PSS-T Radar Replacement 2023 - Request for Information

Product Director (PD) Aerostats is issuing this request for information synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify potential sources having an interest and industry technologies available to provide an Aerostat multi-mode sensor for the Persistent Surveillance Systems-Tethered (PSS-T) program. The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement, if a requirement materializes. Based on the responses to this request for information notice/market research, this requirement may be set-aside for small businesses (in full or in part) or procured through full and open competition. Multiple awards may be made. All small business set-aside categories will be considered. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding submissions. DISCLAIMER THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) TO BE SUBMITTED. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. PROGRAM BACKGROUND The PSS-T POR aerostats are capable of persistent, integrated, networked, and multi-sensor information collection by operating for long periods of time at an altitude to maximize the line of sight and field of regard of on-board systems. The PSS-T systems are Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance platform equipped with a variety of sensors to fulfill force protection, communication, and surveillance missions. PSS-T is required to be employed during all phases of theater operations. PSS-T is responsive to the ground component of a joint warfighting force by providing weather-dependent, persistent surveillance at operating locations throughout the operational area and directly enhancing the commander's situational understanding. REQUIRED CAPABILITIES Vendor should provide a data curve showing single scan Pd vs. Range by for 1 m2 RCS target detections. Include Blake chart of signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio components used to determine ranges in curve. The probability of false alarm (Pfa) associated with the data curve should also be specified. Atmospheric attenuation and clutter losses do not need to be included. Vendor should provide minimum range, Doppler, azimuth, and elevation resolutions. The vendor should provide the minimum detectable velocity (MDV) of the system. Vendor should provide the maximum number of simultaneous tracks the system can v perform. The vendor should be able to support the following modes with the ability to simultaneously detect / track ground, maritime, and air targets within large fields-of-regard (FoR) from aerostat altitudes between 3000 and 5000 ft AGL. A waveform to detect targets with velocities between 0.5 mps (dismounts) and 343 mps (air-to-air, subsonic) targets will be necessary. Include an explanation of modifications / provisions necessary if vendor cannot support any one of the following modes. GROUND MOVING TARGET INDICATOR (GMTI) GMTI modes include the ability to detect, track tactical vehicles, and provide Doppler velocities with direction of movement for vehicles with RCS of at least 3 m2, 15 m or more separation, with a minimum detectable velocity of 2 kph. DISMOUNTED MOVING TARGET INDICATOR (DMTI) DMTI modes includes the ability to detect, track dismounts with least a 0.5 m2 RCS, 1 meter or more separation, and a minimum velocity of 0.5 mps. MARITIME Martine mode of interest includes fishing boats as small as 1 m2 to large ships. The RADAR sensor should be able to process targets in sea states 1-3; interest is also in small wooden vessels and semi submersibles. Interest in ISAR for larger vessels. AIR-TO-AIR Air-to-Air mode interest includes Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System DoD Group I, II, and III and subsonic missiles. Include discussion of range and velocity ambiguities. For Group I targets also include a discussion of any additional sensors that may be required or recommended to augment tracking and ID functions to differentiate small Group I targets. OTHER The vendor may provide any additional mode capabilities, not listed previously, that would be of related interest to the aerostat mission. An example of such interest includes a foliage penetration (FOPEN) radar capability. A description of the current capability, or the modifications / provisions necessary to offer the capability may be included. OPERATIONS The RADAR sensor shall provide the capability to detect and classify moving targets that is minimally influenced by atmospheric conditions that may hinder the effectiveness of optic-based systems. The RADAR sensor shall provide 360-degree azimuth coverage. The RADAR sensor shall also provide the capability to adjust the scan pattern by both azimuth and elevation to cover a desired FoR. Scan controllable antennas are preferred to facilitate narrow sector scans and rapid revisit rates if required by the mode offered. Vendor should provide maximum revisit rate. Active electronically scanned arrays (AESA) antennas are not required. The RADAR sensor shall provide the capability to adjust detection sensitivity remotely from the GCS and make all necessary clutter adjustments and other tuning functions to optimize RADAR performance and alignment with road and terrain features. The Government requires the ability for the RADAR systems to be able to provide cross queue and interoperability functions for integration with other sensor systems. The Government requests the vendors provide through discussion of native RADAR software and workstation hardware requirements and what is included with their product line. Include ICDs and discussion of Cyber Hardening and IA status of their system. Also include discussion software analysis tools, diagnostics tools, and any special processing capabilities that are available that further enhance and show case their RADAR mission capability and effectiveness. The Government requests the vendors provide through discussion of native Navigation GPS/INS requirements for their RADAR system or state if Navigation subsystem is included and integrated in their system. Discussion should include the degree of hardening that the native GPS currently possesses e.g., SASSM, M Code, or other hardening characteristics for operation in denied environment. The Government prefers the ability to support simultaneous mode operation or mode change - on the Fly. For example, Air-to-Air and interleaving GMTI scan and warning for coordinated ground movers. The system shall provide a ground MTI mode capable of providing wide area surveillance for detecting and manually following a standard military target, leveraging the available line-of-sight between 3000 and 5000 feet above ground level. Minimum 10 km slant range for smaller RADAR systems in clear weather. The MTI sensor shall provide the capability to record detections, tracks with associated Meta data to standard NATO file formats. MTI sensor should be capable of producing sending and receiving cursor on target messages. Vendor should provide discussion of all data