A. INTRODUCTION: Tactical Network Testbed (TNT) Collaboration This Request for Information (RFI) is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit technology experimentation candidates from Research and Development (R&D) organizations, private industry, and academia for inclusion in future experimentation events coordinated by the U. S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). USSOCOM invites industry, academia, individuals and Government labs to submit technology experimentation nominations addressing innovative technologies leading to possible Government/Industry collaboration for development of USSOCOM technology capabilities. The intent is to accelerate the delivery of innovative capabilities to the Special Operations Forces (SOF) warfighter. SOF experimentation will explore emerging technologies, technical applications, and their potential to provide solutions to future SOF capabilities. The final FY13 SOF Experimentation focus area will be conducted on 4-13 Jun 2013 with the theme being Signature Reduction at Camp Roberts, CA. Beginning in FY14, SOF technical experimentation event focus areas and locations are as follows: October 2013 - Preservation of the Family and Force, location TBD February or March 2014 - Maritime Mobility/Counter Mobility, location TBD Additional RFIs will be released to FedBizOpps approximately 75 days prior to each scheduled TNT event to provide additional details. After review of the technology experimentation nomination submissions, the Government may invite select candidates to experiment their technologies at the USSOCOM & NPS sponsored TNT experimentation event. The TNT venue will provide an opportunity for the submitter to interact with USSOCOM personnel for the purpose of USSOCOM assessing potential impact of emerging technology solutions on USSOCOM missions and capabilities. The intent is to accelerate the delivery of innovative capabilities to the Special Operations Forces (SOF) warfighter. Industry participation in experimentation activities does not suggest or imply that USSOCOM or NPS will procure or purchase equipment. B. OBJECTIVE: 1. Background: USSOCOM conducts TNT experimentation events at Muscatatuck UTC, IN; at Avon Park, Fl, and in cooperation with NPS at Camp Roberts, CA. These cooperative TNT experiments are conducted with representatives from Government R&D organizations, academia, and private industry. TNT experimentation events provide an opportunity for technology developers to interact with operational personnel to determine how their technology development efforts and ideas may support or enhance SOF capability needs. The environment facilitates a collaborative working relationship between Government, academia, and industry to promote the identification and assessment of emerging and mature technologies for the primary goal of accelerating the delivery of technology discoveries to the SOF warfighter. The event facilitates SOCOM personnel to identify potential technology solutions, impacts, limitations, and utility to meet SOF technical objectives and thrust areas. Materiel solutions brought to the event should be at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 but NOT greater than TRL-6. Experiments may be between a half day and five days in duration and be conducted in unimproved expeditionary-like conditions. At the discretion of USSOCOM, respondents may be asked to complete a vendor loan agreement (see attachment). 2. Experimentation Focus: Experiments will be conducted 4-13 Jun 2013 at Camp Roberts, CA and will explore emerging technology solutions and revolutionary improvements in SOF dismounted soldier or platform signature management. Any technology-based experiment conducted at the event will need to be capable of supporting a SOF unit to provide a revolutionary improvement in SOF operations. Any and all solutions must include the necessary software and hardware to accomplish the mission. Signature management technologies should address a combination of the following spectra: • Visible • Near Infrared (NIR) • Short-wave Infrared (SWIR) • Thermal (Mid-wave Infrared [MWIR] / Long-wave Infrared Infrared [LWIR]) • Radar • Acoustic • Radio frequency (RF) • Multispectral Experiment participants may bring their own electro-optical/infrared sensors to facilitate user evaluations of their technology. However, the Government anticipates bringing sensors as well. If the technolody to be tested requires a specific landscape, please note this in the online experiment nomination submission form. Camp Roberts has a wide range of foliage and terrain, and areas should exist to conduct each experiment properly. Night operations will be accommodated if needed for proper evaluation of a participant's technology, but this must also be noted in the online submission form. Note that a New Moon will occur at Camp Roberts on 8 June 2013 and moon rise will occur between 0214 and 0920 over the duration of this TNT event. 3. Security Requirements: Experiment participants should submit technical information associated with their technology experimentation nominations via CD/DVD only. Please see Paragraph C. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS below for futher information. All classified and/or proprietary information must be appropriately marked, labeled and secured. 4. All respondents shall prepare a Composite Risk Management (CRM) Worksheet (Department of the Army [DA] Form 7566, attached [Lotus Forms Viewer required]) in accordance with MIL-STD-882E and DA Field Manual 5-19. The risk assessment shall address the likelihood and severity of any inherent risks as well as risk mitigation measures required. The risk assessment shall be submitted as an attachment to the experiment nomination. Nominations submitted without a thorough and complete CRM will not be considered for participation. Reference the attached safety worksheet for assistance preparing the CRM. Also, respondents wishing to conduct experiments of a kinetic or energetic nature are responsible for ammunition and/or explosives shipments to include an Interim Hazard Classification (IHC) or Final Hazard Classification (FHC) and coordination for receipt and storage at Camp Roberts, CA. If your experiment will be radiating on a given frequency or frequency band, you must have prior approval to transmit on that frequency. Prior approval may include compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Title 47, Part 15 or a Special Temporary Authority (STA) from the FCC. If equipment is government-owned and operating within a Federal Band, you must have National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) frequency approval. Your authority to radiate should be submitted along with your nomination or emailed directly to
