SPECIAL NOTICE
18 -- SMC-32 Request for Information (RFI): MILSATCOM Commercial Acquisition Options
- Notice Date
- 10/28/2009
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 517919
— All Other Telecommunications
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Space Command, SMC - Space and Missile Systems Center, 483 North Aviation Blvd, El Segundo, California, 90245-2808
- ZIP Code
- 90245-2808
- Solicitation Number
- SMC-32
- Point of Contact
- David Block, Phone: 310-653-9656
- E-Mail Address
-
david.block@losangeles.af.mil
(david.block@losangeles.af.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Request for Information (RFI): MILSATCOM Commercial Acquisition Options THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. THIS REQUEST IS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN INVITATION FOR BIDS, A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, A SOLICITATION, A REQUEST FOR QUOTES, OR AN INDICATION THE GOVERNMENT WILL CONTRACT FOR THE ITEMS CONTAINED IN THIS NOTICE. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT REIMBURSE RESPONDENTS FOR ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH SUBMISSION OF THE INFORMATION BEING REQUESTED OR REIMBURSE EXPENSES INCURRED TO INTERESTED PARTIES FOR RESPONSES. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THIS RFI OR TO OTHERWISE PAY FOR THE INFORMATION SOLICITED. Background & Description This Request for Information (RFI) by the USAF Space and Missile Center (SMC) seeks to determine commercial acquisition options for satisfying future Military Satellite Communication (MILSATCOM) needs. SMC is interested in determining the extent to which emerging commercial capabilities can be leveraged for the acquisition of MILSATCOM capabilities either through the hosting of payloads or tailored procurement of Commercial SATCOM systems. SMC is also interested in suggested changes to acquisition and business approaches (e.g. specifications, contracting, policy, legal, ITU). No telephone inquiries will be accepted. All inquiries (technical, contractual, administrative), questions, or clarifications of any kind must be submitted via email to the (POC) listed below. Regarding this RFI, direct contact or one-on-one meetings with a contracting officer, program manager, or technical parties, is not allowed, apart from the Government Exchange Meetings described later in the RFI. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information solicited. Objectives This RFI supports the following specific objectives: • Gathering information on current and future Commercial SATCOM systems and business models that may be tailorable and affordable to meet DoD SATCOM needs. The spectrum of current business models under consideration includes. • (1) FAR Part 12 Modified Commercial Payload (firm fixed price) acquisition to meet DoD requirements for hosting on a commercial satellite • (2) Military payload acquisition for hosting on a commercial satellite (Government Furnished Equipment) • (3) DoD payload functions designed into commercial satellite (DoD payload drives satellite design) • (4) Purchase tailored Commercial Satellite (FAR Part 12) • (5) DoD funding technology/capability development/maturation of desired capabilities/interfaces that could be integrated into commercial satellites (Payloads or Bus) • Gathering information on current and future Commercial SATCOM technical capabilities that could be tailored to provide dedicated DoD payload capabilities for separate hosting • Gathering information on acquisition constraints associated with application of military requirements • Gathering holistic business case information (approach, schedule, life cycle cost, risk) relevant to DoD commercial SATCOM acquisitions including terminal, teleport, network and ground interfaces, to support comparative analyses to inform go forward planning • Gathering information on the compatibility/sensitivity of commercial solutions to meet traditional military requirements and accommodating the constraints of tactical-edge joint-terminals (e.g. Army/Ground, Navy, Airborne), teleports, networked systems, host platforms (AISR, Ships, Ground Vehicles) and related operations concepts • Enabling definition of potential follow-system PRDAs to define new business/architectural approaches exploiting commercial SATCOM Not under consideration for this RFI are commercial bandwidth DISA/GSA type service lease models nor related brokered leased business arrangements. Responses to one or more parts of this RFI will be accepted as well responses to this general area of interest to help inform a Gov't Commercial SATCOM go forward path. The commercial concepts and desired military SATCOM features under consideration are shown in appropriate sections below Topics for Responses Briefly and clearly describe your views on a DoD commercial SATCOM acquisition focused on the following levels: (1) Acquisition of a modified commercial payload for hosting; (2) Capability for hosting a DoD-furnished payload (3) Acquisition of a modified full end-to-end Commercial SATCOM System (satellite, ground, teleports, other). (4) General business contexts To clarify context, suggested questions are included below. 