Space Based Radar Battle Management Command, Control and Communications Risk Reduction (SBR BMC3 Risk Reduction)

General Information

• Document Type: Presolicitation Notice
• Solicitation Number: Reference-Number-BAA-03-04-IFKA
• Posted Date: Dec 30, 2002
• Original Response Date:
• Original Archive Date:
• Current Archive Date:
• Classification Code: A — Research & Development

Contracting Office Address

Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL – Rome Research Site, AFRL/Information Directorate 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY, 13441-4514

Description

AFRL Program Manager: Brian O’Hern, email ohern@rl.af.mil, 315/330-3995; Alternate: Jon S. Jones, e-mail Jon.Jones@rl.af.mil 315/330-1665; Technical Points of Contact: Steve Scott, email steve.scott@rl.af.mil, 315/330-4414; Contracting Officer, email IFKA@rl.af.mil.

The Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, Information and Intelligence Exploitation Division (AFRL/IFE) in cooperation with the Electronic Systems Center (ESC) is seeking innovative solutions for the reduction of risk associated with the development, deployment, and operation of a Space-Based Radar (SBR) System.

This SBR System consists of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellations with a multi-mode radar producing Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) products. This SBR BMC3 Risk Reduction BAA will focus on the following technology areas: 1) Collection Management including dynamic tasking, 2) Information Management, and 3) Exploitation Products including GMTI, SAR imagery and Combat Identification.

This risk reduction effort will improve the SBR capability provided to the Warfighter in the form of an enhanced operational capability. However, there is an inherent interdependency between all of the risk reduction areas. Given the mission requirements and dynamic tasking from the user community, the SBR Collection Management system must rapidly prioritize, optimize and allocate tasks. Commands are up-linked to the sensor constellation, which, in turn, downlinks sensor products. This includes radar modes for GMTI, SAR and High Range Resolution (HRR) for various areas, revisit times and resolutions and the resulting data products. In the area of Collection Management, developments allowing the dynamic retasking of a satellite sensor from theatre in a timely, assured, secure, and spacecraft vehicle safe manner are required. This area will explore different conceptual architectures to satisfy national and tactical users for satellite sensor retasking and include timely status notification. Objectives include defining the technical requirements for mission management and defining notional mission management architectures. This includes a study of available applications for satellite retasking, SBR resource allocation techniques, and available applications suitable for use in satellite retasking, such as track waveform scheduling, track loss/stop verification, track restart with continuity of identification, interrupted imaging modes, etc. Offerors must consider satellite orbits, handoffs, gap times, coverage areas, revisit times, resolution, sensor modes available, task prioritization, etc. and notification of reprioritized task list to all potential interested users.

In the area of Information Management (IM), support of BMC3 for SBR will be a critical factor for determining tactical Tasking, Posting, Processing, and Using (TPPU) alternatives, national Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (TCPED) alternatives, and CONOPS alternatives system design tradeoffs. This area will characterize IM technologies in terms of SBR BMC3 risk areas and summarize SBR requirements drivers for IM. In particular, after performing ground processing, the SBR system of systems must archive (post), catalog, and facilitate rapid database query, and dissemination of information to the user community. Development of an integrated and interoperable architecture for theater and national information management is the goal. This includes an assessment of technical requirements for this architecture, identification of technical deficiencies in data warehousing and data mining, and prototyping an implementation of national and tactical information management architectures and activities such as autonomous meta-data capture mechanisms, characterization of intelligent agents to process meta-data, and peer-to-peer mechanisms for information exchange. Some consideration should be given to appropriate meta-data descriptors, such as pedigree, and data-derived products. Once the data reaches the ground, the data processing (Product) area has been identified as high risk and requires additional technical development. Current GMTI, SAR exploitation techniques are manual, operator intensive, based on single or multiple airborne sensor concepts, and very limited. In the area of GMTI Exploitation, utilizing a satellite constellation with rapidly changing viewing angles and varying sensor performance attributes has not been fully explored, and therefore, requires development, testing, and analysis. Furthermore, software must combine the data from these satellite sensors into meaningful products. This area will develop the necessary extensions to current ground tracking algorithms to support the expected characteristics of a space-based radar constellation. Items of interest include extensions to existing capabilities and development of new feature-based classification approaches for SBR to support classification and track maintenance. Particular attention will be focused on developing algorithms and analyses for the use of selected feature data such as High Range Resolution (HRR), Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), and Micro-Doppler techniques to perform long-term track maintenance. The satellites will be tasked to collect GMTI, SAR, and DTED data, requiring additional development in exploitation tools for utilization. The large quantities of data sent to the exploitation center can potentially be overwhelming. The combination of these technologies will provide a powerful tool set for operators to exploit SBR products and will enable the creation of a more comprehensive picture of the Battlespace. Space assets provide a new foundation in that they provide consistent coverage of hostile target areas over a continuous 24 hour cycle. This provides for normalization to be developed over the movement patterns associated with normal operations. These areas encompass the entire cycle for tactical SBR tasking, posting, processing, using (TPPU) and national tasking, collection, processing, exploitation and dissemination (TCPED). Development in these areas will not only mature component technical capability, but will also evolve the community?s understanding of the entire, integrated, system-of-systems operation. Efforts under this BAA will provide algorithms to enable the optimal fusion of resources for the timely detection, track, and identification of ground moving targets. There are currently more targets than resources in any Concept of Operation so that adequate optimization of resources (constellation, platforms, and sensors) is critical to engaging moving vehicles. These efforts will also leverage existing developments in the operational area such as Moving Target Information Exploitation (MTIX) and develop on those architectures making it easily adaptable to existing architectures for technology transition. From all aspects of information fusion technology, SBR Measures of Performance (MOPs) and Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) need to be developed and integrated into these new concepts. This will provide the methodology for consistent system evaluation.

