The Request For Information (RFI) response due date has been extended to October 3, 2024 4:30pm EST. The questions submitted for this RFI have been attached with the Government responses.
Open Software Architecture for Managing Remote Devices in an Electromagnetic Warfare System
Request for Information
1.0 DESCRIPTION. Project Manager Electronic Warfare & Cyber (PM EW&C), Product Lead Strategic Spectrum Warfare (PL SSW) seeks information from vendors regarding the development and deployment of an open software architecture for managing Manned and Unmanned Remote Devices (RDs) and other legacy and future Army Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) sensor(s) and/or effector(s). This RFI serves for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. Responses will assist PM EW&C in understanding market capabilities and potential solutions for enhancing legacy and development of future EW Systems.
This RFI, and the capabilities sought herein, are extensible across the PM EW&C portfolio, including but not limited to Terrestrial Layer System (TLS) Echelons Above Brigade (EAB), TLS Brigade Combat Team (BCT), and other current and future EW programs. For further information please visit: https://peoiews.army.mil/pm-ewc/.
1.1 This is a Request For Information (RFI) only. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes. It does not represent a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a guarantee of future RFP issuance. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. It is important to note that the Government is currently not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Any costs incurred while responding to this RFI will be the sole responsibility of the responding party, as the Government will not reimburse for any expenses. Not responding to this RFI will not affect eligibility for future RFPs, should they be issued.
1.2 Potential follow-on activities. The Government may use this RFI as a means of competition to grant one or more Title 10 USC 4023 experimentation agreements. These agreements will provide an opportunity for Vendors to demonstrate their software and potentially sell items for testing and evaluation purposes. Following these demonstrations, the Government intends to award one or more prototyping other transaction agreements (OTAs) and/or follow-on production contracts depending on the results of the testing and evaluation. Consortium for Command, Control and Communications in Cyberspace (C5) membership is required to be considered for any follow-on actions. For information on joining the C5 Consortium, please visit https://cmgcorp.org/c5/.
2.0 BACKGROUND. PM EW&C seeks to advance EW capabilities by utilizing an open software architecture to manage RDs and other EW sensor(s) and/or effector(s), focused on:
• Centralized Command and Control (C2) utilizing persistent and non-persistent data links.
Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release. Distribution is Unlimited. U.S. Army PM EW&C PRAS-00040.
• Autonomous, semi-autonomous, or pre-programed actions to support Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Limited (bandwidth) operations
• Situational awareness (SA) to quickly process and analyze information, as well as the ability to make timely and informed decisions based on that information.
• Data analysis and reporting to include data collection, cleaning (e.g. filtering, disposal, etc.), analysis, visualization and interpretation.
• Cybersecurity measures implementation to include firewalls, antivirus and malware software, encryption, multi-factor authentication and intrusion detection.
• Planning and deployment to include objective, resource planning and risk identification.
• Configuration and calibration to ensure compatibility and measurement accuracy.
• Resource management for shared resources (e.g. receiver channels and Direction Finding (DF) services).
• Monitoring and control to ensure that Manned and Unmanned Remote Devices (RDs) and other legacy and future Army Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) sensor(s) and/or effector(s) function as intended to meet performance requirements.
2.1 The proposed architecture shall have the capability to leverage software Interface Control Documents (ICDs), Software Development Kits (SDKs), and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to facilitate efficient and timely software development and integration efforts. Examples include but not limited to Tactical Assault Kit (TAK-X), Fabric User Situational Environment (FUSE), Joint Interface Control Document (JICD) 4.2.X, JICD Common Services, Network-Centric Collaborative Targeting (NCCT), Theater Net-Centric Geolocation (TNG), and the Modular Payload Standard.
2.2 This proposed architecture should ensure compatibility, security, message generation, data dissemination and interoperability with legacy and future military EW systems and subsystems while facilitating the integration of advanced data analytics and machine learning components that aid in:
• Data collection for rapid data processing and information gathering.
• Feature engineering involving data transformation, extraction and selection.
• Model selection for identification of the most appropriate machine learning algorithm for problem identification and resolution.
• Validation ensuring selected model can generalize well to new and unseen data.
• Deployment for integrating the model into a host environment where it can be used to make predictions on new data or to automate the decision-making process.
3.0 REQUESTED INFORMATION. PM EW&C is interested in receiving information on the following:
Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release. Distribution is Unlimited. U.S. Army PM EW&C PRAS-00040.
3.1 Question 1. What experience does the vendor have in developing an open software architecture?
3.1.1 Provide brief company history and relevant experience in the information being requested. Identify key personnel and their qualifications.
3.1.2 Facilities: Identify available laboratory spaces (classified and/or unclassified) that could be utilized for open software architecture development and integration including security accreditation, current usage, co-use with partners, power space and cooling.
3.1.3 References and case studies: Provide references and case studies that demonstrate experience and/or performance in developing and managing an open software architecture solution and the ability to integrate with various RD’s and EW sensor(s) and/or effector(s).
3.2 Question 2. What experience does the vendor have with component selection, deployment, operation and sustainability for the proposed open software architecture solution?
3.2.1 Identify the design methodology of the software architecture: Selection of open-source components used in the architecture to include trade studies.
3.2.2 Software deployment and operation: Provide examples where the vendor deployed and operated the software on target hardware (e.g. Manned and Unmanned RD’s, EW sensor(s) and/or effector(s)).
3.2.3 Identify sustainability of proposed open architecture software solution: Provide relevant examples of how past software deployments were sustained once fielded (e.g. upgrades, maintenance, software licensing, addition of new requirements and scalability).
3.3 Question 3. What tools do you use for capturing software requirements from stakeholders? (e.g. Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) CAMEO, IBM DOORS, etc.)