1. Acquisition of a Modified Commercial Payload for Separate Hosting The concept for this topic is that DoD would purchase a modified (FAR Part 12) commercial payload for a separate hosting on a commercial satellite. This topic addresses only the modification of a commercial payload to meet DOD needs, using a firm fixed price contract vehicle. It is important that the resulting modified commercial payload is interoperable and compatible with DoD user terminals, ground infrastructure, and wideband/other MILSATCOM systems. • What are modified commercial concepts that could support a dedicated DoD payload? • To what extent could a base commercial payload be tailored to meet DoD needs or desired features? • Address any impacts to existing DoD ground and user terminal infrastructure that may be required to accommodate a modified commercial payload solution • What are example schedule timelines and costs for developing a modified commercial payload for DoD use? • Does the respondent have technologies that could be incorporated on a tailored commercial payload that would require an additional investment by DoD? • Please consider the following list of Military SATCOM features: • Military frequency use/reuse, multiplexing to avoid commercial frequency contention • Compatibility with fleet-wide legacy terminals (to preserve large investment) without specialized upgrades or control software • Airborne (aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) wideband SATCOM terminal constraints with small antenna • Communications to small mobile terminals (weather, blockage) • Beam handovers for moving terminals (continuity of service) • Anti-jamming/interference/geolocation • Modem and antenna technologies • Adaptable coverage areas to optimize in-theater capacities for a typical areas of operations (AOR) • Dynamic provisioning techniques • High data rate & throughput • Adaptive weather change accommodation • Ground and gateway/teleport control • Support of military multi-level precedence and pre-emption (MLPP) • Differential treatment of traffic flows via Quality of Service (QoS) provisions • Dynamic provisioning of capacity via QoS • Load balancing across a transponder and terminal via power control schemes • Information Assurance/Security • Space situational awareness and Space Protection • Military control of payload and teleport functions including access control, security, information assurance, network operations (Internet Packet and Telemetry, Tracking and Control) 2. Capabilities for Hosting a DOD-furnished Payload (Government Furnished Equipment) The concept for this topic is that DoD would procure a military communications payload and then provide this payload to a commercial operator for rapid capability insertion into a commercial satellite to meet theater-specific surge requirements. Please consider the following questions related to this topic: • The above (Question 1) list of desired Military SATCOM features should be considered in responding to this RFI topic: • What degree of influence would DoD be able to assert over the host satellite operations (e.g., orbital placement, military control of sensitive payload items, control of related sensitive operations such as anomaly reporting and bus management, control of bandwidth prioritization/pre-emption). • Is there a level of standardized hosted payload interfaces that could be built into each satellite manufactured in a fleet to enable quick reaction payload insertion? • What are the key decision points in a commercial development schedule for DoD participation with a hosted payload approach? • What are the possible physical attributes (e.g. SWAP) of hosted communication payloads that could be accommodated on a commercial satellite? What are the constraint, issues, and business arrangements that may be required for different physical attributes of hosted payload? • At what point is a hosted payload no longer a viable appliqué (e.g., payload drives overall satellite design)? What are the considerations, constraints, and business issues of DoD payload being accommodated as part of the commercial satellite design as opposed to a flexible hosted service? • What are potential cost considerations for accommodating a hosted payload in terms of initial cost to integrate, amount of commercial capability displaced, and on-going operations & maintenance (O&M) costs, continuing sustainment cost? For Government comparison purposes to other enterprise solutions, please offer cost estimates for hosting DoD payloads and follow-on O&M during the lifetime of the payload/satellite. 3. Acquisition of a Modified Full End-to-End Commercial SATCOM System The intent of this final topic is for DoD to purchase a modified (FAR Part 12) Commercial SATCOM system (space or space with ground components) as a firm fixed price commercial procurement. It is important that the purchased commercial system is interoperable and compatible with DoD user terminals, ground infrastructure, and other wideband MILSATCOM systems. • The above (Question 1) list of desired Military SATCOM features should be considered in responding to this RFI topic: • What are the current and planned commercial offerings that may be suitable for tailored use by the military? • What are the range of modifications to the commercial systems that could be accommodated while keeping the procured system within the intent of a firm fixed price contract? • Address any impacts to existing DoD ground and user terminal infrastructure that may be required to accommodate a modified Commercial SATCOM system • Please address any launch vehicle opportunities/constraints. 