THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and to identify interested sources. It does not constitute an invitation for bid, a Request for Proposal (RFP), a solicitation, a request for quote or a promise to issue such documentation in the future. Funding is not available at this time. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. Further, the U.S. Army is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. 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 Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential responders to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this subject.

The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The U.S. 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.

Additionally, responses may include data that the offeror does not want disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the Government except for informational purposes. If your company wishes to restrict use of the data, the response must be marked appropriately.

The Government will utilize non-Government personnel (support contractors) to review and evaluate white papers submitted in response to this RFI. If any respondent does not currently have a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that would permit the Program Management Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PM UAS) support contractor(s) listed below to review the respondent's RFI submission, the respondent is encouraged to sign NDAs with the listed support contractor(s) for this purpose. In any event, any markings on the submissions in response to this RFI should reflect that the information is releasable to the identified contractors solely for the purposes stated herein. The contractors listed below will be precluded from submitting a response to this RFI or any subsequent solicitation for this effort. The following individuals will review and evaluate the white papers:

Company / Individual / Telephone Number / Email Address

UAS PO / PdM MAE Doug Wheelock (256) 313-2920 [email protected]

DESCRIPTION: Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) Support Equipment are payload systems and sensors to be integrated onto MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS to penetrate defense-in-depth anti-access and area denial (A2AD) environments, sense, identify and geolocate enemy threat radar and communication systems that are encompassed in the Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS). The MDO Support Equipment will include capabilities to detect, identify, locate, report and share information on enemy threats. The MDO Support Equipment will be payloads on the MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS having software and hardware that will be common, open, modular and scalable. Integration of MDO Support Equipment onto the MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS operating above 20,000ft AGL is a near-term demonstration goal for the US Army UAS Product Manager MAE.  The MDO Support Equipment are systems that are already Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or greater, suitable for integration onto the MQ-1C Gray Eagle and demonstration in an operational environment within 18 months.  The MDO Support Equipment will include the following capabilities:

Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) / Electronic Support Measures (ESM) are payload systems that detect and identify Low Probability of Detection (LPI) emissions from threat radar systems, perform direction finding (Angle of Arrival) and precision geolocation, to provide tactical situational awareness to battlefield commanders through a digital data link and support cueing of Air Launched Effects (ALE) and Precision Fires.  For the MDO Support Equipment, RWR/ESM systems will have wide instantaneous bandwidth (up to 2 GHz) to increase probability of detection and minimize time to correct ID of modern radar threats.  The RWR/ESM systems will detect and correctly ID a very large set of threats (and associated modes) over the frequency range 0.5 to 40 GHz, using dual-polarized direction finding apertures.  As an objective, the RWR/ESM systems will provide the capability to detect and correctly ID modern frequency-agile radar threats that employ frequency hopping techniques up to 2 GHz, changing modulation pulse-to-pulse, and modulation techniques such as Frequency Modulation on Pulse (FMOP), Phase Modulation on Pulse (PMOP) and mono-pulse.

Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) are payload systems that detect, analyze and record radiations from LPI tactical radars and tactical Electronic Warfare (EW) threat systems. For the MDO Support Equipment, the ELINT systems will operate on electromagnetic signal over the frequency range 0.5 to 40 GHz.  The ELINT systems will perform direction finding, precision geolocation, and raw signal data recording functions. The ELINT systems will have local storage to support file transfer, with the objective to have on-aircraft analysis capability. 

Synthetic Aperture RADAR (SAR) / Moving Target Indicator (MTI) are payload systems that provide increased situational awareness through wide area surveillance, imaging of stationary targets, and detection of moving targets. The SAR/MTI payload is capable of on-board processing and transmission of near-real-time imagery and moving target detection data to battlefield commanders through a digital data link.  For the MDO Support Equipment, the SAR/MTI systems will provide the capability to image stationary targets at distances up to 60 Kilometers from the aircraft, with a sufficient resolution to perform target and threat identification.

When integrated on the MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS, the RWR/ESM, ELINT and SAR/MTI systems will be interoperable with each other and electromagnetically compatible with other avionics and sensors on the MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS.

Security Requirements: Responders must be eligible for a COMSEC account and demonstrate the ability to maintain National Information Security Program standards. Security requirements for any resultant contract will be a facility cleared to the Secret level with authorization to store COMSEC items and individuals with clearance eligibility to the Secret level. A sufficient number of individuals will require access to COMSEC. Potential solutions sought shall have full National Security Agency (NSA) approved Type-1 and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) level encryption capability.

Responses: Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper, no more than 10 pages in length, describing the responder's capabilities and potential materiel/services solution that meets the criteria referenced in this document. The whitepaper should include what is available for a demonstration within a year, what will be available within five years, and what will be available long term (after 2028). The whitepaper should also include, at a minimum, the interfaces, size, weight, payload, rough order of magnitude cost and power requirements of the MDO Support Equipment. Responses are due no later than 06 JAN 2020, 5:00 PM CST.

Contracts Points of Contact (POC): Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to the Contracting Officer, Anthony L. Jones, [email protected]. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 27 JAN 2020 will be answered.