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Information Management-Enabled Sensor Tasking and Ad Hoc Control (ISTAC)

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BAA-RIK-2014-0013Federal

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The contract pertains to the Information Management-Enabled Sensor Tasking and Ad Hoc Control (ISTAC) program, managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate at Rome, NY. This program aims to advance technologies for managing information dissemination and airborne tactical sensor tasking to support military operations in contested environments. ISTAC seeks to develop embedded software services and adaptable user interfaces that allow multiple users to influence airborne sensor tasking without interfering with the pilot or primary mission, thereby optimizing sensor utilization across various mission requirements. Key efforts include capability analysis of sensor utilization, mission-driven sensor task prioritization, synchronous tasking and control technologies, and integration with advanced targeting pods to support vision-aided navigation and positioning in GPS-denied environments. The contract covers multiple research projects, including MTIP and VALID, with funding of approximately $9.9 million over several fiscal years. This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) solicits white papers for research proposals aligned with ISTAC’s goals, emphasizing openness to fundamental research and cloud computing considerations. The contract stipulates restrictions on foreign participation except under specific conditions like fundamental research, and mandates compliance with security standards, including potential classification up to TS/SCI for domain-specific activities. Proposals are evaluated primarily on scientific and technical merit, relevant experience, solution maturity, and cost realism. The program encourages development of open architecture frameworks, integration of various position/navigation data sources, and simulation environments for testing algorithms. Awards typically range from $250K to $1.5M annually with a duration up to 18 months, with submission and security procedures clearly detailed, including requirements for human subject research compliance when applicable.

General Info

Air Force ISTAC program funds sensor tasking software development for airborne military operations, emphasizing security.

NAICS

541715 - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

Place of Performance

NY

Set-Aside

NONE

Documents

1

BAA RIK-2014-0013 Attachment 1 - VisNav SDK

DOCX, High priority: read this first4 pages · sow
High

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Timeline

5 updates
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Organization & Contact Information

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AgencyDepartment Of Defense → FA8750 Afrl Rik
Contacts1 person available
OfficeROME, NY, 13441-4514, USA
Office AddressROME, NY, 13441-4514, USA
Contacts
Gail E. MarshContracting Officer