3.3.1 Define design methodology approach to ensure requirements tracing, verification and validation (e.g. Modeling and Simulation, development circuit card assemblies, target hardware, reliability, etc.).
3.3.2 Define software configuration management process used in development, deployment and sustainability to include data bases used to track problem logs and the mechanisms to resolve them.
Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release. Distribution is Unlimited. U.S. Army PM EW&C PRAS-00040.
3.4 Question 4. What experience does the vendor have with Innovative solutions or technologies? Examples may include but are not limited to:
• Edge computing for EW sensor(s) and/or effectors and RD’s.
• Machine learning. Integration with cognitive and autonomous systems.
• Implementing cloud, cloud-hybrid, and on-premises computing solutions.
• Block chain for secure communications.
• Virtualization and containerization for EW sensor(s) and/or effector(s).
• Augmented reality for EW sensor(s) and/or effector(s) management.
3.5 Question 5. What previous experience does the vendor have with challenge, mitigation and risk reduction strategies related to the following:
• Security
• Interoperability
• Scalability
• Maintainability
• Compliance to regulatory requirements
• Usability
• Cost Effectiveness
• Performance
3.6 Question 6. What experience does the vendor have with Open Standards and Interoperability?
3.6.1 Identify solution adherence to open software standards without restrictions, such as patents or other restrictions such as copy rights.
3.6.2 Identify ability for deployed software to be used on various target hardware configurations (e.g. Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA, VPX associated standards (VITA 46.0, 49, 65.0, 65.1, etc.).
3.6.3 Provide relevant examples of interoperability with other systems, technologies and other hardware payloads.
3.7 Question 7. What experience does the vendor have with implementation meeting configurable User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) requirements? Examples may include but are not limited to the following:
3.7.1 Software developed and provided users with the ability to define custom workflows, alerts, and notifications, and could configure different components based on specific scenarios.
3.7.2 Software developed and provided allows the integration of new features and capabilities needed in future applications.
Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release. Distribution is Unlimited. U.S. Army PM EW&C PRAS-00040.
3.7.3 Managing the deleterious effects of operator cognitive load in EW systems.
3.8 Question 8. What experience does the vendor have with implementations for telemetry, compatibility, reprogramming and connectivity to include the following:
3.8.1 Collecting and processing telemetry data from remote sensor(s) and/or effector(s).
3.8.2 Fault detection capabilities incorporated in the software architecture that provide customizable notification that includes alerts, warnings and recommendations.
3.8.3 Providing real-time monitoring and analytics.
3.8.4 Ensuring compatibility with existing and future military standards, protocols and interfaces.
3.8.5 Understanding impacts of connectivity loss as it pertains to informing the user if operating in a degraded or denied environment.
4.0 RESPONSES: Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI. Responses are encouraged even if they address only one of questions contained within the RFI. Responses shall provide the following minimum administrative information: Name, mailing address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact.
4.1 Responses are due no later than 10 September 2024. Vendors shall limit responses to 20 pages. Proprietary information, if any MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information (included in the page limit). Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Vendors shall submit responses via mail to:
• U.S. Army, PM EW&C, ATTN: SFAE-IEW-EW, Security Office, 6631 Cyber Street, Bldg. 5100, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005
4.2 Respondents may provide supplemental information such as product brochures, specification sheets, photographs, illustration, and technical descriptions that describe your company’s current products that most closely match these capabilities described above. Vendors are encouraged not to include marketing informational materials that do not relate to the products recommended for consideration, as they will be discarded. However, responses may include universal resource locater (URL) links to technical documentation materials (i.e., technical data sheet).
4.3 Classified responses. Vendors may submit CLASSIFIED (up to and including SECRET) responses to this RFI. These submissions shall only include the CLASSIFIED portions of the Vendor’s response. Vendors shall submit any CLASSIFIED portions directly to the Government via hardcopy or electronic submission. When mailing CLASSIFIED documents, Vendors must ensure that they are securely packaged and properly labeled in accordance with the appropriate security guidelines.
Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release. Distribution is Unlimited. U.S. Army PM EW&C PRAS-00040.
4.3.1 CLASSIFIED hardcopy submission shall be addressed to U.S. Army, PM EW&C, ATTN: SFAE-IEW-EW, Security Office, 6631 Cyber Street, Bldg 5100, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005.
4.3.2 The inner wrapper of the submittal shall be addressed to U.S. Army, PM EW&C, ATTN: SFAE-IEW-ES, Attn: Alison Powell, 6631 Cyber Street, Bldg 5100, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005.
4.3.3 CLASSIFIED (up to and including SECRET) electronic submission shall be via SIPR email to: usarmy.apg.peo-iews.mbx.pmew-pmo@mail.smil.mil or via JWICS email to: ewc.pmewc.pmo.mbx@army.ic.gov.
5.0 QUESTIONS. Vendors shall submit questions regarding this announcement in writing via e-mail. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee answers to questions received. The deadline for questions is noon on 26 August 2024. The Government will release questions and answers to all vendors by 30 August 2024. Vendors shall submit questions via e-mail to:
• Oral Grant, Contracting Officer, oral.g.grant.civ@army.mil
• Amber Lowe, Contract Specialist, amber.m.lowe3.civ@army.mil
5.1 Secure Handling Questions. Vendors shall submit questions regarding handling of CLASSIFIED information in writing via e-mail to the PM EW&C Security Officer, Alison Powell, alison.t.powell.civ@army.mil.
6.0 SUMMARY. THIS IS AN RFI ONLY to identify sources that can provide an open software architecture solution that is designed to be open, flexible, and extensible using standards, protocols, and technologies that enable interoperability, modularity, and reusability. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Army 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. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.