[email protected]. The FCC recommends you submit you request at least 30 days prior to the start of the event. 5. Other Special Requirements: DO NOT SUBMIT PROPOSALS. SUBMIT TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENTATION NOMINATIONS ONLY. EXPERIMENTATION NOMINATION SUBMITTALS FOR THIS RFI MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN THE CLOSING DATE OF 4/19/2013. No contracts will be awarded based solely on this announcement or any subsequent supplemental RFI announcements planned for FY13 TNT events. C. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Technical information pertaining to Technology Experimentation nominations shall be submitted on CD/DVD and mailed to the address provided below postmarked no later than the closing date of 4/19/2013. Other pertinent non-technical registration information must be submitted by the closing date of 4/19/2013 by 1600 EST via USSOCOM webpage: http://www.socom.mil/sordac/Pages/ExpNominationForm.aspx. Do NOT submit technical information via webpage. The technical information submitted via CD/DVD should include information about Capability, Experiment Objectives, Measurements/Data Collection Plan, Measures of Performance/Measures of Effectiveness, what new capability (or improvement to existing capability) this represents to the war fighter, and which (if any) existing gap does this capability addresses. Please direct questions to
[email protected]. All CD/DVD submissions, up to and including the SECRET Collateral level, should be mailed to: HQ USSOCOM ATTN: SORDAC-ST/TNT COORDINATOR 7701 TAMPA POINT BLVD MACDILL AFB, FL 33621 Classified submissions must be double wrapped in accordance with NISPOM guidance. Inner wrapper should be marked with the appropriate classification and contain the following statement: "To be opened only by SORDAC-ST TNT Coordinator - Conrad Lovell" Proposed submissions classified higher than collateral SECRET must be coordinated in advance with the TNT Coordinator at (813) 826-4646. Procedures for submission of those proposals will be provided separately. Multiple nominations addressing different technology experiments may be submitted by each respondent. Submissions will be reviewed by USSOCOM personnel to determine whether an experiment submission will be accepted for invitation. Each technology experiment nomination must address only one experiment. Select respondents will be invited to participate in USSOCOM experiments. USSOCOM shall provide venues, supporting infrastructure, and assessment (operational and technical, based on availability of resources and written request) personnel at no cost to invited respondent(s). Respondent's travel costs and technology experiments will be at the respondent's expense. The TNT venue will only provide basic access to training areas or ranges to conduct experiments, a facility to connect to the internet, basic venue infrastructure including frequency allocation/deconfliction, and portable power if needed. Invited respondents must be prepared to be self-sufficient during the execution of their experiments and not dependent on venue resources for success. D. BASIS FOR SELECTION TO PARTICIPATE: Selection of respondents to participate will be based on the extent to which the technology represents a particular class or level of capability that can be provided to Special Operations Forces. Other considerations include: - Technical maturity - Relevance of or adaptability to military operations/missions - Relevance to current operational needs - Relevance to Event Focus Area E. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: All efforts shall be made to protect proprietary information that is clearly marked in writing. Lessons learned by USSOCOM from these experiments may be broadly disseminated but only within the Government. If selected for participation in TNT experimentation, vendors may be requested to provide additional information that will be used in preparation for the experiments. F. USE OF INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to gain information leading to Government/Industry collaboration for development of USSOCOM technology capabilities and to assist in accelerating the delivery of these capabilities to the warrior. All proprietary information contained in the response shall be separately marked. Any proprietary information contained in response to this request will be properly protected from any unauthorized disclosure. The Government will not use proprietary information submitted from any one firm to establish future capability and requirements. G. SPECIAL NOTICE: Respondent's attention is directed to the fact that Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) or contractor consultant/advisors to the Government will review and provide support during evaluation of submittals. When appropriate, non-Government advisors may be used to objectively review a particular functional area and provide comments and recommendations to the Government. All advisors shall comply with procurement Integrity Laws and shall sign non-disclosure and rules of conduct/conflict of interest statements. The Government shall take into consideration requirements for avoiding conflicts of interest and ensure advisors comply with safeguarding proprietary data. Submission in response to this RFI constitutes approval to release the submittal to Government support contractors. H. Per Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997): 1. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI notice or to otherwise pay for the information. 2. Although "proposal" and "respondent" are used in this RFI, your responses will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. 3. In accordance with FAR Clause 52.209(c), the purpose of this RFI is to solicit technology experimentation candidates from R&D organizations, private industry, and academia for inclusion in future experimentation events coordinated by USSOCOM. Contracting Office Address: 7701 Tampa Point Blvd MacDill AFB, Florida 33621-5323 Primary Point of Contact:
[email protected]