Full Description

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AMENDMENT 5 to BAA RIK-2014-0013 The purpose of this modification is to republish the original announcement, incorporating any previous modifications, pursuant to FAR 35.016(c). This republishing also includes the following highlighted changes: (a) Section I: Add information on Fundamental Research and Cloud Computing; (b) Section III: Updated to reflect current access requirements; (c) Section V.3: Delete Adequate Price Competition and renumber paragraphs; and (d) Section VI.1: updated proposal instructions. No other changes have been made. _____________________________ 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 BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) TITLE: Information Management-enabled Sensor Tasking and Ad Hoc Control (ISTAC) BAA ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial announcement BAA NUMBER: BAA RIK-2014-0013 CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) Number: 12.800 I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION: The Information Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RI), Rome Research Site, is soliciting white papers under this announcement for innovative technologies to enable the effective management of information for military operations in the tactical domain. AFRL/RI has been conducting research in the areas of tactical information dissemination and management. Resultant approaches have focused on the creation of services-based information management techniques. This research has led to the development of a series of information dissemination and management technologies focused on improved radio-based communications for resource constrained air/ground vehicle-based and dismounted tactical users. The continued development of innovative concepts and enhanced services that maximize the value of information to support the objectives of military theater operations is the primary focus of this BAA. Background: The AFRL/RISA Tactical Information Management group has been a leading innovator in in-mission information dissemination over tactical networks, advancing the state of the art from inefficient video broadcast (e.g., ROVER) to information products tailored to consumer predicates and resource availability. In a similar manner, ISTAC is using the AFRL/RI core competencies of information management, connectivity, and advanced computing to expand the near-real-time utility of tactical airborne sensors from traditional stove-piped, single operator control to shared access by multiple third party users in a disadvantaged network. The combined proficiency in these areas allows AFRL/RI to enhance the capability of advanced targeting pods (ATPs) not just for the pilot, but for multiple warfighters in the networked battlespace. The current tactical sensor control and tasking process is a highly synchronous air-ground activity that requires the pilot to coordinate with an off-board user and manually control the sensor. The lack of automation increases pilot burden and slows target prosecution due to the steps required to slew the sensor onto a requested coordinate. The result is suboptimal allocation of tactical sensors that have the opportunity to provide value to more than a single user at time. Requirement: A new consolidated program called Information Management (IM)-enabled Sensor Tasking and Ad hoc Control (ISTAC) has being started under this BAA. The goal of ISTAC is to provide third parties the ability to influence the tasking of airborne tactical sensors in order to satisfy their information needs without impacting the pilot operating the sensor or the primary mission of the airborne asset. ISTAC will develop and demonstrate a set of embedded information management software services and adaptable user interfaces that will automate ATP sensor tasking based on sensor availability and multiple consumer information needs, including aircrew mission objectives, navigation requirements, and off-board requests. Achieving the above stated goal of the ISTAC program requires addressing several significant technical challenges in the areas of deriving and prioritizing sensor tasking from mission information needs, and scheduling those tasks without ownership of the sensor. Providing this third party tasking capability also has operational challenges associated with sensor availability and ensuring non-interference with the primary mission. ISTAC is addressing these challenges through the following approach: - Conduct a capability analysis study where pilot ATP sensor utilization will be analyzed and on-board and off-board user requirements will be thoroughly reviewed. - Develop technologies to enable opportunistic task generation for an EO sensor. - Develop a mission-driven sensor task prioritization prototype using the results of the capability analysis and opportunistic task generation task. - Develop technologies that allow the synchronous tasking of sensors as well as closed-loop control, and integrate them into the task prioritization capability. Precise Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) are critical to all air operations for reliable navigation and accurate weapons delivery. Today's military aircraft are dependent on GPS to provide PNT, and when GPS is denied or degraded, alternative methods are necessary. One such method is vision-aided navigation which uses imagery collected by an on-board sensor to localize and orient the platform. Advanced targeting pods provide a rapid and affordable means of integrating this capability onto existing platforms, and also as a test and demonstration platform for future aircraft. AFRL/RI has developed and demonstrated an open architecture for targeting pods that allows capability upgrades without modification to the Operation Flight Program (OFP) of the aircraft. Key to this technology is embedded information management services that decouple applications for the purposes of data exchange and security. Of interest to AFRL/RI is an extension of this technology to the application of vision-aided navigation and localization on targeting pods. The desired outcome is an architecture for vision-aided navigation algorithms on a pod that enables multiple algorithms to be hosted on the pod as "apps," supporting a variety of PNT needs and operating environments. The architecture will provide pod sensor tasking capabilities, access to other PNT data (e.g. GPS, Inertial Measurement Unit [IMU]), and pre-mission loading and in-mission management of reference data. The result is reduced time and cost for integrating vision-aided navigation algorithms into airborne platforms and improved PNT accuracy in GPS-denied or degraded environments. Offerors are encouraged to: - Investigate existing and emerging vision-aided navigation and localization algorithms and the infrastructure requirements to support information delivery (e.g. real-time imaging sensor streaming, efficient storage and query of reference information, system state data) to these algorithms. - Develop or extend vision-aided navigation and localization algorithms to incorporate active tasking of an imaging sensor. - Design an open standards-based architecture to support the multiple vision-aided navigation algorithms, and the necessary pilot vehicle interfaces to enable the selection and tuning of applications based on mission and environment constraints. - Implement the specified architecture by extending existing open standards-based application framework technologies and developing new technologies where gaps exist. - Integrate additional platform/pod data sources such as GPS/Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and laser range finder. - Design and develop a simulation environment to evaluate the architecture and selected vision-aided navigation algorithms with relevant sensor data. - Design and develop mechanisms for efficiently representing, storing, and loading reference information pre-mission that are compatible with existing mission planning tools. The technical approach will be realized through several projects including two currently underway: Mission-driven Tasking of Information Producers (MTIP) and Vision-Aided Localization and navigation In Denied environments (VALID). 1) MTIP is an FY14-FY16 6.2 project that is using the approach detailed above to develop, integrate and evaluate the technologies necessary for ISTAC and demonstrate the resulting capability at TRL (4/5) with a hardwareinthe-loop simulation. 2) The VALID project is AFRL/RI's contribution to the AFRL Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Initiative. VALID is an FY15-FY17 project with a mixture of 6.2 and 6.3 funding that is building upon the MTIP project to design, develop and demonstrate an architecture for airborne platforms that enables visionaided navigation in GPS-denied or degraded environments. The goal of VALID is to enhance visionaided navigation by providing an open framework for a variety of visionaided navigation and localization algorithms tailored to mission constraints. VALID will also provide sensor monitoring and tasking capabilities, and premission loading and inmission management of reference data. AFRL/RI Rome will work closely with AFRL/RY Wright-Patterson AFB, OH and other PNT Initiative participants to integrate existing visionaided navigation capabilities. 