Spectrum Situational Awareness System (S2AS)

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Request for Information (RFI):

Program Executive Officer (PEO) Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (IEW&S), Project Manager (PM) Electronic Warfare & Cyber (EW&C), PdM EWI, is conducting this RFI to identify proven, mature Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) / Non-Developmental Item (NDI) software and hardware components for S2AS.

BACKGROUND

PdM EWI is the Product Manager for the Acquisition, Development, Deployment, and Sustainment of S2AS, a new start program in Fiscal Year (FY) 25.

Future adversaries will have multiple and highly capable means for detecting and targeting Army tactical Command Posts, Operation Centers, and vehicle platforms through electromagnetic emissions and other spectral emissions to include radiological and nuclear emanations. With evolving threats and advancements in technology, the Army will face adversarial difficulties throughout the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) to include radio frequency and spectrum crowding, jamming, spoofing, cyber, anti-space, and other EMS hazards. Due to the density and unique spectrum profiles of the Army’s Command Posts and emitters, adversaries can easily detect, identify, and locate friendly forces using Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) technology and capability. To give the Army the competitive edge against the multitude of adversarial spectrum detection capabilities and achieve Command Post survivability, emissions control (EMCON) procedures must be leveraged to optimize command and control of friendly emitters to minimize signature detection. To achieve this competitive edge, Commanders must be equipped with tools to see and understand their EMS emissions and signatures to make rapid and informed decisions to disrupt and degrade the adversary’s ability to detect friendly locations and enable unnoticed friendly actions across the EMS – a Spectrum Situational Awareness System (S2AS) solution is required.

Product Manager (PdM) Electronic Warfare Integration (EWI) is seeking a turn-key advanced technology solution that will enable collection, protection, and integrity of spectrum emissions and emitter signature data for Command Posts and a variety of emitters surrounding the Army Command Post areas of operation. Collected spectrum data from the technology solution will disseminate the collected emissions data to the Army’s Program of Record spectrum visualization tool – the Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool (EWPMT). The S2AS solution will provide spectrum situational awareness and enable execution of Emissions Control (EMCON) of friendly emitters to protect against adversarial spectrum detection of Command Posts, and other emitter assets. S2AS will be designed with A Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) to provide flexibility and allow for rapid evolution of capabilities and technologies throughout the product lifecycle.

The government’s intent is to utilize the Consortium for Command, Control and Communications in Cyberspace (C5) OTA for this prototyping effort. More information about the C5-OTA can be found at https://cmgcorp.org/portal/member-resources/c5-ota/.

DESIRED INFORMATION

Provide proven, mature Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) / Non-Developmental Item (NDI) software and hardware components related to the S2AS required technical capabilities listed in this RFI. Please indicate what additional information is required (if any), beyond what is requested below, for the vendor to compete.

REQUIRED TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

Configuration: Vehicle mounted, Command Post (stationary), and man-portable

System is intended to be flexible and offer a range of flexibility to accommodate different mission requirements. Configuration should support modular configuration for vehicle mounted, Command Post, and man-portable implementations.

Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP)

Must accommodate austere environments and support a wide range of operational scenarios. Considerations for SWaP must accommodate battery operation, vehicle power (24v DC), and shore power standards for US and NATO specifications (110-240v AC). Must also be flexible to accommodate space constraints.

Network Communication

Data collected must be transported via low bandwidth and high latency tactical network transport mediums (LAN/WAN). Considerations for optimal use of bandwidth for wireless, radio line-of-sight, and satellite TCP/IP networks must be achieved to distribute collected sensor data collected at the Command Post to EWPMT for situational awareness and analysis.

Hardware

• System must be modular (small form factor) with ruggedized all weather chassis and extreme temperature tolerance; ability to conform to Military Specifications (MILSPEC)


• Interchangeable antenna configuration to support man-portable, stationary, and vehicular mounted configurations.


