discussions separately with each selected Collaborator, seeking to reach mutual agreement on objectives, duration, intellectual property, and resources to be applied by the parties in the proposed CRADA-based experiments. The government may choose to visit pertinent facilities for a tour of Collaborator capabilities prior to final selections. No funding is available from the government to cover white paper preparation or submittal costs, or to cover discussions, facility visits or any other Collaborator costs of preparation for or participation in a CRADA. The Collaborator(s) and USTRANSCOM will draft and seek to finalize specific CRADA objectives and language collaboratively via discussions/mutual agreement after white paper selection. Interested parties may respond with UNCLASSIFIED white papers no later than NLT 20 Mar 2020 midnight Central time by unclassified e-mail to transcom.scott.tcj5j4.mbx.orta@mail.mil by submitting an UNCLASSIFIED written white paper in following format. Hardcopy submittal is not allowed. Please use the following format. - Microsoft Word or .pdf format not to exceed 10 pages, on standard 8 by 11-inch page, with 1-inch margins at top, bottom, left and right, in Times New Roman font not less than 12-point size, with not more than 6 lines per inch. - Pages numbered sequentially in the bottom footer including company name and identification of proprietary information as appropriate on each page and section. - Clearly marked/identified proprietary information, photos, or diagrams. Details of proprietary information, techniques, or trade secrets do not have to be disclosed in this response, if the general techniques or technologies can be otherwise described. - Include the following elements (within the 10-page limit): -- Title (no separate title page needed). -- Company name and U.S. state of incorporation, and incorporation of any parent entity. Companies with foreign ownership or parentage must identify the nation of incorporation of the non-U.S. entity. Foreign ownership may preclude the formation of a CRADA for this project. -- Description of your approach to study of potential research topics A. through E. above; also identify additional topics recommended for collaborative study. -- Brief description of what information and capabilities your company is willing to provide to USTRANSCOM during collaboration. -- A description of the unique capabilities and services that distinguish your organization from others. -- Mention of other government agencies with whom you are partnered or under contract to in related subject development or operation. -- Proposed outputs of the collaboration with USTRANSCOM, which may include studies, prototypes, simulations, field trials, and test/demonstration data, including midterm and final technical reports. -- Resources to be supplied by the Collaborator during the CRADA (examples: access to facilities, personnel expertise, information systems, proprietary techniques, hardware, software, materials, prototypes, etc.). -- Resources requested from USTRANSCOM (examples: personnel skillsets, data, access to unique federal facilities including test/demo facilities, etc.; no DOD-provided funding is permitted under a CRADA). -- Points of contact (name, point of contact, address, e-mail, and phone) for notification of selection/non-selection and follow-on discussions/visits (if chosen). USTRANSCOM and other government entities participating in white paper review and collaborative work under CRADAs will include in-house support contractors. Non-disclosure agreements will be signed as required by the potential collaborators to incorporate these participants. The USTRANSCOM Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) technical advisor (coordinator of USTRANSCOM Technology Transfer activities) is a contractor employed by LMI. Booz Allen Hamilton advises Air Mobility Command in this project. Other contractors may be identified in support of the government prior to and during the collaboration. The government response should be made to each submitter by mid-March 2020. Proposals not selected for further discussion will be archived by the government and appropriately protected. Point of Contact: Mr. Mark Surina, LMI, USTRANSCOM Office of Research and Technology Applications, USTRANSCOM TCJ5-SC (ORTA), 508 Scott Drive, Scott AFB IL 62225-5357, e-mail: transcom.scott.tcj5j4.mbx.orta@mail.mil