3) The goal of IOE is demonstrate opportunistic sensor tasking and vision-aided navigation capabilities on an airborne platform in a relevant environment. Three main areas are of research and development are (1) non-interference-based opportunistic multi-user sensor tasking, (2) interaction with ISR collection management tools, and (3) an airborne test environment for experimentation and evaluation. FY18 Focus Area: VisNav SDK: Of interest to the government in FY18 and FY19 is the development of a Vision-Aided Navigation (VisNav) Software Development Kit. Please refer to Attachment 1 of this BAA for complete details. Security Classification: Software development will largely be UNCLASSIFIED but the domain specific activities may be up to TS/SCI. IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING: FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH. It is DoD policy that the publication of products of fundamental research will remain unrestricted to the maximum extent possible. National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 189 defines fundamental research as follows: - Fundamental research' means basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons. As of the date of publication of this BAA, the Government cannot identify whether work proposed under this BAA may be considered fundamental research and may award both fundamental and non-fundamental research. Proposers should indicate in their proposal whether they believe the scope of the research included in their proposal is fundamental or not. While proposers should clearly explain the intended results of their research, the Government shall have sole discretion to select award instrument type and to negotiate all instrument terms and conditions with selectees. Appropriate clauses will be included in resultant awards for non-fundamental research to prescribe publication requirements and other restrictions, as appropriate. For certain research projects, it may be possible that although the research being performed by the awardee is restricted research, a sub-awardee may be conducting fundamental research. In those cases, it is the awardee's responsibility to explain in their proposal why its sub-awardee's effort is fundamental research. CLOUD COMPUTING. In accordance with DFARS Clause 252.239-7010, if the development proposed requires storage of Government, or Government-related data on the cloud, offerors need to ensure that the cloud service provider proposed has been granted Provisional Authorization by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) at the level appropriate to the requirement. II. AWARD INFORMATION: 1. FUNDING: Total funding for this BAA is approximately $9.9M. The anticipated funding to be obligated under this BAA is broken out by fiscal year as follows: FY 15 - $1.0M FY 16 - $2.0M FY 17 - $2.0M FY 18 - $2.5M FY 19 - $2.4M Individual awards will not normally exceed 18 months with dollar amounts normally ranging from $250K to $1.5M per year. There is also the potential to make awards up to any dollar value. The Government reserves the right to select all, part, or none of the proposals received, subject to the availability of funds. All potential Offerors should be aware that due to unanticipated budget fluctuations, funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice. 2. FORM. Awards of efforts as a result of this announcement will be in the form of contracts. 3. BAA TYPE: This is a two-step open broad agency announcement. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. As STEP ONE - We are only soliciting white papers at this time. DO NOT SUBMIT A FORMAL PROPOSAL. Those white papers found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA may be invited to submit a technical and cost proposal, see Section VI of this announcement for further details regarding the proposal. III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: 1. ELIGIBILITY: All qualified offerors who meet the requirements of this BAA may apply. 2. FOREIGN PARTICIPATION/ACCESS: a. This BAA is closed to foreign participation. This includes both foreign ownership and foreign nationals as employees or subcontractors. b. Exceptions. 1. Fundamental Research. If the work to be performed is unclassified, fundamental research, this must be clearly identified in the white paper and/or proposal. See Part II, Section I for more details regarding Fundamental Research. Offerors should still identify any performance by foreign nationals at any level (prime contractor or subcontractor) in their proposals. Please specify the nationals' country of origin, the type of visa or work permit under which they are performing and an explanation of their anticipated level of involvement. You may be asked to provide additional information during negotiations in order to verify the foreign citizen's eligibility to participate on any contract or assistance agreement issued as a result of this announcement 2. Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) companies who have mitigation plans/paperwork in place. Proof of approved mitigation documentation must be provided to the contracting office focal point, Gail E. Marsh, Contracting Officer, telephone +1 (555) 000-0000, or e-mail contact@example.gov prior to submitting a white paper and/or a proposal. For information on FOCI mitigation, contact the Defense Security Service. Additional details can be found at: http://www.dss.mil/isp/foci/foci_mitigation.html 3. Foreign Nationals as Employees or Subcontractors. Applicable to any effort not considered Fundamental Research. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that all employees and/or subcontractors who will work on a resulting contract are eligible to do so. Any employee who is not a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident will be restricted from working on any resultant contract unless prior approval of the Department of State or the Department of Commerce is obtained via a technical assistance agreement or an export license. Violations of these regulations can result in criminal or civil penalties. c. Information Regarding Non-US Citizens Assigned to this Project 1. Contractor employees requiring access to USAF bases, AFRL facilities, and/or access to U.S. Government Information Technology (IT) networks in connection with the work on contracts, assistance instruments or other transactions awarded under this BAA must be U.S. citizens. For the purpose of base and network access, possession of a permanent resident card ("Green Card") does not equate to U.S. citizenship. This requirement does not apply to foreign nationals approved by the U.S. Department of Defense or U.S. State Department under international personnel exchange agreements with foreign governments. It also does not apply to dual citizens who possess US citizenship, to include Naturalized citizens. Any waivers to this requirement must be granted in writing by the Contracting Officer prior to providing access. Specific format for waiver request will be provided upon request to the Contracting Officer. The above requirements are in addition to any other contract requirements related to obtaining a Common Access Card (CAC). 2. For the purposes of Paragraph 1, it an IT network/system does not require AFRL to endorse a contractor's application to said network/system in order to gain access, the organization operating the IT network/system is responsible for controlling access to its system. If an IT network/system requires a U.S. Government sponsor to endorse the application in order for access to the IT network/system, AFRL will only endorse the following types of applications, consistent with the requirements above: a) Contractor employees who are U.S. citizens performing work under contracts, assistance instruments or other transactions awarded under this BAA. b) Contractor employees who are non-U.S. citizens and who have been granted a waiver. Any additional access restrictions established by the IT network/system owner apply. 3. FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTERS AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES: Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government entities (e.g., Government/National laboratories, military educational institutions, etc.) are subject to applicable direct competition limitations and cannot propose to this BAA in any capacity unless they meet the following conditions: a. FFRDCs: FFRDCs must clearly demonstrate that the proposed work is not otherwise available from the private sector; and FFRDCs must provide a letter on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization citing the specific authority establishing their eligibility to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry, and their compliance with the associated FFRDC sponsor agreement's terms and conditions. This information is required for FFRDCs proposing to be prime contractors or sub-awardees. b. Government Entities: Government entities must clearly demonstrate that the work is not otherwise available from the private sector and provide written documentation citing the specific statutory authority and contractual authority, if relevant, establishing their ability to propose to Government solicitations. While 10 U.S.C. 2539b may be the appropriate statutory starting point for some entities, specific supporting regulatory guidance, together with evidence of agency approval, will still be required to fully establish eligibility. FFRDC and Government entity eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis; however, the burden to prove eligibility for all team members rests solely with the proposer. Government agencies interested in performing work related to this announcement should contact the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC). If resulting discussions reveal a mutual interest, cooperation may be pursued via other vehicles. IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION: All responses to this announcement must be addressed to the Technical point of contact (POC) listed in SECTION VII. DO NOT send white papers to the Contracting Officer. 1. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES: It is recommended that white papers be received by the following dates to maximize the possibility of award: FY15 by 31 Oct 2014 FY16 by 01 Jun 2015 FY17 by 31 Jan 2017 FY18 by 16 Mar 2018 FY19 by 29 Jun 2018 White papers will be accepted until 2 PM Eastern Time on 30 Sep 2019, but it is less likely that funding will be available in each respective fiscal year after the dates cited. This BAA will close on 30 Sep 2019. All offerors submitting white papers will be contacted by the technical POC, referenced in Section VII of this announcement. Offerors can email the technical POC for status of their white paper/proposal no earlier than 45 days after submission. 2. CONTENT AND FORMAT: Offerors are required to submit 2 copies of a 5-7 page white paper summarizing their proposed approach/solution. 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. The white paper will be formatted as follows: a. Section A: Title, Period of Performance, Estimated Cost, Name/Address of Company, Technical and Contracting Points of Contact (phone and email)(this section is NOT included in the page count); b. Section B: Task Objective; and c. Section C: Technical Summary and Proposed Deliverables. All white papers shall be double spaced with a font no smaller than 12 point. In addition, respondents are requested to provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) number, their Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, an e-mail address, and reference BAA RIK-2014-0013 with their submission. Multiple white papers within the purview of this announcement may be submitted by each offeror. If the offeror wishes to restrict its white papers, they must be marked with the restrictive language stated in FAR 15.609(a) and (b). 