V-22 Cockpit Technology Refresh (VeCToR) Center Console Suite

Active

Contract Opportunity

1. Description: Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) V-22 Joint Program Office (PMA-275) is seeking information from industry on developmental or non-developmental technology solutions for the design, development, test, integration, and sustainment of a V-22 cockpit systems technology refresh (VeCToR) Center Console Suite. The primary need is to address availability and obsolescence concerns for which there are no viable cost-effective life-extension paths for five V-22 cockpit Weapon Replacement Assemblies (WRAs). These include five WRAs (Control Display Unit (CDU), CDU Keyboard Units (KBU), and Remote Frequency Indicator Selector (RFIS), Standby Flight Display (SFD), and Enhanced Standby Flight Indicator (ESFI)).

PMA-275 has the following main objectives in VeCToR:

• Replace the five WRAs with components that maintain existing operational/functional capabilities.


• Integrate the WRAs with existing mission systems and air vehicle data architectures (e.g., Integrated Avionics Processor (IAP), Flight Control Computers (FCC), 1553 bus).


• Design the solution in a manner which constrains aircraft modification costs and timelines (i.e., major modifications are not desired).


• Preserve and/or enhance existing human-machine interfaces.


• Enable cost-effective future growth and sustainment options through the adoption of a Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) (e.g., Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE)) and appropriate data rights.

PMA-275 is also exploring the feasibility of incorporating other system capabilities as part of VeCToR including, but not limited to, implementing software time-space partitioning in accordance with ARINC 653 specification and ensuring Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) 3.1 and Hardware Open Systems Technologies (HOST) compatibility for the future cockpit.

This Request for Information (RFI) is a follow-on to RFI Notice ID: N00019-24-RFPREQ-APM275-0278 issued by NAVAIR on 27 February 2024. Additional information on this potential requirement, the Center Console Suite (CCS) Objectives document, is available as Government Furnished Information (GFI). See paragraph 3 for instructions on obtaining the Government Furnished Information (GFI) package.

PMA-275 is particularly interested in industry feedback regarding the CCS Objectives included in the GFI package and requests detailed comments or suggestions identifying areas of technical risk that impact proposed solutions, drive project cost and schedule, and areas where the requirements need further clarification to support a future potential competitive solicitation. THIS DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND IS PROVIDED HERE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

PMA-275 is NOT interested in touchscreen only solutions for VeCToR display elements, however they may consider touch-screen displays which also offer bevel button alternative entry. PMA-275 will consider combined display solutions where those make sense for systems defined in this RFI.

Disclaimer: This is a request for information (RFI) only. This RFI is issued solely as market research 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 RFI does not commit the government to contract for any supply or service as a result. The requirements are subject to change and the information provided below is for informational purposes only. Further, the Navy is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised that the government will not pay for 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. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the SAM.gov contract opportunities website. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor this website for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

2. Background: The V-22 platform is facing availability and obsolescence challenges with cockpit WRAs including, but not limited to, the following: CDU, CDU KBU, RFIS, SFD, ESFI. These WRAs have parts that have been identified as End of Life (EoL) with no replacements available. To date, V-22 cockpit avionics have been sustained through component life-of-type buys and bridge buys. This strategy exhausts the marketplace of components required to sustain the impacted WRA and thus is no longer viable. Additionally, some of the WRAs contain proprietary interdependencies, severely limiting long-term sustainment options and future capability insertion.

3. Eligibility and Instructions for Receipt of GFI:

Interested parties must first submit a GFI Request, in the body of an e-mail or with attachment, not to exceed one (1) page, with the information below to Kady Harris at kady.m.harris.civ@us.navy.mil and Marissa Fields at marissa.g.fields.civ@us.navy.mil to obtain authorization to receive the GFI associated with this notice. GFI will be provided to interested sources upon verification of credentials:

• CAGE code, DUNS Number, and mailing address


• Business size. Indicate whether Contractor is a Large Business or qualify as a Small, Small Disadvantaged, Small Disadvantaged Veteran Owned Small Business, Women-Owned, 8(a), Hub Zone or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern.


• POC information and e-mail address to receive the documents package sent via the DoD Secure Access File Exchange (SAFE)


• POC to receive additional information or clarification

Requests for GFI will be considered up until the closing date for responses listed under Paragraph 5.

