REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) / SOURCES SOUGHT (SS) NOTICE SQUAD AREA NETWORK (SQAN) TECHNOLOGIES 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 (IFB), a Request for Proposal (RFP), or Request for Quotation (RFQ). No solicitation document exists and a formal solicitation may or may not be issued by the Government as a result of the responses to this RFI. The Government will not be liable for payment of any response preparation expenses and is in no way obligated by the information received. Any costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement will NOT 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 Solicitation Number: W56KGU-20-R-SQAN for tracking purposes only. INTRODUCTION The US Army Combat Capabilities Command (CCDC) Space & Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD) is interested in receiving information from companies that have tactical dismount radios for squad communications available at a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6 or higher. Technologies/ products presented should be capable of being matured to at least a TRL 7 within approximately two years. In addition, technologies/products should be low size, weight, power, and cost (SWAP-C) and capable of working in congested and contested environments. Additional required capabilities/features are included below. Information received in response to this RFI will inform S&TCD’s SQAN program. BACKGROUND SQAN program is focused on developing a low SWAP-C capability for intra-squad communications in contested environments. SQAN requires only enough range to communicate within a squad in order to intentionally broaden the design trade-space and facilitate reduced SWAP-C, increased scalability, and other benefits. Suitable technologies/products for the SQAN radio should have the following capabilities and features: Low probability of interception/detection (LPI/LPD) Adequate throughput to support voice (push-to-talk - PTT) and data traffic comprising but not limited to: position/location information (PLI), still images and, preferably, video Ability to operate in high-usage spectrum environments such as, but not limited to, spectrum agility or directional waveforms Resistance to adversarial or situational RF interference (i.e. jamming) Resistance to spoofing attacks Encrypted transmissions without resort to backhaul for authentication Support for data security at the Secret But Unclassified/For Official Use Only9SBU/FOUO) level of classification Should use non-proprietary interfaces and easily interface with other Army radios for connectivity to longer range networks Should support USB 3.0 interface for data I/O and radio management Should be a small form-factor (smart phone size or smaller) Capable of operating in line-of-sight, foliage, and indoor/outdoor urban environments Operating frequencies must support relevant regulatory frequency allocations. (e.g. NTIA - National Telecommunications and Information Administration - compliancy) Should incorporate and/or support Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) addressing (IPv4/IPv6) and networking per relevant IETF/IEEE RFC’s (Request for Comments) standards Scalability to support wide-scale fielding to the soldier level in very large unit sizes operating with typical spacing between unit elements Should be low cost (threshold of $1,000 and objective of $500) Should be TRL 6 [1] or higher and able to reach TRL 7 [2] or higher within approximately two years (as defined by the DoD Technology Readiness Assessment SCOPE The objective of this RFI is to solicit information regarding technologies that can provide intra-squad communications to the dismount soldier that would serve U.S. Army goals for a SQAN wireless local area network. CCDC S&TCD will be evaluating the responses to help shape and validate feasible requirements. INFORMATION REQUESTED: Sources able to provide the requested information are invited to submit a white paper describing their technology, and test data relevant to this RFI. The white paper should be organized as listed below and include the following information: 1. Cover letter (not included in 10 pages) providing: a. Company Information 1) Company name 2) Primarily location(s) where work is performed 3) Mailing Address 4) Company Website b. Company Technical Point of Contact 1) Name 2) Title 3) Mailing Address 4) Email Address 5) Phone Number 2. Technical Approach Summary (maximum 10 pages) The white paper should include: Description of qualification: demonstrated products, projects, and applicable experience. State whether your current experience is in design, development, or both. Description of existing or planned work in this area. Include strategies for embedding end products into both commercial Government off the shelf (GOTs) Soldier devices. Provide information on partnerships agreements planned or existing. A description of products/technologies that meet the description of capabilities and features listed in the background section above. SUBMITTING RESPONSE TO THIS RFI: Interested parties are encouraged to submit their information electronically by 1700 EDT on Thursday 24 September 2020 to the following: S&TCD:
[email protected] AMT Mailbox:
[email protected] The subject line for the email submission should read: “RFI: SQUAD AREA NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES – YOUR COMPANY”. The submission is limited to 10 (ten) pages in length. Any company proprietary information, performance capabilities, and/or future modification plans should be clearly identified and MUST be marked accordingly and will be protected by the Government. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosure to non-government personnel and entities. Please do not submit classified information in response to this RFI; if necessary, classified discussions with the Government can occur later via secure means. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Responses to this RFI may be used to develop Government documentation. QUESTIONS: Technical questions are to be forwarded to the appropriate CCDC C5ISR Center Technical Points of Contact (TPOCs). The subject line for the email should read: “Technical Question(s), RFI: SQUAD AREA NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES – YOUR COMPANY”. Technical Point of Contact:
[email protected] Contractual questions are to be forwarded to the appropriate Points of Contact (POC) at the Army Contracting Command (ACC) – Aberdeen Proving Ground. Technical submissions and questions should not be submitted to the contracting POC’s. The subject line for the contractual questions email should read: “Contractual Question(s), RFI: SQUAD AREA NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES – YOUR COMPANY”. ACC: Tammy Woodard,
[email protected] DATA RIGHTS: It is desirable that data be received with unlimited rights to the Government. However, it is recognized that proprietary data may be included 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 discussions with the Government can occur later via secure means. [1] TRL 6: Representative model or prototype system, which is well beyond that of TRL 5, is tested in a relevant environment. Represents a major step up in a technology’s demonstrated readiness. Examples include testing a prototype in a high-fidelity laboratory environment or in a simulated operational environment. [2] TRL 7: Prototype near or at planned operational system. Represents a major step up from TRL 6 by requiring demonstration of an actual system prototype in an operational environment (e.g., in an aircraft, in a vehicle, or in space).