3. HANDLING AND MAILING INSTRUCTIONS: a. CLASSIFICATION GUIDANCE. All Proposers should review the NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY PROGRAM OPERATING MANUAL, (NISPOM), dated February 28, 2006 and incorporating Change 2, dated May 18, 2016, as it provides baseline standards for the protection of classified information and prescribes the requirements concerning Contractor Developed Information under paragraph 4-105. Defense Security Service (DSS) Site for the NISPOM is: http://www.dss.mil/. In the event of a possible or actual compromise of classified information in the submission of your white paper or proposal, immediately but no later than 24 hours, bring this to the attention of your cognizant security authority and AFRL Rome Research Site Information Protection Office (IPO): Vincent J. Guza +1 (555) 000-0000 0730-1630 Monday-Friday +1 (555) 000-0000 Evenings and Weekends Email: contact@example.gov b. CLASSIFIED SUBMISSIONS. AFRL/RISA will accept classified responses to this BAA when the classification is mandated by classification guidance provided by an Original Classification Authority of the U.S. Government, or when the offeror believes the work, if successful, would merit classification. Security classification guidance in the form of a DD Form 254 (DoD Contract Security Classification Specification) will not be provided at this time since AFRL is soliciting ideas only. Offerors that intend to include classified information or data in their white paper submission or who are unsure about the appropriate classification of their white papers should contact the technical point of contact listed in Section VII for guidance and direction in advance of preparation. c. MAILING INSTRUCTIONS. All mailed responses, unclassified/classified, to this announcement must be sent U.S. Postal Service, registered mail and addressed to AFRL/RISA, 525 Brooks Road, Rome NY 13441-4505, and reference BAA-RIK-2014-0013. Electronic submission of classified white paper information is NOT authorized. Questions can be directed to the cognizant technical point of contact listed in Section VII. Electronic submission of unclassified white papers to James Metzler (contact@example.gov) will also be accepted. Encrypt or password-protect all proprietary information prior to sending. Offerors are responsible to confirm receipt with the technical POC listed in Section VII. AFRL is not responsible for undelivered documents. If the white paper is sent via electronic transmission, one copy only is required. Any questions can be directed to the technical POC listed in Section VII. 4. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS/CONSIDERATIONS: a. COST SHARING OR MATCHING: Cost sharing is not a requirement. b. SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM). Offerors must be registered in the SAM database to receive a contract award, and remain registered during performance and through final payment of any contract or agreement. Processing time for registration in SAM, which normally takes forty-eight hours, should be taken into consideration when registering. Offerors who are not already registered should consider applying for registration before submitting a proposal. The provision at FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management (Oct 2016) applies. c. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND FIRST-TIER SUBCONTRACT/ SUBRECIPIENT AWARDS: Any contract award resulting from this announcement may contain the clause at FAR 52.204-10 - Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards. d. ALLOWABLE CHARGES: The cost of preparing white papers/proposals in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract, but may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18. e. GOVERNMENT APPROVED ACCOUNTING SYSTEM: An offeror must have an government approved accounting system prior to award of a cost-reimbursement contract per limitations set forth in FAR 16.301-3(a) to ensure the system is adequate for determining costs applicable to the contract. The acceptability of an accounting system is determined based upon an audit performed by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). IMPORTANT: If you do not have a DCAA approved accounting system access the following link for instructions: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=1cffad228f48b58057072a6c9113799d&tab=core&_ cview=1 f. HUMAN USE: All research involving human subjects, to include the use of human biological specimens and human data, selected for funding must comply with Federal regulations for human subject protection. Further, research involving human subjects that is conducted or supported by the DoD must comply with 32 CFR 219, "Protection of Human Subjects" found at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_07/32cfr219_07.html, and DoD Instruction 3216.02, "Protection of Human Subjects and Adherence to Ethical Standards in DoD-Supported Research" found at: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/321602p.pdf. 1. Institutions awarded funding for research involving human subjects must provide documentation of a current Assurance of Compliance with Federal regulations for human subject protection, for example a Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Human Research Protection Federal Wide Assurance found at: http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp. 2. All institutions engaged in human subject research, to include subcontractors, must have a valid assurance. In addition, personnel involved in human subject research must document the completion of appropriate training for the protection of human subjects. 3. For all research that will involve human subjects in the first year or phase of the project, the institution must submit evidence of a plan for review by an institutional review board (IRB) as part of the proposal. The IRB conducting the review must be the IRB identified on the institution's Assurance of Compliance. The protocol, separate from the proposal, must include a detailed description of the research plan, study population, risks and benefits of study participation, recruitment and consent process, data collection, and data analysis. The designated IRB should be consulted for guidance on writing the protocol. The informed consent document must comply with 32 CFR 219.116. A valid Assurance of Compliance and evidence of appropriate training by all investigators should accompany the protocol for review by the IRB. 4. In addition to a local IRB approval, An AFRL-level human subject regulatory review and approval is required for all research conducted or supported by the DoD. The Air Force office responsible for managing the award can provide guidance and information about the AFRL-level review process. Confirmation of a current Assurance of Compliance and appropriate human subjects protection training is required before AFRL-level approval can be issued. 5. The time required to complete the IRB review/approval process will vary depending on the complexity of the research and/or the level of risk to study participants; ample time should be allotted to complete the approval process. The IRB approval process can last between 1 to 3 months, followed by a DoD review that could last 3 to 6 months. No funding may be used toward human subject research until all approvals are granted. Therefore, in their cost proposals offerors should separate human use into a separate option. V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION: 1. CRITERIA: The following criteria, which are listed in descending order of importance, will be used to determine whether white papers and proposals submitted are consistent with the intent of this BAA and of interest to the Government: a. Overall Scientific and Technical Merit - The soundness of approach for the development and/or enhancement of the proposed technology, b. Related Experience - The extent to which the offeror demonstrates relevant technology and domain knowledge, c. Openness, Maturity and Assurance of Solution - The extent to which existing capabilities and standards are leveraged and the relative maturity of the proposed technology, and d. Reasonableness and realism of proposed costs and fees (if any). No further evaluation criteria will be used in selecting white papers/proposals. White papers and proposals submitted will be evaluated as they are received. 2. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS: Only Government employees will evaluate the white papers/proposals for selection. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate has contracted for various business and staff support services, some of which require contractors to obtain administrative access to proprietary information submitted by other contractors. Administrative access is defined as "handling or having physical control over information for the sole purpose of accomplishing the administrative functions specified in the administrative support contract, which do not require the review, reading, and comprehension of the content of the information on the part of non-technical professionals assigned to accomplish the specified administrative tasks." These contractors have signed general non-disclosure agreements and organizational conflict of interest statements. The required administrative access will be granted to non-technical professionals. Examples of the administrative tasks performed include: a. Assembling and organizing information for R&D case files; b. Accessing library files for use by government personnel; and c. Handling and administration of proposals, contracts, contract funding and queries. Any objection to administrative access must be in writing to the Contracting Officer and shall include a detailed statement of the basis for the objection. 3. FEDERAL AWARDEE PERFORMANCE AND INTEGRITY INFORMATION SYSTEM (FAPIIS) PUBLIC ACCESS: The Government is required to review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the FAPIIS before making any award in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $150,000) over the period of performance. An applicant may review and comment on any information about itself that a federal awarding agency previously entered. The Government will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to other information in FAPIIS in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applic...

