Resiliency, High Capacity, Command Post Survivability

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION: No award will be made as a result of this request. This request for information (RFI) is for informational and planning purposes only; this is not an Invitation for Bid, a Request for Proposal, or Request for Quotation. No solicitation document exists and a formal solicitation will not be issued by the Government after receiving responses to this RFI. The Government will not be liable for payment of any costs incurred in response to this RFI and is under no obligation to act in any way on the information received. No costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement will be reimbursed. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing a future acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement, Statement of Objectives and/or Performance Based Specification(s). Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. NOTE: the use of

RFI number W56KGU-20-R-NetModX is for tracking purposed only.BACKGROUND/DESCRIPTION:The United States Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground is conducting market research on behalf of the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD), in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 10. S&TCD is searching for communications technologies at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3-5 enabling resiliency, high capacity, and Command Post Survivability in the presence of Cyber-Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA).Technology focus areas/attributes include:Automated Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency communications systems. Examples of solutions may include:Mission command applications that dynamically adapt to disrupted, intermittent, low bandwidth networksSoftware based solutions designed for rapid integration into existing Army networks (upper & lower tactical internet) The ability to support bi-directional data transmission across multiple classification levels, traffic conditioning, message translation inclusive of Cursor on Target and Variable Message Format Providing S6/G6 with a dynamic, end to end awareness of the network’s state and capabilities ranging from normal conditions to Disconnected, Intermittent and Limited bandwidth (DIL) statesMachine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence capabilitiesMulti-band dynamic/modular radio frequency (RF) systems2. Resilient Beyond Line of Sight Communications to include High Frequency, Troposcatter, and Low Earth Orbit/ Medium Earth Orbit Satellite Communications terminals3. Camouflage, Concealment, and Deception capabilities in the Electro-Optical/Infra-Red and Electromagnetic Spectrum4. Resilient and Modular Command Post Technologies such as:Lightweight auxiliary power unit design with integrated baseline energy storage capable of providing alternative power to command post vehiclesGround and vehicular mounted antenna designs capable of variable and rapid height adjustments, rapid emplacement and tear-down, and automated or manual mast head orientationData distribution solutions to enable command post continuity of operationsHigh Capacity Low Probability of Intercept (LPI)/Low Probability of Detection (LPD) communications systems that would enable command post node dispersion5. Anti-Jam and LPI/LPD waveforms to include Free Space Optical and Light Fidelity systems that provide resilient and LPI/LPD communications at the quick halt and on the move6. Applications and Hardware that leverage Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance/Electronic Warfare Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS), to include:Software frameworks that support modular reusable softwareRF system interfaces enabling third party access/control of sophisticated RF chainsEmbedded computing hardware interfacesNetwork interfaces for discovery, management, and data dissemination CMOSS leverages open standards such as the Modular Open RF Architecture (MORA), Vehicular Integration for C5ISR/EW Interoperability (VICTORY), OpenVPX, REDHAWK, Software Communications Architecture (SCA), and Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE). Specifications in active development and use may be found at the following locations:VICTORY: (https://www.victory-standards.org/index.php/publicly-available-documents)MORA: (https://www.victory-standards.org/index.php/publicly-available-documents)OpenVPX: (http://www.vita.com)REDHAWK: (https://redhawksdr.github.io/Documentation)SCA: (http://www.public.navy.mil/jtnc)FACE: (http://www.opengroup.org/face)SOSA: (http://www.opengroup.org/sosa) 7. Defensive cyber operations capabilities in the areas of:Analytics, Correlation, and Event Management capabilities to provide a dynamic, real-time, holistic CEMA Common Operating PictureInformation integrity technologies to detect non-trustworthy information, track data provenance, and provide information filtering capabilitiesUser behavior monitoring and identification technologiesLow bandwidth, processing, storage, and power Blockchain implementations for sharing data in a DIL environment.ML technologies to: autonomously detect new malware sample and new zero-day vulnerabilities; autonomously identify and correct misconfigurations in host/networks; perform autonomous cyber threat hunting; generate mission-focused course of action(s) for the cyber defender; accurately label raw tactical data to build datasets for use in training ML classifiers; perform Adversarial ML assessments on a variety of ML models and mitigate findings; implement a rapidly deployable, on-demand collection of ML cyber sensors; secure the