Missile Defense Agency AirBorne Sensors Program Request For Information

Agency: Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Office: Directorate for Test (DT) Location: MDA-DTK NAICS: 541715 PSC: AC13 Solicitation Number: TBD Notice Type: Sources Sought Announcement 1. PURPOSE The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is conducting market research to determine interest in the AirBorne Sensors (ABS) High ALtitude Observatory (HALO) program requirements. The results of this research will support the development of the strategy for the ABS acquisition and help determine the capabilities of potential sources interested and capable to accomplish the requirements contained herein. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any service whatsoever. Further, MDA is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the MDA 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. 2. SCOPE The ABS program is used to collect radiometric electro-optical (EO) visible through long-wave infrared (LWIR) data on MDA flight test events. The scope for the ABS performance elements is listed in Appendix A. 3. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The anticipated period of performance for the future ABS requirement is ten years, from September 15, 2026 through September 14, 2036. 4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Respondents and/or Prospective Offerors (if a solicitation is issued) and its subcontractors /suppliers must be U.S. firms/businesses and not foreign owned, controlled, or influenced. Interested parties are requested to provide an information package consisting of the following: 4.1 Completed RFI Response Form (Attachment A). Attachment A provides a template for vendors to provide their company profile and answers to the specific questions included. RFI response must include a Capabilities Brief/Relevant Experience Brief and answers to the Attachment A questions. 4.2 Capabilities/Relevant Experience Brief. Vendors may provide a separate capabilities/relevant experience brief in which they describe corporate capabilities/ experience and relevancy to the requirements in Appendix A. MDA requests the below details as support for each reference: Contract number(s); Title and objective of contract; Contracting agency and point of contact information; and Scope, period of performance, and type of contract (e.g., fixed price, cost reimbursement, fee) Do not submit generic corporate marketing materials for this RFI. The maximum page count for the RFI Response brief is no more than 10 pages. The response shall be single-spaced, minimum 12-point Times New Roman. 5. SMALL BUSINESS Because one objective of this RFI is to determine the capability of small business to meet the requirements contained herein, and to inform the acquisition strategy with regard to setting aside any future acquisition for small businesses, MDA request the following information: - The prime small business contractor responding to this RFI must include their past experience in managing subcontractors on similar requirements, and if applicable, include subcontractor or teaming partners past experience applicable to requirements specified in this Sources Sought. - Responsible small businesses planning teaming arrangements to meet the support requirements listed above are expected to articulate the portions of work that the prime small business intends to perform as well as articulate the portions that subcontractors or teaming partners (if applicable) will perform. Responses must include business size and business socio-economic category of all subcontractors or teaming partners identified to perform work associated with the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for RFI. 6. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS Potential sources will be required to support security requirements with a top-secret facility clearance and safeguarding to the secret level. 7. RESPONSES AND MARKING Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI by completing and returning the required submissions described above. Responses shall be submitted via e-mail to contact@example.gov no later than 18 July 2024 12:00 PM CST. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to provide feedback with respect to any information submitted. Only vendors with interest as a prime contractor shall complete the above referenced form; however, prime contractors are able to include information provided by their subcontractors in their response. Proprietary information is neither sought nor desired by MDA. If such information is submitted, it must clearly be marked "proprietary" on every sheet containing such information, and the proprietary information must be segregated to the maximum extent practicable from other portions of the response (e.g., use an attachment or exhibit). Respondents are responsible for adequately marking propriety information contained in their response. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. 8. QUESTIONS Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to contact@example.gov. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 3 July 2024 will be answered. Questions will only be answered via email. 