USN Telemetry Range Support Aircraft (TRSA)

The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is developing an Interface Control Document (ICD) for an airborne, receive only, Telemetry Phased Array Antenna. The ICD will be specific to a Gulfstream G-550 with the Airborne Early Warning (AEW) modification. It is anticipated that any future phased array antenna procurements, for this airframe, will be per this ICD. To inform this ICD, NAVAIR is soliciting interface information from industry for current, and emergent, Telemetry Phased Array Antenna technology. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Government is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised the U.S. Government will not pay 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. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Failure to respond to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future associated RFP that may be issued. If RFPs are issued using the ICDit will most likely be via two different RFPs. The aircraft integration will likely be competed through an RFP to the NAWCAD Prototype and Limited Production (PLP) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) Lot I holders. The telemetry phased array development will most likely be competed through the National Spectrum Consortium (https://www.nationalspectrumconsortium.org ). BACKGROUND/ PURPOSE/ TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS NAVAIR's Gulfstream G550, with the AEW modification, is being converted into a state-of-the-art airborne telemetry platform. The aircraft has a large fairing and radome (approximately 100 square feet) on the side of the fuselage. Beneath the radome, the fairing will house a S and C Band Telemetry Phased Array Antenna. To support the planned antenna procurement, as well as future upgrades, NAVAIR is developing a S and C Band Telemetry Phased Array Antenna ICD. To inform the ICD development, and assure the ICD is as antenna technology and vendor agnostic as practical, this RFI is seeking interface information for current, and emergent, Telemetry Phased Array Antennas. RESPONSES Responses shall be submitted in Microsoft Word. Responses are limited to 8 pages in length (one page for administrative information and seven pages for the core response) on 8.5 x 11 paper with one-inch margin. Font no smaller than 11 pt shall be used. Font shall be Times New Roman or Courier New. Up to an additional 10 pages of backup information may be submitted. Backup information may include marketing material, graphics, charts, tables, and lists in Portable Document Format (PDF), Word, Excel or PowerPoint on 8.5 x 11 paper with - inch margins and font no smaller than 11 pt. It is important to note, backup information is not considered part of the core response. Backup information may, or may not, be considered in generation of the ICD. To assure information about your product is considered in the ICD, the information should be contained in the seven-page core response. Crisp, concise responses to the questions are encouraged. Responses, and questions, shall only be submitted via e-mail to thomas.conrow@navy.mil, with the exact title of - NAWCAD AIRWorks TRSA ICD RFI Response. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Questions submitted will be treated as proprietary information. The questions and source will not be shared with the other responders. However, if a question results in a clarification to the RFI, the clarification will be shared with all responders. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. The anticipated RFI schedule is as follows: 5 February 2021: Distribution of RFI 19 February 2021: Any questions from industry pertaining to the RFI shall be submitted no later than 1400 EST. 26 February 2021: The Government will provide answers to industry questions. 12 March 2021: RFI responses are due. Shall be submitted no later than 1400 EST. Responses shall contain two sections with an optional third section for backup material. Section 1 Administrative information Section 2 Answers to the RFI's questions Section 3 OPTIONAL Backup material Section 1 (One-page limit) - Administrative Information Contains administrative information. Shall include the following as a minimum: organization name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and name and e-mail of designated contractual point of contact. Section 2 (Seven-page limit) - Answers to the RFI's Questions This section shall contain ALL responses to the questions. It forms the core response to this RFI. The responses to each question should be crisp and concise. Precede each response with the number and question it is in reference to. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in your responses not being considered in the generation of the ICD. Section 2 response format: S Band Telemetry Phased Array 1.a. How many square feet is the antenna surface? ## square feet 2.a. How many pounds does the antenna weigh? ### pounds - C Band Telemetry Phased Array 8.a. How many square feet is the antenna surface? ## square feet 9.a. How many pounds does the antenna weigh? ### pounds - Broadband S/C Band Telemetry Array If applicable, record responses similar to C and S band examples above; question number, question, then your response. All questions are in reference to a, receive only, Telemetry Phased Array Antenna operating in an airborne environment. The airborne environment is defined as: 5K to 40K feet above mean sea level Antenna is mounted to the side of an aircraft Outside the fuselage's pressure vessel Antenna is enclosed in a fairing Assume no outside airflow thru the fairing Antenna mounted behind a Radome. For the purposes of this RFI, to achieve threshold antenna system G/T (identified in the TRSA Spec),and account for radome losses, TRSA specified G/T has been