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Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Enterprise Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)
Solicitation # FA865226SC003
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Enterprise Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), solicitation FA8652-26-S-C003, is an overarching enterprise framework designed to acquire innovative commercial products and services. Issued under the authority of 10 USC 3458 and DFARS Subpart 212.70, the CSO establishes a structure for issuing competitive solicitations known as Spirals. These Spirals target a wide range of Areas of Interest (AOI) across the Air, Space, Cyberspace/Electronic Warfare, and Cross-Domain technology domains, including hypersonics, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, and human-machine teaming. Resulting awards may take the form of fixed-price FAR Part 12 contracts or Other Transactions for Prototype (OTP). Foreign participation is strictly prohibited. The acquisition process typically follows a two-step approach for Spirals. In Step One, offerors submit a Commercial Solutions Brief (CSB) consisting of a PowerPoint briefing and a white paper. Those categorized as Selectable are invited to Step Two to submit a full Commercial Solutions Proposal (CSP), which includes a technical proposal, a Statement of Work, and a price proposal with an editable Excel pricing model. Evaluation is conducted via subject-matter expert peer review, focusing on technical merit, applicability, importance to agency programs, and funding availability. Strict security and compliance requirements are in place, including mandatory security risk reviews for all senior and key personnel to mitigate foreign influence. Offerors must also perform an Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) analysis and adhere to DoD item unique identification standards (MIL-STD-130) for delivered hardware costing $5,000 or more. Contract administration, including invoicing and payment, is managed electronically through the Wide Area WorkFlow (WAWF) system.
Air Force Research Laboratory