4. General Business Context For these alternatives, what is your model for Government acquisition arrangements? How do you see contract performance risk being allocated? What are your proposed provisions for Government oversight during the acquisition (configuration management of military functions, license arrangements, business oversight, design oversight, differences from DoD policies)? What sorts of performance warranties are envisioned? What DoD/Gov't procurement processes would need modification? What factors associated with insurance would the Gov't need to address? What business arrangements/changes would increase DoD influence over commercial consideration of military capabilities? Factors include alignment with commercial customer sales models (e.g. compatibility, schedules), leases, sustainment (e.g. maintenance and configuration management of military capabilities), data rights, ITU military frequency filing constraints, commercial host nation constraints (e.g. shared teleports or control stations), FAR constraints (FAR Part 12/15), appropriations law (e.g. anti-deficiency act). Please specify the obstacles that limit the Government's ability to fully leverage commercial opportunities and your suggestions for eliminating or mitigating these obstacles. Please provide an estimate of the cost impact associated with full DoD oversight. Responses Interested parties are encouraged to submit a Statement of Capabilities (SOC) which includes the following information: a) A non-proprietary one page cover sheet should identify this RFI number & title, your organization(s), responder's technical and administrative points of contact - including names, titles, postal address, phone and fax numbers, email addresses, and CAGE code (if applicable). b) An executive summary with a one page limit should summarize the key ideas. c) Your response to the topics, in minimum 12 point font (graphics in 8 point). d) Significant claims or reports of success must be justified with specific citations, URLs, and/or references. All RFI Responses must consist of one original and three paper copies of all material and two CD ROMs of all material, in Microsoft Word 2007, and/or Adobe PDF 9.0. Label each disk clearly with: this RFI #, respondent organization, and point(s) of contact. Limit your response to no more than 30 pages written (incl. figures & tables), including cost. Responses from small, disadvantaged businesses are encouraged. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard for this effort is 517919 and $25M respectively. RFI responses (original and designated number of hard copies, and CD ROMs) must be delivered to the point of contact (POC) listed below. Responses to this RFI are due no later than 4:00PM, Local Time, El Segundo, CA, on 27 November 2009. Unclassified responses are preferred as ongoing dialogue will largely be at the unclassified level. To the extent possible, all responses should be for general access by the Government, other evaluators, and other respondents. All material provided (responses, discussions, questions/answers, and other data) that is not related to competition sensitive or contractor proprietary material may be provided (without attribution) to other respondents. Any material provided may be used in development of future solicitations. Any proprietary information submitted must be clearly and separately identified and marked and will be appropriately protected. The Government will NOT be responsible for any proprietary information not clearly marked. Responses should include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. For classified responses transmit your submittal to the following registered mail address: Outer envelope: MCSW/OM 483 N. Aviation Blvd El Segundo, CA 90245 Inner envelope: MCSW ACG Attn: Joe Vanderpoorten 483 N. Aviation Blvd El Segundo, CA 90245 Possible Government/Industry Exchange Meetings (GEMs) Within approximately 30 days after the RFI due date, the Government may host GEMs with individual respondents (a maximum of 1 GEM each) to enable questions/clarifications on their RFI responses. Because of space limitations, the number of participants per organization may be restricted. GEM participants must be US citizens and must submit visit requests. Attendance at GEMs will be voluntary. SMC will not provide any cost reimbursement for GEM attendance. Disclaimers and Notes This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a program or contractual solicitation. SMC is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of submissions or of the information received, or to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Participants in review and evaluation of responses may include: The Government; Federally Funded R&D Centers (such as The Aerospace Corp, Lincoln Laboratory, and MITRE); Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) contractors (such as BAH, LinQuest and MCR); all are bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Regarding this RFI, no contact is allowed with these organizations except as may be arranged in advance with the point of contact (POC) listed below. Point of Contact (POC) Contracting POC: David Block, PCO, Phone: (310) 653-9656, Fax (310) 653-9837; Email: david.block@losangeles.af.mil Contracting Office Address: 483 North Aviation Blvd El Segundo, California 90245-2808
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FBO.gov Permalink
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- Place of Performance
- Address: To be determined, United States
- Record
- SN01993847-W 20091030/091028235258-16cf30eb1c00fafc1142a19568c082db (fbodaily.com)
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