INTRA SOLDIER WIRELESS (ISW) TECHNOLOGIES

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) / SOURCES SOUGHT (SS) NOTICE INTRA SOLDIER WIRELESS (ISW) TECHNOLOGIES DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION: No award will be made as a result of this request. This Request for Information (RFI) is for informational and planning purposes only; this is not an Invitation for Bid (IFB), a Request for Proposal (RFP), or Request for Quotation (RFQ). No solicitation document exists and a formal solicitation may or may not be issued by the Government as a result of the responses to this RFI. The Government will not be liable for payment of any response preparation expenses and is in no way obligated by the information received. Any costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement will NOT be reimbursed. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing a future acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement, Statement of Objectives and/or Performance Based Specification(s). Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. NOTE: The use of Solicitation Number: W56KGU-21-R-ISWT for tracking purposes only. The proposed contract action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. This notice of intent is NOT a request for competitive proposals; however, all interested persons that identify to the Contracting Officer their intent and capabilities to satisfy the Government's requirement and are received within 21 calendar days after the date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The current contract is W15P7T-14-D-A210 / KY04 with Booz Allen Hamilton. This is a follow-on effort. INTRODUCTION The US Army Combat Capabilities Command (CCDC) C5ISR is interested in receiving information from companies that have embeddable radios for wireless personal area networks (WPAN) communications available at a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6 or higher. Technologies/ products presented should be capable of being matured to at least a TRL 7 within approximately a year. In addition, technologies/products should be low size, weight, power, and cost (SWAP-C) and capable of working in congested and contested environments. The radios should also allow for encrypted communications, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Security Agency (NSA) Suite B certifiable. Additional required capabilities/features are included below. Information received in response to this RFI will inform C5ISR's ISW program. BACKGROUND ISW program is focused on continuing to develop a secure, robust, low SWAP-C capability for intra-soldier wireless communications in contested environments. ISW requires only enough range to seamlessly and securely link peripheral devices used by the soldier such as weapon sight, heads-up display, laser range finder, etc. Suitable technologies/products for the ISW radio should have the following capabilities and features: Robust, minimal user-intervention network formation techniques (joining/leaving networks). Multiple network configuration: point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, multicast, and broadcast, etc. Low probability of interception/detection (LPI/LPD). Ability to operate in the presence of jammers/jamming avoidance. Adequate throughput to support uncompressed video. Ability to operate in high-usage spectrum environments. Resistance to spoofing attacks. Encrypted transmissions without resort to backhaul for authentication. Support for data security at the Secret But Unclassified/For Official Use Only (SBU/FOUO) level of classification and NSA Secret-And-Below (SAB) certification. Use non-proprietary standard interfaces such as USB, parallel, serial and easily interface with other Army radios for connectivity to longer range networks. Embeddable in Army devices. Capable of operating in line-of-sight and none-line-of-sight. Operating frequencies must support relevant regulatory frequency allocations. (e.g. NTIA - National Telecommunications and Information Administration - compliancy) Should be TRL 6[1] or higher and able to reach TRL 7[2] or higher within approximately two years (as defined by the DoD Technology Readiness Assessment SCOPE The objective of this RFI is to solicit information regarding technologies that can provide intra-soldier communications to the dismount soldier that would serve U.S. Army goals for an ISW wireless personal area network. CCDC C5ISR will be evaluating the responses to help shape and validate feasible requirements. INFORMATION REQUESTED: Sources able to provide the requested information are invited to submit a white paper describing their technology, and test data relevant to this RFI. The white paper should be organized as listed below and include the following information: 1. Cover letter (not included in 10 pages) providing: a. Company Information 1) Company name 2) Primarily location(s) where work is performed 3) Mailing Address 4) Company Website b. Company Technical Point of Contact 1) Name 2) Title 3) Mailing Address 4) Email Address 5) Phone Number 2. Technical Approach Summary (maximum 10 pages) The white paper should include: Description of qualification: demonstrated products, projects, and applicable experience. State whether your current experience is in design, development, or both. Description of existing or planned work in this area. Include strategies for embedding end products into both commercial Government off the shelf (GOTs) Soldier devices. Provide information on partnerships agreements planned or existing. A description of products/technologies that meet the description of capabilities and features listed in the background section above. SUBMITTING RESPONSE TO THIS RFI: Interested parties are encouraged to submit their information electronically by 1700 EDT on 23 October 2020 to the following: S&TCD: marianne.lazzaro.civ@mail.mil AMT Mailbox: usarmy.apg.ccdc-c5isr.mbx.stcd-amt@mail.mil The subject line for the email submission should read: - RFI: INtra soldier wireless TECHNOLOGIES - YOUR COMPANY. The submission is limited to 10 (ten) pages in length. Any company proprietary information, performance capabilities, and/or future modification plans should be clearly identified and MUST be marked accordingly and will be protected by the Government. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosure to non-government personnel and entities. Please do not submit classified information in response to this RFI; if necessary, classified discussions with the Government can occur later via secure means. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Responses to this RFI may be used to develop Government documentation. QUESTIONS: Technical questions are to be forwarded to the appropriate CCDC C5ISR Center Technical Points of Contact (TPOCs). The subject line for the email should read: - Technical Question(s), RFI: INtra soldier wireless TECHNOLOGIES - YOUR COMPANY. Technical Point of Contact Marianne.lazzaro.civ@mail.mil Contractual questions are to be forwarded to the appropriate Points of Contact (POC) at the Army Contracting Command (ACC) - Aberdeen Proving Ground. Technical submissions and questions should not be submitted to the contracting POC's. The subject line for the contractual questions email should read: - Contractual Question(s), RFI: INTRA SOLDIER WIRELESS (ISW) TECHNOLOGIES - YOUR COMPANY. ACC: Tammy Woodard, tammy.m.woodard2.civ@mail.mil DATA RIGHTS: It is desirable that data be received with unlimited rights to the Government. Any data submitted with less than unlimited rights should be submitted in accordance with DFARS 252.227-7013, in table format. However, it is recognized that proprietary data may be included with the information provided. If so, it is the responsibility of the interested party submitting data to clearly identify and mark such proprietary information and clearly separate it from the unrestricted information as an addendum. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosures to non-government personnel and entities. Please do not submit classified information in responses to this RFI; if necessary, classified discussions with the Government can occur later via secure means. [1] TRL 6: Representative model or prototype system, which is well beyond that of TRL 5, is tested in a relevant environment. Represents a major step up in a technology's demonstrated readiness. Examples include testing a prototype in a high-fidelity laboratory environment or in a simulated operational environment. [2] TRL 7: Prototype near or at planned operational system. Represents a major step up from TRL 6 by requiring demonstration of an actual system prototype in an operational environment (e.g., in an aircraft, in a vehicle, or in space).