4. Requested Information: Interested parties should submit their UNCLASSIFIED response in accordance with Paragraph 5, with any supporting documentation, to include the following content:

General Information (1 page limit)

1. A general introduction to the respondent’s business


2. CAGE code, DUNS Number, and mailing address


3. Business size. Indicate whether contractor is a large business or qualifies as a small, small disadvantaged, veteran-owned small business, women-owned, 8(a), HUBZone, or service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern


4. Foreign Ownership/Interest. Identify if the company is foreign owned or if there are foreign nationals in board or executive level positions.


5. Point of contact to receive/provide additional information or clarification.

Vendor Capability (3 page limit)

1. Provide a general description of the respondent’s capabilities.


2. Describe any unique, exceptional, and/or differentiating capabilities.


3. If this effort proceeds to acquisition, describe what your anticipated role would be (e.g., Prime, Sub-contractor for an individual WRA, etc.).


4. Describe similar avionics development and integration efforts you have undertaken (please include Government contract numbers, if applicable). What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?


5. Describe your experience using relevant civilian and military standards (see below). Identify if you see any of these as problematic or challenging and why.
   
   
   
   • Military Standards including: MIL-STD-810H Environmental Requirements, MIL-STD-461G and MIL-STD-464D Electromagnetic Environmental Effects, MIL-STD-704D Electrical Power Hardware Qualification, MIL-STD-810 Environmental Qualification, MIL-STD-461 Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3) Qualification, MIL-STD-882E Safety Products and Processes, MIL-HDBK-472 Maintainability Prediction, MIL-STD-31000B Technical Data Packages, MIL-STD-1568D Materials and Processes for Corrosion Prevention and Control in Aerospace Weapons Systems, MIL-HDBK-502A Product Support Analysis, MIL-HDBK-2155 Failure Reporting Analysis and Corrective Action Taken
   
   
   • Software Development using DO-178C Processes
   
   
   • Hardware Development using DO-254 Processes
   
   
   • Modular Open Systems Approach (e.g., FACE, HOST), including either component solution(s) or updating an entire platform.
   
   
   • Logistics Product Data GEIA-STD-0007 Rev. C and Logistics Product Data Handbook GEIA-HB-0007B
   
   
   • S1000D Common Source Database
   
   
   
   


6. Describe your experience with development, verification, and support using Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methods.

Vendor Schedule Estimate (2 page limit)

Provide a schedule timeline with estimated durations for a design and development phase and a production phase of this effort, including key milestones such as design completion, prototyping, testing, qualification, Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), and full rate production. Are there any key schedule risks and how would you mitigate them?

CCS Objectives Comments, Vendor Processes, and Business/Programmatic Approach (12 page limit)

Review the VeCToR Center Console Suite (CCS) Objectives document and provide observations and comments on the Government’s general acquisition and technical approach, including:

1. What programmatic risks do you anticipate and how would you recommend the Government reduce those risks? Also describe any technical and key cost risks and how you would plan to mitigate them.


2. What performance incentives would best incentivize completion within cost, schedule and performance requirements?


3. Are the Government’s Development and Production timelines reasonable and achievable?


4. The Government is currently considering potential trade space alternatives to include possible display consolidation and touch screen solutions that include bevel button alternative entry. Provide any recommendations or comments about trade space (current or new suggestion) alternatives, including the impact on risk(s).


5. Is there anything about this acquisition that unreasonably limits your ability to respond to a future solicitation? If so, what changes would you recommend?


6. What additional GFI would be required in a solicitation to propose a technical solution?


7. Provide specific suggestions on how it could be refined to more effectively communicate the project goals and desired outcomes.


8. Highlight any objectives that may be unclear, unachievable, or ambiguous, considering current industry capabilities and best practices.

Provide comments regarding the Vendor Processes and Business/Programmatic Approach, including:

1. Provide a description of your integration methodology/approach (including existing mission systems and air vehicle data architectures). Describe the degree of integration difficulty you foresee and how your approach mitigates that difficulty.


2. Secure and Resilient Supply Chains: Provide a detailed description of your supply chain risk management processes. Include your strategies for ensuring resilient and secure sourcing and distribution of parts essential to the avionics solution


3. Software Data Rights: Describe the vendor’s willingness to provide complete source code with unlimited data rights necessary for the cockpit technology refresh and how provided source code can be used for integration and future modifications by the customer or third-party entities; specify any restrictions or conditions that may apply to data rights.


4. Interface Data Rights: Describe the vendor’s willingness to provide Unlimited Rights for each WRA’s external interfaces (physical, logical, and data).