ML data pipelines and deployed models; help tactical cyber operators improve usage of/training on cyber tools through manned-unmanned teamingCloud computing, micro-service, and container security technologiesHigh assurance architectures for separation of trustworthy and untrustworthy systems, applications, networks, users, and data; improving data sharing in a multi-partner environment; and providing innovative approaches to Cross Domain Solutions (CDS) including transfer, access and multi-level securityCDS should be implementing the National Security Agency Cross Domain Strategy Management Office Raise-the-Bar requirements Network Modernization Experiment (NetModX) 20S&TCD plans to partner with the Network Cross Function Team, Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical and other Government organizations to conduct an integrated “white coat” experiment in June 2020 at Ft. Dix, NJ to address needs/gaps of the Integrated Tactical Network Capability Set 23. Responses to this RFI will be reviewed by S&TCD and its partners for relevance to this experiment. Based on response relevance to the architecture and product maturity, some respondents may be invited to participate in the experiment. The number of participants will be limited due to resource availability, and the Government will limit the selection to the most highly qualified offerors’ after a review of responses. If unable to participate in the demonstration, Contractors must indicate so in their white paper response. If invited, any costs incurred by interested companies during any planning event, execution of the experiment, or any other activities associated with the experiment will NOT by reimbursed by the Government. The Government reserves the right to cancel the demonstration at any time. Any costs associated with a cancellation will NOT be reimbursed by the Government.INFORMATION REQUESTEDSources able to provide the requested information are invited to submit a white paper describing their technology as well as test data relevant to this RFI. Sources may respond to all Technology Focus Areas, or whichever are applicable.The white paper should be organized as listed below and include the following information (15 page maximum):Cover letter providing (items a and b are not part of 15 page maximum):Company InformationCompany NamePrimary Location(s) Where Work is PerformedMailing AddressCompany WebsiteCompany Technical Point of ContactNameTitleMailing AddressEmail AddressPhone NumberSince responses to this RFI may result in invitation to a field experiment, a technical subject matter expert (SME) will need to be available after the RFI closing date to provide the Government spectrum manager with necessary information to obtain approval for frequency operation.2. Technical Approach SummaryThe white paper should include a description of your company’s approach to the technology focus areas/attributes listed above. The approach should, at a minimum, address:A summary of your technologyMaturity level (commercially available, working prototype, etc.)How it can be used to address high capacity, resiliency, or Command Post SurvivabilityThe technology’s availability to participate in the June 2020 experiment3. Substantiating Technical Data (not part of 15 page maximum)The submission should provide any available modeling and simulation and/or test results that substantiate the performance of the technology. These may be relevant to current state-of-the-art components or evidence to justify projections of meeting performance goals. SUBMITTING RESPONSES TO THIS RFI:Interested parties are encouraged to submit their information electronically by 5:00pm EST on 31 Jan 2020 to the following:Technical Point of Contact (TPOC): Brian Bocskor; brian.t.bocskor.civ@mail.milACC: Brian Holman, Contracting Officer, brian.j.holman2.civ@mail.milAMT Mailbox: usarmy.apg.rdecom-cerdec.mbx.stcd-amt@mail.milThe subject line for the email submission should read: “RFI: Resiliency, High Capacity, Command Post Survivability – YOUR COMPANY”. The submission is limited to 15 pages in length including the Technical Approach Summary. The Cover Letter and Substantiating Technical Data are not included in the 15 page limit.Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Responses to the RFI may be used to develop Government documentation. QUESTIONSAll questions should be addressed to the following:Brian Bocskor, TPOC – brian.t.bocskor.civ@mail.milACC: Brian Holman, Contracting Officer, brian.j.holman2.civ@mail.milTechnical questions will be sent to the appropriate S&TCD TPOC and/or SMEs. The subject line for the email should read: “Technical Question(s), RFI: Resiliency, High Capacity, Command Post Survivability – YOUR COMPANY”.Contractual questions will be sent to the appropriate Points of Contact at the Army Contracting Command (ACC) – Aberdeen Proving Ground. The subject line for the email should read: “Contractual Question(s), RFI: Resiliency, High Capacity, Command Post Survivability – YOUR COMPANY”.DATA RIGHTSIt is desired that data be received in response to the RFI with unlimited rights to the Government. However, it is recognized that proprietary data may be include with the information provided. If so, it is the responsibility of the interested party submitting data to clearly identify and mark such proprietary information and clearly separate it from the unrestricted information as an addendum. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosures to non-Government personnel and entities. Please do not submit classified information in responses to this RFI; if necessary, classified discussion with the Government can occur later via secure means.