Lightweight Deployable Instrument Landing System Prototype

UPDATE 10 March 2022 : This solicitation has been updated due to changes in requirements. Please see the new file attached to this solicitation and refer to the tracked changes to view the updates. The response date for this solicitation has been updated to 31 March 2022. The purpose of this Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) Program Announcement (PA) is to request proposals to award zero or more Prototype OTAs for an LD-ILS prototype under the authority of 10 U.S. Code § 2371b. The LD-ILS prototype will be used to validate the achievable performance, requirements, and cost for such a system. Project Overview The United States Air Force (USAF) seeks a Lightweight Deployable Instrument Landing System (LD-ILS) to use for precision approach and landing in Agile Combat Employment (ACE) environments. The system shall generate ILS signals-in-space per International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 10 to the extent possible while being small enough for transport in no more than two 463L pallet positions. The major constraints on this LD-ILS system are: 1) it must interoperate with ILS systems on board aircraft today, 2) it must operate in a Global Positioning System (GPS) degraded or denied environment, 3) it must be lightweight deployable, 4) it must be small enough for transport in no more than two 463L pallet positions, 5) it must be capable of transport via military cargo vehicles, aircraft and rail without causing damage to the system and 6) it must be capable of reliably withstanding world-wide deployment cycles. The goal of this effort is to develop a fully functional prototype. The Government desires to develop the prototype in increments to align with available Government resources. The increments should be structured to address the highest performance risks as early as possible in the development process. Demonstrated success of each increment is required before moving on to the next. The findings of the prototyping effort will inform stakeholders as to the feasibility of developing a LD-ILS to provide ICAO Category I (CAT I) guidance for expeditionary operations. If the prototype LD-ILS is successfully completed and determined to adequately support the operational need, the USAF may award a follow-on production agreement or contract to develop production representative LD-ILS units, conduct qualification testing, and acquire production units. Background The USAF requires the ability to rapidly deploy forces in all weather conditions to ensure freedom of movement, commitment to our partners and demonstration of our resolve. Air Traffic Control and Landing System (ATCALS) provides vital mission support to enable USAF forces to deliver responsive and effective global vigilance, global reach and global power. ATCALS must respond to the joint operational need to deploy, employ, sustain, and redeploy aviation assets in multiple geographically separated and environmentally diverse regions at will. There is an unmet need for a LD-ILS that generates signals-in-space to support guidance for precision approach and landing in ACE environments. Definitions (1) “Agreements Officer (AO)” is the Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems Division warranted Contracting Officer with authority to enter into, administer, change or terminate other transactions agreements. Agreements Officers are the only Government employees authorized to enter into an OTA. (2) “Agreements Specialist (AS)” is the Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems Division Contract Specialist. (3) “Cost Share” is the cost of the prototype project not paid by the federal government. At least one third of the total cost of the LD-ILS prototype shall be paid out of funds other than the Federal Government unless there is at least one nontraditional defense contractor participating to a significant extent in the prototype project or all significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses or nontraditional defense contractors. (4) “DoD Non-government advisors” or “Non-government advisors” means any non-Government employee working in conjunction with the Government and can include individuals employed by Support Contractors, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, and University Affiliated Research Center. See Section 9 for the list of companies the program is expecting to use to review data submitted by Offerors. (5) “Nontraditional Defense Contractor” is an entity that is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the one-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by DoD for the procurement or transaction, any contract or subcontract for the DoD that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to section 1502 of title 41 and the regulations implementing such section (see 10 U.S.C. 2302(9)). (6) “Organizational conflict of interest” means that because of other activities or relationships with other persons, a person is unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, or the person’s objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or a person has an unfair competitive advantage. (7) “Prototype Project” in the context of an OT is as follows: a prototype project addresses a proof of concept, model, reverse engineering to address obsolescence, pilot, novel application of commercial technologies for defense purposes, agile development activity, creation, design, development, demonstration of technical or operational utility, or combinations of the foregoing. A process, including a business process, may be the subject of a prototype project. (8) “Significant Participant” means an entity that makes a significant contribution to the prototype project. Examples of what might be considered a significant contribution include supplying new key technology or products, accomplishing a significant amount of the effort, or in some other way causing a material reduction in the cost or schedule, or increase in performance. (9) “Small Business” as defined by the DoD OT Guide means a small business concern as defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S. Code § 632). Eligibility In accordance with 10 U.S. Code § 2371b, the Offeror’s proposal must satisfy at least one of the following conditions to be considered for an ATCALS OT agreement award: (A) Offeror is a non-traditional defense contractor; or (B) Offeror is a small business (including small businesses participating in a program described under section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638)); or (C) Offeror will fund at least one third of the total cost (provided by sources other than the U.S. Federal Government) to complete the prototype project (all costs must be after the date of the OT Agreement). In addition, the Offeror must have a Dunn and Bradstreet (DUNS) number and must register in the System for Award Management (SAM) to obtain a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code. This system verifies identity and ensures that payment is sent to the correct party. In general, to invoice and receive payment after award, the Offeror must register in the Invoice, Receipt, Acceptance, and Property Transfer (iRAPT) system, formerly known as Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF) through the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE). The Offeror must be considered a responsible party by the AO and is not suspended or debarred from such agreement by the Federal Government, and is not prohibited by Presidential Executive Order, or law from receiving such award. Goals The primary goal of this effort is an LD-ILS functional prototype. Since the development will be in increments, the deliverables should be aligned accordingly. The contractor deliverables shall include an overall functional description, system architecture, system design document and validation plan followed by subsystem specifications, validation procedures and a validation report within each increment as appropriate. The deliverables will support Government decisions on whether to proceed with the next increment. The goals of the USAF with relation to the LD-ILS prototype are: To determine if an LD-ILS can achieve the required performance to support CAT I operations (i.e., generate ICAO Annex 10 compliant signals-in-space (SiS) to support the required Glide Path and Localizer functionality) and understand the following: Size, quantity, and configuration of antenna elements Integration of the LD-ILS transmitter with antenna elements Method of detecting erroneous signals Integrity monitoring process To determine whether an LD-ILS can be packaged to fit within no more than two 463L pallet positions and transported without damage to the system and understand the following: Packaging and aircraft loading plan Satisfaction of 2 person lift and carry criteria Ability to meet frangibility requirements To determine the ability for two trained technicians to off load, set up and configure the Glide Path and Localizer subsystems in under 16-man hours (THRESHOLD), 8 man hours (OBJECTIVE) with little to no on-site equipment support and understand the following: Siting, set up simplicity and time, and tuning constraints Need for a forklift, trucks and pintle hooks, and other support equipment for transport and set up/tear down Calibration and tuning process Impacts of weather or other environmental conditions on set up and tear down activities Response Format Questions concerning this Request for Proposals, prior to submittal may be directed to [email protected]. Submissions should be delivered via Department of Defense’s Safe Access File Exchange (SAFE) website at https://safe.apps.mil/. Since unauthenticated users (Non-DoD Personal Identity Verification (PIV) certificates) must receive a drop-off request from a DoD user, please notify the Contracting Officer/Agreements Officer Mr. Richard T. Williams ([email protected]) and Contracting Specialist Ms. Tahlia Sellers-Saidi ([email protected]) of your company’s intent to deliver a response. You will be provided with a “Drop-off Request” which you will use to submit your files. The Drop-Off Request will be valid for 14 days. For additional guidance, please see the SAFE website at https://safe.apps.mil/. All submissions are due by 31 March 2022 . Submissions shall be in PDF format and shall not exceed 75 pages in length.