formats commercial or military that their RADAR currently supports. RADAR System and Navigation Source shall be resilient for active and passive jamming, affecting jointly and separately. PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS The aerial components of the RADAR system - A Kit, including cables, framing, gimbals and antennas, shall have an airborne weight of less than 500 pounds for larger systems and less than 150 pounds for smaller systems. The radius of the RADAR system shall not exceed 2.85 m. The aerial components of the RADAR systems must operate with less than 4 kilowatts for the PSS-T Large system and 2.5 kW for the PSS-T Medium system. Vendors are requested to provide full system power requirements with separate break out for airborne components including AC and DC requirements. Discuss if their RADAR requires a windscreen or if options are available that do not require a windscreen. Provide discussion of antennas size, sweep volume, relative beam radiation pattern and strength. The ground component of the RADAR system shall be 19 rack mountable in the ground control system (GCS). INTEROPERABILITY The RADAR system should support integration with commercial and military IFF transponders and automated ship location transponders. The RADAR system should output standard NATO data formats and provide tracks and target data to support Fire Control networks. Vendor should state what standards they currently have met. RADAR control workstation will be operational in the Ground Control Station and in the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) with principal operations in the TOC. The RADAR system architecture shall be scalable. The RADAR sensor must be compatible and interoperable with the ability to cross-cue to/from other sensors simultaneously integrated with the system or on the local network. INTERFACES The RADAR aerial sensor shall provide sensor control commands and data dissemination through the PSS-T's tethered fiber optic cable. RELIABILITY AND MAINTAINABILITY The RADAR system will maintain an operational availability (Ao) of 85%. The MTI shall have a Mean-Time-To-Repair of less than 60 minutes (T), and less than 30 minutes (O). Provide calibration on operator command, as necessary to meet performance requirements at initial turn-on and throughout the mission. (T) The system must be able to self-calibrate when diagnostics check identifies an appropriate fault. (O) The Government desires a system with minimal maintenance and inspection requirements at the organizational level. The system should also be easily repairable for deployed units. RESPONSES Vendors should respond with their best fit, preferably addressing at least two or more of the desired modes. It is desired that candidate sensors offered should heavily leverage off the shelf capabilities and be suited for integration on a test Aerostat within 12 months ARO with follow on test and mode refinement phase of up to six months. Vendor response should include at a minimum: Details on the available modes that the sensor meets, referenced above. TRL maturity estimates for hardware and modes offered and supporting documentation (i.e., a brief description of operational information). Performance plots for modes offered showing proposed Radar Cross Section vs range (estimates or actual measured data acceptable for this RFI). If available, please provide weather dependent plots as well. A product overview, block diagrams, ICDs, software description, native software controls and analysis software included, If already, underwork or obtained, any cyber accreditation. Reference any test reports available. Any reliability and maintainability data, operational or theoretical, that supports meeting the operational availability outlined above. Evidence of MIL-STD-810 environmental compliance Evidence of MIL-STD-461F compliance Provide hardware availability for first test unit. Lead times for productions units, state if capital assets are available for Quick Reaction or early integration and test activity. If applicable, any interoperability certificates that have been obtained. Separate ROM cost for Hardware, Software, NRE and Integration & Test support. ROM cost for licensing and ROM for multiple follow-on units. Copies of relevant Vendor Brochures, Spec Sheets, Frequency Ranges, Frequency Authorization Certifications. Information relative navigation and timing input requirements, does RADAR have embedded GPS/IMU? Provide any unique Network interoperability requirements for Command, Control and Operation. End use may include US Government only or possible FMS consideration; provide any information available regarding potential exportability if product was selected for Military FMS use. Are components compliant with Trade Agreement Act (TAA) for counties or origin? SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Any resulting contract is anticipated to have a security classification level of Secret. Any resulting contract shall be compliant with the specialty metals restriction of the Berry Amendment (10 U.S.C. 2533a and 2533b) in accordance with DFARS clauses 252.225-7008 and 252.225-7009. ELIGIBILITY The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 334511 -- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing, with a Small Business Size Standard for this NAICS code is 1,350 employees. SUBMISSION DETAILS Interested businesses should submit a brief capabilities statement package (font no smaller than 10 point) demonstrating ability to provide the products/systems listed in this Technical Description. Respondents are limited to 25 pages. Feedback from industry will be accepted until 15 days after the posting of this RFI. Documentation should be in bullet format. No phone inquiries concerning the status of the RFI will be accepted. Responses (including any capabilities statement) and questions concerning this requirement shall be electronically submitted in either Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF), via email to: Tian Chen, Configuration Manager Lead, tian.chen3.civ@army.mil, and Justina Dahler, Contract Specialist, justina.m.dahler.civ@army.mil. All responses must be received no later than 12:00 p.m. EST on January 7, 2024 and reference this synopsis number in subject line of e-mail and on all enclosed documents. Information and materials submitted in response to this request WILL NOT be returned. DO NOT SUBMIT CLASSIFIED MATERIAL. If your organization has the potential capacity to provide the required products/systems, please provide the following information: 1) Organization name, address, primary points of contact (POCs) and their email address, FAX, Web site address, telephone number, and type of ownership for the organization; and 2) Tailored capability statements addressing the requirements of this notice, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. All data received in response to this Request for information that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government.