Engineering support of the iNet Program

Sources Sought Systems Engineering Support of the iNET Program Schedule: Closing Date: 10 May 2010 Scope: The Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) is seeking information from the public on engineering support of the iNET (Integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry) Program. This is not a request for Quote. The Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, CA is seeking vendors capable of providing the following engineering support of the iNET (Integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry) Program, as detailed in the attached Statement of work/Performance work statement. RFI Purpose and Limitations: The Government's intention is to better understand the current state-of-the-art for iNet program support and to determine the best acquisition approach. Industry feedback is vitally important and the Government will be receptive to any and all ideas received from industry. Please note that this synopsis is for planning purposes only, and does not constitute a solicitation for competitive bids/proposals and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. However, all interested parties who believe they can meet the requirements are invited to submit in writing complete information describing their ability to provide the engineering support of the iNET (Integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry) Program as detailed in the attached SOW. Background Information: The iNET Program has been actively performing systems engineering and system design of the Telemetry Network System (TmNS). In conjunction with this, standards have been developed and continue to be matured to ensure commonality and interoperability of systems developed by different vendors. LinQuest Communications has been involved in every aspect of the Program. They have provided support at the very top during system level engineering to very detailed design during the standards work. At the system level, LinQuest has supported the iNET Program's Systems Engineering team by providing detailed functional analysis and functional decompositions into hardware. In order to perform this work, a complete understanding of the entire TmNS is required. The TmNS spans the Test Article, Ground Station and, most importantly, the wireless connection between the two networks. Many factors come into play during system design with the entire trade space too large to mention here. But, to give examples, end-user requirements, system security requirements, network access and hand-over, network throughput, environment, etc. all must be understood, examined, and traded against all other requirements in order to perform the System-level design. These requirements, for the most part, are specific to aeronautical flight test and not related to commercial systems. The detailed standards work involved many trade studies such as modulation techniques, power amplifier structures, burst synchronization, error correction coding, encryption algorithms, key management, packet framing, connection control, queue management, quality of service, etc. Each of these topics required a subject matter expert to perform the trade study and present the outcome to the working group. These trade studies, coupled with vendor and user interaction, form the basis of the Radio Access Network standard, the standard that now defines the wireless connection between test articles and ground stations which currently stands at over 230 pages. The system knowledge and detailed designs and trade studies mentioned above was acquired and accomplished over several years of analysis, iNET team interaction, and vendor meetings. This deep understanding and "corporate knowledge" can only be achieved through interaction with all parties involved including the Test Ranges, end-users, and Programmatic personnel over a long period of time. With the information above and in accordance with the attached statement of work, we need to know the following: 1. How long would it take the interested company to get up to speed and be able support this new project? 2. What cost, if any, would be associated with getting up to speed, and would it be expected for the government to pay for that effort? The information received as a result of this notice will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. A determination by the Air Force not to open the requirement to open competition, based on response to this sources sought synopsis, is solely within the discretion of the Air Force. The Government does not intend to pay for any information provided under this RFI. Proprietary information is not being solicited; however, if it is submitted, it should be appropriately marked. It may include attachments that consist of pre-printed commercial brochures or sales literature. Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged. All information provided will be protected as Procurement Sensitive per Federal Acquisition Regulation 3.104. Electronic responses shall be in MS Word or Adobe PDF format. Information must be received no later than 5:00PM Pacific Time on 10 May 2010. For technical questions regarding this notice, contact Pat Feeley at (661) 277-1608 or patrick.feeley @edwards.af.mil. For contracting questions, contact Nathan Hansing at (661) 277-8317 or nathan.hansing@edwards.af.mil. Please see the attached Statement of Work for more details.