increased by 0.5 dB/K, Traveling at approximately 200 knots indicated airspeed Assure all your responses address an antenna designed to operate in this environment. As appropriate to your company's current, and emergent, airborne Telemetry Phased Array Antenna technology, please provide responses to the following questions: S Band Telemetry Phased Array Questions: For your company's S Band Telemetry Phased Array Antenna technology, please answer questions 1 through 7 for an airborne, receive only, S- Band Telemetry Phased Array Antenna with a G/ T of at least 9.7 dB/Kelvin. (G = Gain of antenna and T = Thermal Noise). Size How many square feet is the antenna surface? Weight How many pounds does the antenna weigh? Center of Gravity (CG) Is CG at the geometric center of the array? If not, please describe where it is and what affects it. Power How many kilowatts of power are required? What is the preferred voltage/frequency? Cooling To maintain G/T, and operate in an airborne environment, does your antenna require cooling? If so, how many watts of cooling? Antenna Control What is the digital standard used for the control connection to the antenna? Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Channel, etc. Number of control lines required? Is the physical layer copper or fiber? If other than Gigabit Ethernet is used, is there a reason your antenna cannot use Gigabit Ethernet for antenna control? Telemetry Signal Interface What is the format of telemetry signal output? Must be an IRIG 106 format Is the physical layer copper or fiber? Number of telemetry output signal lines per TM Signal? Number of telemetry output signal lines in total? C Band TM Phased Array For your company's C Band Telemetry Phased Array Antenna technology, please answer questions 8 through 14 for an airborne, receive only, C Band Telemetry Phased Array Antenna with a G/ T of at least 12.6 dB/Kelvin. Size How many square feet is the antenna surface? Weight How many pounds does the antenna weigh? Center of Gravity (CG) Is CG at the geometric center of the array? If not, please describe where it is and what affects it. Power How many kilowatts of power are required? What is the preferred voltage/frequency? Cooling To maintain G/T, and operate in an airborne environment, does your antenna require cooling? If so, how many watts of cooling? Antenna Control What is the digital standard used for the control connection to the antenna? Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Channel, etc. Number of control lines required? Is the physical layer copper or fiber? If other than Gigabit Ethernet is used, is there a reason your antenna cannot use Gigabit Ethernet for antenna control? Telemetry Signal Interface What is the format of telemetry signal output? Must be an IRIG 106 format Is the physical layer copper or fiber? Number of telemetry output signal lines per TM Signal? Number of telemetry output signal lines in total? Broadband S/C Band TM Phased Array Questions: Only answer questions 15 through 21 if your antenna technology uses a single wide band element covering S and C Band. For your company's broadband S/C Band Telemetry Phased Array Antenna technology, please answer questions 15 through 21 for an airborne, receive only, S/ C Band Telemetry Phased Array Antenna with a S Band G/ T of at least 9.7 dB/Kelvin and a C Band G/T of at least 12.6 dB/Kelvin. Size How many square feet is the antenna surface? Weight How many pounds does the antenna weigh? Center of Gravity (CG) Is CG at the geometric center of the array? If not, please describe where it is and what affects it. Power How many kilowatts of power are required? What is the preferred voltage/frequency? Cooling To maintain G/T, and operate in an airborne environment, does your antenna require cooling? If so, how many watts of cooling? Antenna Control What is the digital standard used for the control connection to the antenna? Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Channel, etc. Number of control lines required? Is the physical layer copper or fiber? If other than Gigabit Ethernet is used, is there a reason your antenna cannot use Gigabit Ethernet for antenna control? Telemetry Signal Interface What is the format of telemetry signal output? Must be an IRIG 106 format Is the physical layer copper or fiber? Number of telemetry output signal lines per TM Signal? Number of telemetry output signal lines in total? Section 3 (10-page limit) - Backup Information OPTIONAL This section is optional and not considered part of the core submittal. Material in this section may, or may not, be considered in generation of the ICD. This section contains any backup information a responder may choose to provide. It can be up to an additional 10 pages of information. Backup information may include marketing material, graphics, charts, tables, and lists in Portable Document Format (PDF), Word, Excel or PowerPoint. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this request or to otherwise pay for the information solicited. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. All information received in response to the RFI that is marked PROPRIETARY will be handled accordingly. The Government will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. NAWCAD AIRWorks intends to utilize contractor support services in the review of the company submittals. The following vendors are anticipated to support AIRWorks Government personnel in the review: Pacific Architects and Engineers If company to company NDAs are required, please provide your company's point of contact for NDA requests to Thomas.conrow@navy.mil as soon as possible. Failure to respond to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future associated RFP that may be issued. Information provided in no way binds the government to solicit or award a contract.