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about 8 hours ago

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in over 3 years
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NAICS: 541715
New
Federal
Systems for Phenotypic Evaluation, Clinical Trajectories, Response, and Agency (SPECTRA)
Solicitation # ARPA-H-SOL-26-163
The Systems for Phenotypic Evaluation, Clinical Trajectories, Response, and Agency (SPECTRA) program, issued by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under solicitation ARPA-H-SOL-26-163, aims to advance the understanding and treatment of autism by identifying evolving developmental trajectories across the lifespan. The program focuses on the nonlinear interactions between genetic, biological, behavioral, and environmental factors to move toward personalized intervention. The scope of work is divided into four Technical Areas: Multi-Factor Analysis and Trajectory Identification (TA1), Population-Scale Modeling and Data Integration (TA2), Precision Intervention and Trajectory Testing (TA3), and Technologies for Communication, Quality of Life, and Embedded Assessment (TA4). Key deliverables include an operating federated network with at least ten live nodes, open-license data standards, a versioned model registry, and the development of technologies that combine clinical assessment with tools to improve daily function and quality of life. Awards will be made via Other Transaction (OT) instruments to proposers determined to be the most advantageous to the government based on scientific merit, capabilities, price/value analysis, and relevance to the ARPA-H mission. The program utilizes a milestone-based acceptance process with gates at 12, 24, and 48 months. Technical requirements emphasize privacy-preserving linkage, differential privacy, and secure execution. Proposers must be registered in SAM.gov and are required to use specific templates for Solution Summaries, with staggered submission deadlines ranging from October 2026 through January 2027. ARPA-H prioritizes entities that will conduct the funded work within the United States.
Advanced Research Projects Agency For Health (arpa-H)

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about 8 hours ago

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in about 1 month
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NAICS: 541715
New
Grant
2026년도 국제공동연구 신속지원사업 신규과제 공모
Solicitation # 2026-1045
The 2026 International Joint Research Rapid Support Project, solicitation number 2026-1045, is a government-funded initiative managed by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Science and ICT. The project focuses on developing core original technologies for high-density parallel light sources, specifically micro-LED and micro-OLED, for use in AI data center optical interconnects. The total government support funding is 737.5 million KRW for a 16-month performance period running from December 2026 to March 2028. This project is classified as a National Strategic Technology in the semiconductors and next-generation OLED sectors, aiming to advance from Technology Readiness Level 3 to TRL 5. A mandatory requirement for this solicitation is the establishment of an international joint research network with Japanese research institutions to secure expertise in organic light-emitting materials and patents. Technical objectives include developing 32-channel arrays with specific performance targets: transmission speeds exceeding 1 GHz for micro-LED and 0.2 GHz for micro-OLED, and driving energy levels of 1 pJ/bit and 20 pJ/bit respectively. Final acceptance requires the submission of a functional prototype and verification through accredited certification bodies, official test reports, or witnessed self-evaluations. All research achievements and commercialization results must be managed through the Integrated Research Information System (IRIS), and the project is subject to technology fee collection and the 3-book 5-public rule for concurrent research limits.
National Research Foundation of Korea