9. CLOSING The MDA would like to thank all respondents in advance for your feedback. The results of this research will support the development of the strategy for the ABS acquisition. There is a potential for additional RFIs, Industry Days and One-on-One meeting events related to this acquisition. Please monitor SAM.Gov. This RFI is issued solely for informational and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any service whatsoever. Further, MDA is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the MDA 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. Appendix A: ABS HALO Program Requirements Operations and Sustainment (O&S): MDA requires O&S of all ABS aircraft and sensor equipment for the collection of radiometric EO visible wavelength through LWIR data on MDA flight test events. O&S includes aircraft and sensor operations and maintenance, aircraft and sensor modifications, management of flight and ground crew, and aircraft and engineering facility management. This also includes developing and executing airworthiness and flight safety procedures. Operations activities may include, but are not limited to, program management, program functional support from financial, contracting, safety, cyber security, quality, security, engineering, logistics, and configuration management. Maintenance and operation of all aircraft will be in accordance with DCMA Instruction 8210. The contractor will be required to support security requirements with a top-secret facility clearance and safeguarding to the secret level. This also includes developing and implementing accredited cyber security processes at the contractor's facility and with deployed ABS systems. The contractor will also be required to provide environmentally controlled space for all aircraft and sensor equipment. The contractor must demonstrate the capability to assume O&S and MDA mission support on December 14, 2026. Key ABS systems: 1.1.1 HALO-I is a Gulfstream 550 (G-550) aircraft with multiple sensors viewing through optical windows. The sensors are calibrated to collect radiometric visible through LWIR data. HALO-I will has four independently pointed sensor stations with user-defined sensors and with each station accommodating three-to-four sensors. HALO-I technical data package will be provided. 1.1.2 HALO-II and HALO IIIR are G-550 aircraft with a cupola mounted atop the fuselage that allows for open port viewing with the Next Generation Sensor (NGS), which is a multiband sensor system to collect calibrated radiometric and photo documentation data in the visible through LWIR spectral regions. Final drawings and technical data packages will be provided for HALO-II, HALO-III and NGS. 1.1.3 Maintenance and operation of all aircraft will be in accordance with DCMA Instruction 8210. The contractor will be required to support security requirements with a top-secret facility clearance and safeguarding to the secret level. This also includes developing and implementing accredited cyber security processes at the contractor's facility and with deployed ABS systems. The contractor will be required to provide environmentally controlled space for all aircraft, sensor equipment, and laboratories described in 1.1.6 and 1.1.7. 1.1.4 Portable Uplink Ground Station (PUGS) provides secure uplinks for sensor pointing, two-way voice and downlinked sensor video communications capability. This capability includes line of site Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) to the aircraft and International Maritime Satellite (INMARSAT) for beyond line of sight communications. 1.1.5 The Mission Software (MS) and Mission Data Center (MDC) consist of various software tools to support ABS mission execution and pre and post mission support. MS consists of commercial off - the - shelf (COTS), modified COTS, and contractor developed software for command and control of aircraft mission systems. This also includes MS to point and operate all HALO sensors. Software documentation will be provided. The MDC tools are used to conduct pre-mission planning for aircraft test support position to optimize sensor sensitivity in the collection of radiometric data. The MDC also includes tools for post-mission data reduction and analysis. The current ABS software systems operate with Windows 10. The contractor must demonstrate the capability to assume engineering and transition responsibilities on September 15, 2026. 1.1.6 The Systems Integration Lab (SIL) develops and tests mission software and integrates with sensors and command and control hardware. The Government provided SIL is located at the current ABS prime contractor's facility in Tulsa, OK. The contractor must demonstrate a plan to: Assume engineering and transition responsibilities on September 15, 2026; Transfer the SIL to a new facility at or near the aircraft storage location; Demonstrate a plan to work with the current ABS prime contractor to provide SIL support to meet ABS requirements. 1.1.7 Optics lab maintenance and calibration equipment utilization is essential to the support of all HALO sensors to maintain the pedigree from historical MDA data to new data. The Government provided optics lab is located at the current ABS prime contractor's facility in Tulsa, OK. The contractor must demonstrate a plan to: Assume engineering and transition responsibilities on September 15, 2026. Transfer the Optics Lab to a new facility at or near the aircraft storage location; Work with the current ABS prime contractor to provide optics lab support to HALO-I, HALO-II and HALO-III. Mission Planning and Execution: ABS mission planning and flight test execution includes pre-mission planning, airborne test measurement operations, airborne and ground based voice and data communications, coordination with national and other test ranges both CONUS and OCONUS, and post-mission activities. 