• Antenna must support directional-finding and omni-directional sensing (at the halt and on the move)

Technical Capability

• Net-worthy and capable of exchanging data with EWPMT


• Visualized the EMS footprint and provided real-time signature awareness data


• Color user interface that displays 2D waterfall, spectrograph, automated link analysis, and compass for Direction Finding (DF). Display must be large enough to provide sufficient detail to user during man-portable, stationary, and vehicle mounted operation


• Sufficient RF sweep speed and filtering needed for Low Probability of Intercept (LPI)/Low Probability of Detect (LPD) spread spectrum signal capture


• To support Disrupted, Disconnected, Intermittent and low-bandwidth (DDIL) operational environments, system capabilities must be enabled with enough compute power, memory, and storage to support current operations and storage of data (i.e. I/Q data, Audio files, baseline files, exceedance files, etc)


• Support Wifi and LAN Internet Protocol (IP) based network connections to facilitate data transfer to external analysis tools and internal storage to support stand-alone operation while disconnected (store and forward)


• Battery/extend-battery life operation


• Support shore power for both stationary (110-220v AC) and vehicle mounted (24v DC) configuration (US/NATO specifications)


• Provide means of pre-programing and re-programing of user-defined spectrum sensing frequency ranges


• Provide alerts, indications & Warnings for signals of interest to inform EMCON level

OTHER INFORMATION REQUIRED

Interested parties should address the following information in addition to the capabilities and support requirements listed above.

a) State whether the vendor has the capability to fully meet some or all of the S2AS required capabilities. If the vendor can only partially meet the requirements, state the specific capabilities.

b) Provide examples of listed required technical capabilities integration with other competitor commercial required technical capabilities, and EWPMT.

c) Provide examples of past performance in system integration and non-recurring engineering of a similar scope and complexity.

d) Complete Appendix 1 and provide any additional information on handheld spectrum monitoring products, and RF sensors.

e). RF Spectrum Analysis Software – Provide information on product capabilities.

RESPONDING TO THIS RFI

Any interested party shall submit a white paper in response to the above capabilities.

The white paper shall be due no later than 30 days after the posting of this RFI. The response date denoted on SAM.Gov shall hold precedence. Vendors may submit any questions related to this RFI, no later than seven calendar days after the posting date. RFI responses are limited to ten (10) pages, not including appendix 1, cover, and administrative pages. All RFI responses shall include a table with the following:

Company name, company address, size/designation of company, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), DUNS Number, CAGE code, point of contact, e-mail address, telephone number, and fax number. Additionally, please state if your company is foreign owned, either directly or indirectly.

Certification of business size (large or small) under NAICS code 541511 "Custom Computer Programming Services". Also provide socioeconomic categories if a small business (i.e. large, small disadvantage, veteran-owned, woman-owned, etc.).

Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI in Microsoft Word Office compatible format. Responses shall be written using a 12 point font size or larger. This RFI is for planning purposes and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. No entitlement to payment by the Government of direct or indirect cost or charges will arise as a result of the submission of a company's or corporation's information.

The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damage for any improperly identified proprietary information. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations and requirements. The Government does not guarantee that this RFI will result in a Request for Proposal (RFP) or contract award. The Government will not provide reimbursement for any costs incurred by vendors who respond to this RFI.

All questions and responses relating to this notice shall be sent via email to the below with the Subject, (S2AS RFI 1 - "Your Company Name")

Mr. Oral Grant (oral.g.grant.civ@army.mil), Contracting Officer

Mr. Raymond Bailey (Raymond.c.bailey2.civ@army.mil), Contract Specialist

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation PART 10.001, the results of this Market Survey will primarily be used to develop the Government's acquisition approach and will be used to determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exist. This is NOT a request for proposal and does not constitute any obligation by the Government to award a contract based on the findings from the survey. The Government will not reimburse interested sources or respondents to notice, or any follow-on notice, for any costs incurred in association with this announcement or for subsequent exchange of information. All requests for further information must be in writing and via email; telephonic requests for additional information will not be honored.

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