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about 11 hours ago

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in 13 days
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More opportunities from Department Of Defense → FA8750 Afrl Rik

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NAICS: 541715
Federal
ADVANCED RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT (ARA) TITLE: CHARACTERIZATION AND ASSESSMENT FOR SPACE DOMAIN AWARENESS (SDA)
Solicitation # FA875024S7005
The Department of the Air Force, through the Air Force Research Laboratory Rome Research Site, issued Advanced Research Announcement FA8750-24-S-7005 to solicit research for the design, development, demonstration, and testing of technologies supporting Space Domain Awareness and Space Superiority. The primary objective was to advance intelligent tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, analysis, and dissemination of data, with a specific focus on High-Performance Computational SDA utilizing ground, orbital, and cyber intelligence to create integrated, predictive capabilities. The program had an estimated total funding ceiling of 99 million dollars, with individual awards typically ranging from 1 million to 10 million dollars over a period not exceeding 48 months. Awards were intended to be made via FAR-based procurement contracts or Other Transactions. The solicitation process was structured as an open, two-step ARA requiring initial white paper submissions, with formal proposals accepted by invitation only. Evaluation criteria focused on overall scientific and technical merit, related experience, and the openness and maturity of the proposed solution. All submissions were subject to rigorous security risk reviews to identify foreign influence and required strict adherence to S&T protection and cybersecurity standards. However, per Amendment 3, this ARA was officially cancelled and closed on September 9, 2025, and the government is no longer accepting white papers.
Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

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13 days ago

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in over 2 years
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NAICS: 541715
Federal
Signals Intelligence Focused Technologies for Exploitation and Reporting (SIFTER)
Solicitation # FA875024S7007
The Signals Intelligence Focused Technologies for Exploitation and Reporting (SIFTER) program is an open, two-step Advanced Research Announcement (ARA) issued by the Department of the Air Force, AFRL Rome Research Site. The program seeks innovative research, algorithms, and methodologies to enhance the exploitation, dissemination, and analytics of adversarial signal information. Key areas of emphasis include onboard processing for manned and unmanned ISR platforms, high-speed signal detection and prosecution, cross-domain multi-sensor data analytics, and compliance with Open System Architecture (OSA) for operationally relevant environments. This effort is a follow-on to the previous SIETE program. The ARA is effective until September 28, 2029, with total estimated funding of approximately 99.9 million dollars. Individual awards typically range from 1 million to 5 million dollars with a performance period not exceeding 60 months, though awards may vary based on available ceiling funds. The government may utilize FAR-based procurement contracts or Other Transactions (OTs) for these awards. Initial submissions are limited to white papers of 3 to 5 pages, with formal proposals accepted by invitation only. To align with projected funding, suggested submission deadlines are provided for fiscal years 2025 through 2029. Prospective offerors must adhere to strict submission guidelines and security requirements, including a holistic decision-making process that evaluates both technical merit and security risks. All proposals are subject to a Security Risk Review to identify undue foreign influence, and offerors must disclose any participation in foreign government talent recruitment programs. Additionally, respondents must identify potential organizational conflicts of interest and provide a mitigation plan. For those pursuing OT agreements, the government requires significant participation from nontraditional defense contractors, nonprofit research institutions, or small businesses, or a cost share of at least one-third of the total project cost.
Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

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28 days ago

DEADLINE

in almost 3 years
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NAICS: 541715
Federal
SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE (SIGINT) SOLUTIONS FOR EVOLVING SCENARIOS (SESS)
Solicitation # FA875023S7005
The Department of the Air Force, through the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Rome Research Site, is seeking innovative research and development for Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Solutions for Evolving Scenarios (SSES). This open, two-step Broad Agency Announcement (BAA FA8750-23-S-7005) focuses on emerging Cyber and SIGINT real-time processing solutions to enhance tactical information collection, geolocation, extraction, identification, analysis, simulation, and reporting. The program aims to provide the Intelligence Community and warfighters with scalable, open-architecture tools for situational awareness and battlespace dominance, specifically targeting three technology areas: Information Extraction, Signal Processing, and Automation Enhancements. The BAA is effective until September 25, 2028, with total estimated funding of approximately 99.9 million dollars. Individual awards typically range from 250,000 to 15 million dollars and generally do not exceed 36 months. The government may utilize various award instruments, including FAR-based procurement contracts, DODGARS-based grants, cooperative agreements, or Other Transactions (OT). Selection is based on quantifiable benefits, related experience, the maturity and openness of the solution, and cost realism. Additionally, research must adhere to Gold Standard Science principles, ensuring reproducibility and transparency in accordance with Executive Order 14303. Interested parties must first submit a three-to-five page white paper electronically; formal technical and cost proposals are accepted by invitation only. Submissions must include the offeror's CAGE code and unique entity identifier. Due to the sensitive nature of the work, all proposals undergo a Security Risk Review for key personnel to mitigate foreign influence and must comply with NISPOM standards for classified information. Offerors are encouraged to align their submissions with suggested fiscal year dates to better match projected funding availability.
Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