1.2.1 Pre-mission planning: includes coordination with the ABS Government team and customers to define requirements and data collection objectives and determining deployment locations for aircraft and communications systems. This also includes determining aircraft positions during test events, developing flight plans while adhering to safety of flight and test range safety requirements. Includes optimizing sensor selection and integration into the HALO aircraft. Includes determining expected signature of each test item in order to select optimal sensor and position of HALO aircraft. This includes determining sequence of sensor movement during the flight test event and data collection time. This also includes insuring pilots, maintenance, and mission support personnel are trained to safely and effectively deploy and accomplish mission objectives. 1.2.2 Airborne test operations: includes collecting Electro-Optic/Infrared (EO/IR) Data (Visible through LWIR) with specific requirements dependent on each flight test. The complexities of collecting ABS flight test data includes using communication systems to real-time uplink tracking data to multiple HALO aircraft to collect data on missile defense flight tests events. This includes collecting data on multiple objects of interest per flight test event (i.e. booster separation, intercept events, multiple interceptors and target missiles). Test complexities also includes using tracking data to slew combinations of sensors on multiple aircraft to specific flight test events for specific event durations. Additional test complexities includes the ability for the mission controller on each HALO aircraft to manually adjust sensor tracking for non-nominal events. 1.2.3 Airborne and ground based voice and data communications: includes deploying ABS communications teams to support mission objectives. This may include simultaneous communications to support multiple test events at different locations with all HALO aircraft. This also includes integrating ABS PUGS systems with test ranges conducting missile defense testing. Communications capabilities includes line-of-sight from ground to each aircraft, INMARSAT, Iridium phones, and standard air traffic control (ATC) communications. 1.2.4 Coordination with national and other test ranges both CONUS and OCONUS includes working with the ABS Government team and test ranges conducting missile defense test events to develop support plans. Test event plans encompass aircraft and sensor systems operations, communications plans, safety and security constraints, and operations and logistics plans. Flight-testing at ranges of interest to MDA including national ranges, foreign ranges, and other ranges were missile defense testing could occur. 1.2.5 Post-Mission Activities: includes providing a quick-look assessment for senior leaders after landing from the test event. Post-mission activities also include processing mission data into engineering products, engineering photo documentation, engineering parametric products and providing post-mission briefs. 1.3. Improvement and Modernization (I&M): ABS I&M spans from concept development through all engineering phases, production and integration into ABS systems. Aircraft and sensor engineering support includes aircraft/sensor system and/or component design, development, acquisition, modifications, integration, operations and maintenance, and capability upgrades and improvement. The ABS program operates three Gulfstream 550 commercial derivative aircraft (CDA) initially approved for flight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These aircraft have been modified to accept ABS mission specific equipment in response to MDA test support requirements, are designated Public Aircraft, and operate under Public Aircraft Operations authority, and as such, MDA is the final airworthiness authority for the aircraft. All aircraft are now in their Full Operational Capability (FOC) baseline configurations and have completed all major aircraft/system modifications. In accordance with DoD Directive 5030.61 - DoD Airworthiness Policy (Enclosure 3, Sections 3 and 4), MDA intends to designate an Airworthiness Authority from contractor provided capabilities. These capabilities include: Engineering organization (Technical Authority) capable of independently Assessing the airworthiness of aircraft and air system configurations, and Establishing airworthiness limitations for all aircraft and air systems. Airworthiness management and control organization manage and control the airworthiness process Familiar with federal regulations and DoD policy governing airworthiness, Sufficiently independent of acquisition program and operational influence to provide Valid assessment of airworthiness, Valid assessment of safety of flight residual risk, and To exercise overall engineering oversight. Approved for Public Release 24-MDA-11777 (1 May 24)