System Simulation Development Directorate (SSDD) Development Operations Maintenance and Support (DOMS) Aviation and Aerodynamic Technology Element Simulation (AATES)

Request for Information (RFI) only for (FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION) planning purposes. This notice serves as market research in accordance with FAR Part 10. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. The Government is in need of information on potential business sources that could provide the necessary technical skills, facilities, and personnel to support to the Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center's System Simulation and Development Directorate's (SSDD) facilities in simulator and prototype development, operations, maintenance, and improvements. The purpose of this RFI is to gain knowledge of interest, capabilities, and qualifications of offerors who can successfully support this requirement as a prime contractor. Responses to this notice will be used as part of the information gathered as market research that will be used to develop the acquisition strategy to satisfy this potential requirement. Responses will only be accepted from those firms that are interested in being a prime contractor. This is not a request for competitive proposals and no contract will be awarded from this RFI. The Government has not formalized an acquisition strategy, there is no solicitation, and no other information is available at this time. Other than responses to this request for information, no other responses or inquiries will be accepted. Questions regarding the scope of work or acquisition strategy will not be accepted at this time. In order to protect the procurement integrity of any future procurement, if any, that may arise from this announcement, information regarding the technical point of contact will not be given and no appointments for presentations will be made. A determination by the Government not to compete this action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Technical requirement: The contractor shall provide the necessary technical skills and services to support SSDD aviation and aerodynamic technology facilities in simulator and prototype development, operations, maintenance, and improvements. This effort spans the functional operations areas of system engineering, system development, configuration management, target generation, controls, interfaces, simulator hardware/software, digital/analog simulations and component level ground testing, flight testing and wind tunnel facility support. The contractor shall be responsible for the coordination of activities with other contractors and government personnel operating within. REQUIREMENTS: 2.0 REQUIREMENTS 2.0.1 The contractor shall perform all work required under this contract as issued under separate Task Orders (TO). 2.0.2 The contractor shall provide system analysis and engineering support for development and operation of models and simulations to perform engineering analysis under the full range of Aviation and Unmanned Systems operational environments. Analysis will encompass data derived from requirements, ground and flight tests, simulation results, and actual combat operations. 2.0.3 The contractor shall be responsible for the coordination of activities with other contractors and government personnel operating within SSDD facilities. 2.0.4 All planned work shall be accomplished within an approved schedule. 2.0.5 All unplanned work shall be accomplished on a quick reaction basis and may necessitate effort outside normal duty hours. 2.0.6 In performing any unplanned work on a quick reaction basis, the contractor shall respond within a maximum of 8 normal working hours. 2.1 SIMULATOR AND PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT: 2.1.1 The contractor shall provide modeling and simulation capability to represent various aviation platform flight dynamics and crew station system models. The contractor shall develop system level aviation models that adequately model the aircraft to a pilot in a virtual simulated environment. 2.1.2 The contractor shall provide analysis and modeling of aviation sensors including synthetic and blended radar, laser, optical, image intensification, and infrared (IR) scene models over a wide range of flight locations and scenarios. 2.1.3 The contractor shall develop and implement new tools and methodologies utilizing simulation techniques to assist in engineering and human factors analyses of aviation systems. 2.1.4 The contractor shall support the development of special test equipment (STE) configuration modifications and new STE configuration development that facilitates integration of aviation hardware and software as part of simulation operation user requirements. 2.1.5 The contractor shall develop and apply innovations in simulation theory and simulation development to improve the fidelity and efficiency of simulation environments. Simulations developed shall be designed to interact with Department of Defense (DOD) networks and use existing DoD simulation standards. Simulations shall maintain modularity in design and be implemented with the objective of inserting and using both actual and simulation-generated data. Simulation tools developed under this task order shall support constructive war game analyses and/or virtual prototyping studies. 2.1.6 The contractor shall develop aerodynamic math models from experimental and computational data sources for use in modeling and simulation (M&S) studies. Experimental data shall be collected from wind tunnel test performed in realistic flight environments. The contractor shall provide pre-test planning resources, on-site test support and post-test data analysis and documentation. Computational data shall be generated using CFD aerodynamic predictions as well as other enhanced aerodynamic prediction tools. In addition, the contract shall verify and validate models using data collected from hardware prototype testing. 2.1.7 The contractor shall additionally develop tools and techniques for the manipulation and adjustment of raw experimental data prior to analysis. Efforts shall consist of removal or correction of all inaccurate data, and removal of biases associated with tunnel angularities, model asymmetries and/or sting effects. 