5. Open System Management Planning. How are you addressing physical and functional partitioning? Describe your approach to MOSA conformance testing and certification. How do you address integrating MOSA WRA’s with a legacy non-MOSA platform? What changes would be needed to enable the platform to be MOSA ready and obtain optimal benefits from MOSA?


6. Sustainability and Supportability: Describe how your avionics solution ensures long-term sustainability, including specific strategies for maintainability, reliability, and overall supportability across the system’s lifecycle. How long do you think the solution is sustainable? Discuss any key Product Support Element assumptions and/or risks. Discuss options for life-cycle sustainment support utilizing existing commercial and/or Department of Defense infrastructure.


7. Describe how you manage obsolescence risks (i.e., diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages (DMSMS)) during design, production, and sustainment.


8. Describe any technical risks and how you would plan to mitigate them (unless described elsewhere in your RFI response).


9. Describe any key cost risks and how you would plan to mitigate them.

Vendor Technical Approach (12 Page Limit)

Provide a summary of the solution approach that contains a description of the proposed technological solutions/products and supporting technical data. This should include:

1. Detailed description of the technology solution elements. Specifically identify which elements are non-developmental items (NDI) or custom designs. For custom designs, summarize the degree of customization (e.g., completely new vs. minor change to existing NDI) and degree of risk(s).


2. End product physical dimensions and performance specification data


3. System reliability and maintainability characteristics (e.g., MTBF estimate)


4. Design provisions to support incremental upgrades


5. Technology insertion opportunities


6. How mature are the solution technologies? Have any not been fielded in operational environments?


7. MOSA: How will MOSA (e.g., FACE 3.1, HOST) be incorporated into the design? How will this enhance current and future interoperability? How will this enhance future capability insertion? How will this prevent vendor-lock, mitigate obsolescence concerns, and enable cost effective sustainment? Describe any limitations that can be expected due to the core platform not currently being MOSA ready? What is the estimated impact of MOSA on Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) costs (as a percentage)? Are there any additional platform changes needed to enable MOSA?

5. Responses:

a. CLASSIFICATION: All responses must be UNCLASSIFIED in entirety.

Data Markings. To complete its review, NAVAIR must be able to share the respondent’s information within the Government, with Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) (as defined in FAR 35.017). For this effort, NAVAIR is engaging with the MITRE administered National Security Engineering Center (NSEC) FFRDC, serving as non-government technical advisors. FFRDCs are given broad access to sensitive and proprietary data and do not compete with the private sector.

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA): Please initiate a request through NAVAIR Contracts Team, Kady Harris and Marissa Fields at the following e-mail addresses: kady.m.harris.civ@us.navy.mil and marissa.g.fields.civ@us.navy.mil.

b. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). If the respondent is a foreign ownership, control, or influence (FOCI) concern or if a U.S. respondent has a team member or partner who is a foreign entity, adherence to all ITAR regulations is required.

c. Response Submissions. Full response submissions with the requested supporting unclassified data above must be received electronically no later than 5:00 PM ET on 05 September 2025 to the NAVAIR Contracts Team, Kady Harris and Marissa Fields at the following e-mail addresses: Kady.m.harris.civ@us.navy.mil and marissa.g.fields.civ@us.navy.mil. Submissions via E-mail and/or DoD SAFE Drop off are accepted. If a DoD SAFE Drop off is required, please send a request to the points of contact above at least 2 full business days prior to your intended submission date.

Format: Provide full unclassified response via electronic media that is Microsoft Office 2016 compatible or PDF/A. Electronic media must utilize Optical Character Recognition and allow printing, copying, and word search to permit efficient & effective evaluation of responses.

Page Limits: Responses should observe the page limits requested, inclusive of any attachments and enclosures.

Language & Font: Responses must be entirely in English and utilize Times New Roman 12-point font.

6. Questions:

Direct unclassified questions regarding this RFI electronically in writing to NAVAIR Contracts Team, Kady Harris and Marissa Fields via e-mail at Kady.m.harris.civ@us.navy.mil and marissa.g.fields.civ@us.navy.mil. All questions and requests for information must be made in writing via email. Telephone requests for additional information will not be honored. All questions and answers regarding this RFI may be posted as updates to this notice. The Government reserves the right to not address questions received after the timeframes posted in this notice.

7. Summary:

This is a request for information only to identify sources that can provide cockpit avionics and integrated mission systems avionics capabilities for the V-22 aircraft. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the government. This is not a request for proposals. The Government has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. No funds are available to pay for preparation of responses to this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. All submissions become government property and will not be returned.

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