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about 1 month ago

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in almost 2 years
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NAICS: 541715
Federal
EXTREME COMPUTING
Solicitation # FA875023S7004
The Department of the Air Force, through the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), is soliciting white papers for Broad Agency Announcement FA8750-23-S-7004, titled Extreme Computing. This open, two-step solicitation is effective until September 20, 2028, and focuses on the research, development, integration, test, and evaluation of advanced computing technologies. Key technical areas include computational diversity, efficient computing architectures, machine learning and artificial intelligence in embedded systems, computing at the edge, nanocomputing, space computing, and robust algorithms. The effort specifically targets C4ISR and Cyber applications for size, weight, and power constrained Air Force platforms. Total estimated funding for this BAA is approximately 497.9 million dollars. While individual awards typically range from 1 million to 3 million dollars with durations up to 36 months, there is potential for awards up to 99.9 million dollars. The government may utilize various award instruments, including FAR-based procurement contracts, CFR-based grants and cooperative agreements, or Other Transactions (OTs). Initial submissions are limited to 3-to-5-page white papers, with formal proposals accepted by invitation only. Evaluation is based on a trade-off approach weighing assessed risk against potential scientific benefit. Primary criteria for white papers include overall scientific and technical merit, related experience, solution openness and maturity, and cost realism. For assistance instruments, adherence to Gold Standard Science principles and alignment with presidential policy priorities are mandatory. Additionally, all proposals undergo a security risk review to protect science and technology from undue foreign influence. Offerors must comply with strict organizational conflict of interest disclosures and provide proof of mitigation for any foreign ownership, control, or influence.
Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

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about 1 month ago

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in almost 2 years
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NAICS: 541715
Federal
ULTRA-BROADBAND TERAHERTZ RADIO DEVELOPMENT
Solicitation # FA875023S7009
The Department of the Air Force, through the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Rome Research Site, has issued Broad Agency Announcement FA8750-23-S-7009 to solicit innovative research for the development and demonstration of ultra-broadband terahertz radios operating between 100 and 300 GHz. The objective is to create a compact communications system capable of dynamically adjusting carrier frequency, output power, and data rates to support future Air Force capabilities in contested spectrum environments. Key technical requirements include a fast flexible baseband modem supporting spreading bandwidths up to 10 GHz and data rates from 1 Mbps to 1 Gbps, as well as precise terahertz beam forming and shaping. The agency is specifically seeking systems that can meet threshold and objective parameters for transmission range, beamwidth, and pointing accuracy, though it is not currently interested in specific waveform designs. This open, two-step BAA is effective until September 19, 2028, and utilizes a white paper submission process, with formal proposals accepted by invitation only. Total estimated funding is approximately $9.9 million, with individual awards typically ranging from $200,000 to $4 million and generally not exceeding a 36-month duration. Awards may be issued as FAR-based procurement contracts, DODGARS-based grants and cooperative agreements, or Other Transactions (OT). Evaluation is based on a trade-off approach considering technical merit, mission relevance to DOW missions, and cost realism, with recent amendments incorporating Gold Standard Science principles per Executive Order 14303. Offerors must comply with strict Science and Technology (S&T) protection requirements, including security risk reviews and Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) mitigation documentation.
Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

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about 1 month ago

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N/A
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NAICS: 541715
Federal
Automated Processes for Knowledge Discovery and Information Retrieval
Solicitation # FA875024S7006
The Department of the Air Force, through the Air Force Research Laboratory Rome Research Site, is seeking innovative research under Broad Agency Announcement FA8750-24-S-7006 to develop and deliver technologies for processing and exploiting multi-source, multi-domain data. The effort focuses on utilizing classified, open source, and non-traditional source data to improve Battlespace Awareness, derive decision-quality information, and automate analysis and decision processes. Specific technical goals include creating algorithms to detect behavioral deviations, anticipate future behavior, and identify knowledge gaps to generate collection hypotheses. This is an open, two-step BAA effective until September 9, 2029, with total estimated funding of approximately 99 million dollars. Individual awards typically range from 3 million to 35 million dollars with a performance period generally not exceeding 48 months. The government may utilize various award instruments, including FAR-based procurement contracts, Other Transactions, and assistance instruments. Initial submissions are limited to white papers of 3 to 5 pages, with formal proposals accepted by invitation only. Suggested submission dates for white papers are aligned annually by fiscal year through November 30, 2028. Proposals are evaluated based on technical merit, innovation, and feasibility, with a specific emphasis on Gold Standard Science principles and the delivery of immediately demonstrable results. All submissions undergo a rigorous Security Risk Review to protect science and technology from undue foreign influence, requiring the disclosure of all current and pending research support for key personnel. Offerors must also disclose any potential organizational conflicts of interest and provide proof of mitigation for foreign ownership, control, or influence. Small businesses, academia, and non-profit entities are encouraged to apply.
Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

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about 2 months ago

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in almost 3 years
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