2.2 INTERFACE AND OPERATIONS: 2.2.1 The contractor shall be responsible for interface and operations to include configuration, calibration, operation, data collection, analysis, and verification in support of all-digital and HWIL aviation simulation operations, interfaces, and control hardware/software. 2.2.2 The contractor shall develop terrain databases to include, but is not limited to, natural (Clouds, Sand, Snow) and man-made (Other Aircraft, Ground Vehicles, Smoke, Muzzle Flash) structures to support the evaluation of weapon systems in realistic environments. Develop and integrate multi-resolution terrains, methods for creating and visualizing dynamic terrain, and the use of adverse weather models. The contractor shall provide rapid terrain generation techniques and expertise. 2.2.3 The contractor shall provide a geographical knowledge base capable of creating, publishing, and accessing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and associated data sets for strategic planning or tactical operations as needed. 2.2.4 The contractor shall design, fabricate, install, calibrate and test wind tunnel balances and other electronic components and instrumentation required for testing of prototype hardware. Design effort shall consider such factors as data rates, signal level, power requirements, temperature, humidity, and vibration. Consideration shall be given to weight and volume constraints. 2.2.5 The contractor shall develop, integrate, and test computer software required for testing of Aerodynamic Technologies. 2.2.6 The contractor shall design and fabricate structural components for use in wind tunnel and other testing. Design efforts shall consider external and internal loads, such as aerodynamic, inertial, and thermal, to which the components may be subjected. Consideration shall be given to weight and volume constraints. Sizing shall be determined by the size of the available test facilities, support capability, characteristics to be investigated, and instrumentation to be placed within the hardware. Mass property analyses such as identification of material properties, determination of weight distribution, center of gravity location, mass moments of inertia, and verification of model dimensions shall be performed by the contractor. Fabrication of models shall consist of both machining and electronic design. 2.3 MAINTENANCE: 2.3.1 The contractor shall perform maintenance and calibration of the simulation and development facilities, to include control consoles, computers, simulators, mobile simulators, and hardware/software interfaces. 2.3.2 The contractor shall maintain and operate cockpit simulators, simulation networks, and model integration in support of live, virtual, and constructive simulation integration and analysis as directed by subsequent technical instruction. 2.3.3 The contractor shall develop and implement simulation independent software for utilization in each simulator special test equipment preventive maintenance and diagnostic activities. 2.3.4 The contractor shall provide the necessary technology integration tools, interfaces, and techniques to properly implement the developed simulation technology functions and techniques identified by the Government to maintain and calibrate simulation components. 2.3.5 The contractor shall provide both technicians and test engineers at wind tunnel facility or other experimental location. Technicians shall ensure that highly complex testing hardware is properly assembled and installed in the wind tunnel and that model configuration changes are performed in an expedient and accurate manner. Additionally, support shall be provided for disassembly, transport, re-assembly, and operation of test and simulation support equipment at remote sites. Test engineers shall be responsible for ensuring that test objectives and procedures are completely understood and met by the testing facility. Other duties shall consist of monitoring data to determine quality and to observe unexpected phenomena which may require more in depth investigation within the constraints of the test. Certain contractor personnel will be required to possess TOP SECRET CLEARANCE and/or be eligible for immediate adjudication by the cognizant security authority upon award of the contract. Future requirements for eligible personnel would be established by individual task orders. The contractor will have or be able to obtain a Top Secret Facility Clearance and shall possess Safeguarding Capabilities. Some task orders may require access to, and clearance for SECRET level. Contractor performance shall be in accordance with the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) (DoD 5220.22M) and shall ensure that all classified material is handled in accordance with the latest appropriate security classification specifications. FOREIGN PARTICIPATION WILL NOT BE ALLOWED AT THE PRIME OR SUBCONTRACT LEVEL. The Government's intent is to better understand the current, state-of-the-art capabilities, strategies, and a company's prior experience to determine the best solution. Industry feedback is vitally important and the Government will be receptive to any and all ideas. Proprietary information is neither solicited nor prohibited; however, if submitted, it should be appropriately marked. White paper responses to this request can be submitted in your own format and shall be limited to no more than 10 one sided pages in length, not including cover letter. Each page shall identify the submitting respondent and page numbers. Electronic submissions are required. All questions and industry responses shall be submitted via email to Army Contracting Command-Redstone, Ralph Lindner, Contract Specialist, email address: ralph.d.lindner2.civ@mail.mil or Whitney Alexander, Contracting Officer, email address: whitney.a.alexander.civ@mail.mil. Responses must be received by 5:00 pm CST on 24 November 2017. No telephone request will be accepted. All material submitted in response to this RFI must be unclassified and properly marked. The Government reserves the right to request further clarification to enhance our understanding of the respondent's submittal.