Sources sought for hand held computer

BATTLEFIELD AIR OPERATIONS (BAO) HANDHELD COMPUTER REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) 1. The Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) Battlefield Airmen Branch (WISN), Wright-Patterson AFB OH, is submitting a Request for Information (RFI). The Air Force requests information on available production-ready handheld computers. 2. The Battlefield Airmen Branch, in support of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), is beginning the process to acquire the next generation of handheld computers for the Battlefield Air Operations Kit (BAO Kit). The BAO Kit greatly improves the Special Tactics Terminal Control applications of effects. This is directly related to Special Reconnaissance, Unconventional Warfare, Direct Action, Counter Terrorism, and Close Air Support mission areas by improving individual Situational Awareness (SA). The BAO kit enables targeting and SA technology to meet AFSOC mission requirements, the handheld computer being a critical component of the kit. The BAO kit is designed to be a safe, reliable, available, and maintainable system in an austere environment. All electromagnetic effects on BAO kit equipment, supporting systems, and operations environment shall be mitigated, minimized, or countered, to avoid mission degradation. Special attention shall be made to Force Protection, including light discipline, reduction/elimination of odor, and audible and electromagnetic noise reduction. The parameters of the handheld computer integrated into the BAO kit family of systems (FoS) aids the operator by substantially reducing weight carried. 3. This notice is part of government market research, a continuous process for obtaining the latest information on the "art of the possible" from industry with respect to their current and near-term abilities. The information collected may be used by the Government to explore future strategies and implementation for the BAO kit. Information received as a result of this request will be considered as sensitive and will be protected as such. Any company proprietary information contained in the response should be clearly marked as such, by paragraph, such that - publicly-releasable' and - proprietary' information are clearly distinguished. Any material that is not marked proprietary will be considered publicly-releasable. Any proprietary information received in response to this request will be properly protected from any unauthorized disclosure. The Government will not use proprietary information submitted from any one firm to establish the capability and requirements for any future systems acquisition, so as to not inadvertently restrict competition. 4. The submitted documentation becomes the property of the U.S. Government and will not be returned. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this announcement. This is a request for information/market research announcement for planning purposes only. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this inquiry. The Government will not reimburse any costs associated with the documentation submitted under this request. Although the word "proposed" may be used in this inquiry, all responses will be treated as informational only. This announcement is not to be construed as a formal solicitation, and does not commit the government to reply to information received, or to later publish a solicitation, or to award a contract based on this information. 5. When submitting a response to this RFI, please be aware that the Air Force workforce is supplemented by contracted support personnel. Any proprietary data submitted may be handled by contract support services personnel who have signed the same Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) as organic AF personnel. 6. Broad industry participation in this BAO Kit RFI is encouraged. Companies/teams planning to provide a capability response should identify, to the Air Force point of contact (POC) named below, company name, address, telephone number, and name and position of the individual to contact for future inquiries. Responses are limited to 5 pages and should include a thorough computer description, including technical and descriptive text to provide sufficient detail. The computer system description should include: a. Attributes of the concept to include assumptions, rough order magnitude of cost (to include annual operating/sustainment costs), and any other significant attributes the RFI submitter deems appropriate to illustrate military utility of the submitter's concept. b. A brief, but detailed description of the physical aspects of the device (size, weight, input/output devices, etc.). A discussion on the architecture of the system; both software and hardware architecture. This should include, but is not limited to, amount of memory, size of ram and hard drive, speed of bus, number of processors, operating system, and power requirements/battery life. c. Existing handheld computer specifications:: i. Intel Core Solo CPU 1.2 GHz ii. 1 GB RAM(shared video) iii. SSHD (solid state hard drive) iv. 5.625" screen (measured diagonally) 800x600 resolution. v. Current O/S Windows XP SP3 d. These specifications are only indicative of a baseline, and should not be construed as a requirements list for the RFI submission. All responders should anticipate using a current generation O/S. Computers will need to robustly handle projected processing changes that will come with the new O/S. Submitted computers should strive for as much processing power as achievable on the submitted platform. e. Submissions should meet MIL-STD-810G. 7. Submissions are requested within 30 days of this announcement and may be submitted via e-mail or by mailing your response to: Ms. Nancy Leggett, (937) 255-1696, Contracting Officer, nancy.leggett@wpafb.af.mil, ASC/WISK (Bldg 46, 1895 5th St) Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7233 Personnel hand-carrying responses should contact the Contracting Officer to arrange a mutually acceptable arrival time. E-mail communication is preferred. 8. U.S. and non-U.S. firms are permitted to respond to this handheld computer RFI. Responses to questions from interested parties will be promptly answered and posted on Fed Biz Opps (FBO), unless some release of proprietary information is involved or the answer addresses a question peculiar to a Company or that Company's response. Post submittal one-on-one information sessions with respondents are not contemplated. They may be offered to responders to clarify understanding of their submittal, the capability ramifications, or to discuss their business approach. Information feedback sessions may be offered to respondents after the RFI assessments are completed. 9. This notice may be updated as additional information becomes available. Please check the FBO site for updates to this announcement and register to receive e-mail notices of any updates to the FBO announcement. For more information this RFI, please contact the AF POCs below. E-mail communications preferred.