THIS ANNOUCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. DO NOT SUBMIT A FORMAL PROPOSAL AT THIS TIME. Offerors are required to submit five (5) copies of a one-sided, 12 point type, single spaced, one inch margined white paper not to exceed ten (10) pages with a cover letter. All responses to this announcement must be addressed to AFRL/IFEA, ATTN: Brian O?Hern, (Reference BAA 03-04-IFKA), 32 Brooks Road, Rome, NY, 13441-4414. The white paper will be formatted as follows: SECTION A: Title, Period of Performance, Cost of Task and Name of Company; SECTION B: Task Objective and SECTION C: Technical Summary. White papers must reference BAA 03-04-IFKA. Offerors must mark their white papers/proposals with the restrictive language stated in FAR 15.609(a). White papers addressing different areas of applicability must be submitted under separate cover. The purpose of the white paper is to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of an offeror whose proposed work is not of interest to the Government. Offerors submitting white papers found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA may be invited to submit a technical and cost proposal. Complete proposal instructions will be contained in a letter accepting your white paper and requesting a proposal. Such invitation does not assure the offeror will receive an award. Proposals submitted will be evaluated as they are received. Individual proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or unacceptability without regard to other proposals submitted under this BAA.

Evaluation of white papers and solicited proposals will be performed using the following criteria: (1) Effectiveness in Enhancing Modeling and Simulation for Supporting the Air Force Mission (Soundness of Approach); (2) Relevance to the Air Force Mission; (3) Uniqueness of the Approach, and (4) Cost Realism and Reasonableness (proposals only). Note: Criteria 1 through 3 are of equal importance and Criteria 1 through 3 are more important than Criteria 4. Also, consideration will be given to other factors such as past and present performance on recent Government contracts and the capacity and capability to achieve the objectives of this BAA will be used. The technical and cost information will be evaluated at the same time. Awards of efforts as a result of this BAA will be in the form of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements or other transactions depending upon the nature of the work proposed. Options are discouraged and unpriced options will not be considered for award. The cost of preparing proposals in responding to this announcement is not an allowable direct charge to any resultant contract or any other contract, but it is an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. Selected offerors may be required to review classified material up to the SECRET level; therefore, personnel identified for assignment to the proposed effort must be cleared for, or eligible for, access to SECRET information. In addition, the offeror must have or have access to a certified and Government-approved facility available to support work under this BAA. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors are advised that their participation is subject to foreign disclosure procedures.

Foreign or foreign-owned offerors should immediately contact the contracting focal point, AFRL/IFKA, Contracting Officer, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY 13441-4514, email: AFRL/IFKA@rl.af.mil for information if they contemplate responding. Data subject to export control constraints may be involved and only firms on the Certified Contractor Access List (CCAL) will be allowed access to such data. This BAA is open and effective until 30 Sep 04. Principal funding of this BAA and anticipated awards will start approximately March of 2003. Individual awards will not normally exceed 18 months in duration, with dollar amounts normally ranging from $200K to $1.0M. Total funding for FY03 is $3M with an estimated total ceiling of $15.0M in anticipation of projected increases in support from AFRL Customers. It is recommended that white papers be received by the following dates to maximize the possibility of award: FY03 ? 15Jan 03; FY04 – 30Jun03, and; FY05 – 30Jun04.

Questions, clarification, or concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition should be communicated directly to the IFKA Contracting Officer at AFRL/IFKA@rl.af.mil. The email must reference the title and solicitation number of the acquisition. A copy of the Rome “BAA & PRDA: A Guide for Industry,” Sep 1996 (Rev), may be accessed at: http://www.if.afrl.af.mil/div/IFK/bp-guide.html. An informational briefing is not planned. All responsible organizations may submit a white paper that shall be considered. Respondents are requested to provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code as well as a fax number and an email address with their submission and reference BAA 03-04-IFKA. Offerors are warned that only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the government.

Original Point of Contact

IFKA ContractingOfficer, Contracting Officer, Phone 315/330-4767, Email IFKA@rl.af.mil