SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- AEGIS MILITARY COMPUTER EMULATORS DEVELOPMENT FOR CIAT
- Notice Date
- 2/13/2017
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541511
— Custom Computer Programming Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, NSWC Dahlgren Division, 17362 Dahlgren Road, Suite 157, Dahlgren, Virginia, 22448-5100, United States
- ZIP Code
- 22448-5100
- Solicitation Number
- N0017817Q0001
- Archive Date
- 3/29/2017
- Point of Contact
- Michael T. Price, Phone: 5406534705
- E-Mail Address
-
michael.price3@navy.mil
(michael.price3@navy.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Request for Information (RFI) by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD). This RFI is published in accordance with FAR Part 15.201(e), and is for PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), or a commitment by the U. S. Government, nor should it be construed as such. Respondents are advised that NSWCDD is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of information received, or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI and will not reimburse RFI preparation costs incurred by any vendor when providing the information requested under this notice or otherwise pay for the information requested. There shall be no basis for claims against the Government as a result of any information submitted in response to this RFI. Subject Request for information on the technical feasibility of emulating the AN/UYK-43 military standard computer, and/or a solution to provide the equivalent functionality for the AN/UYQ-21 family of tactical data display computing equipment. Summary The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) is seeking information to better understand existing vendor capabilities that would allow the Government to assess the technical feasibility of industry-developed solutions to replicate the functionality in military standard equipment from AEGIS Baseline 5.3 cruiser and destroyer ships. Specifically, an emulator is needed for the AN/UYK-43 for the AEGIS Baseline 5.3 ships. Additionally, a solution is needed to replicate the functionality of the AN/UYQ-21 family of tactical data display processing equipment. Background CIAT Training System The U.S. Navy is currently developing and fielding an advanced land-based combat system training system for AEGIS Baseline 9 Destroyers and Cruisers known as the Combined Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Trainer (CIAT). The CIAT system is designed to support Advanced Warfare Training (AWT) Phase II. Shipboard capabilities are currently insufficient to accomplish all the training objectives required for AWT Phase II. The CIAT provides a means for watch standers to train in the configuration and employment of the AEGIS Combat System (ACS) against realistic threats. The CIAT system allows for IAMD training for AWT Phase II across multiple AEGIS Weapon System (AWS) baselines using AEGIS Baselines (BLs). The current version of CIAT will support three variants of Baseline 9, along with a single variant, version Advanced Capability Build (ACB) 13 of the AN/SQQ-89 ASW Combat System (ASWCS). The CIAT is comprised of the virtualized AWS and associated ACS components, including the SQQ-89. The CIAT also includes the associated consoles for the combat system in a mockup of Command Information Center (CIC) and sonar spaces, and a combined set of simulation tools used to compose the simulated environment and support sensor emulation and stimulation to drive the combat system. CIAT runs the AEGIS tactical computer programs in virtual machines on a Linux operating system using modern, Intel Xeon E5, Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) computing equipment such as blades, 1U servers and 3U servers. The Navy is considering expanding the CIAT training approach to other older AEGIS Baselines that include computing equipment such as the AN/UYK-43 and the AN/UYQ-21 systems. AN/UYK-43 The AN/UYK-43 was the standard 32-bit computer of the United States Navy for surface ship and submarine platforms. The AN/UYK-43 architecture includes active redundancy and a parallel processing design with a large number of independent input-output channels. It includes multiple processors, multiple memory banks, and multiple input-output devices with interfaces for multiple disk drives. Power-on self-test firmware incorporates features that reconfigure software loading in order to bypass failure. This allows it to run in degraded mode with failed processors, failed memory, failed disk drives, and failed input/output devices. In order to execute the tactical computer programs that run on the AN/UYK-43, a software-based emulator is needed to mimic the performance and functionality of the original computing equipment. The goal is for the tactical computer programs to operate on the emulator as if they were running on the original equipment, including real-time behavior. The software based emulator should utilize and share the same Linux host operating environment to reproduce the functional and performance behavior of the AN/UYK-43 hardware, such that any single supported baseline configuration can be loaded and executed during a training session. AN/UYQ-21 The AN/UYQ-21 is a family of Navy tactical data processing equipment that provides all processing tactical data distribution and manipulation functionality between the UYK-43 computer outputs and a large number of displays in the Command-Information-Center (CIC) consoles, large screen displays on the bulkheads (walls), and Automated Status Boards (ASTABs). The vendor solution should include the ability to emulate the AN/UYQ-21 in AEGIS Baseline 5.3. The solution is desired to be a functional replacement, not a component-by-component replacement of every entity in the family of display systems. Because the AN/UYQ-21 is a family of systems, either partial system or full system emulation capability is of interest. Interfaces Interfaces between the emulated UYK-43 computer and the solution providing functionality of the AN/UYQ-21 can be recommended by the vendor. The output side of the AN/UYQ-2 display systems will be to COTS, high-resolution LCD displays that mimic the displays on the CIC consoles, and/or overhead projectors or LCDs for the display wall in the CIC. All external Navy Tactical Data Systems (NTDS) interfaces with the AN/UYK-43 will be replaced with an NTDS-Over-Ethernet (NOE) protocol, which is a separate effort and not part of this RFI. NOE refers to the replacement of point-to-point MIL-STD-1397, Input/Output Interfaces, Standard Digital Data, Navy Systems, NTDS interfaces with network-based interfaces for communication between virtualized tactical computer programs and the simulated or actual AEGIS Combat Element systems. There are multiple CIAT interfaces across Command and Decision (C&D), Weapon Control System (WCS) and SPY that require I/O virtualization and NTDS elimination. NTDS over Ethernet (NOE) allows communications in the virtualized/emulated environment using messages defined in existing tactical weapon interface specifications. Emulator integration into CIAT will be achieved by simulating combat system inputs to the UYK-43 via NOE interfaces. The NOE interface is compatible with existing and future CIAT interfaces. The desire for the vendor-provided emulators are products that are integrate-able by NSWCDD with the rest of the CIAT system and a version of AEGIS Baseline 5.3 tactical code with BMD functionality that is compatible with existing or upgraded CIAT computing infrastructure. The current architecture is similar to the AEGIS Technical Insertion (TI)-16 ACTA blade architecture. The potential future upgrade CIAT architecture is a series of 1U or 3U servers installed in 19" computer racks. Requested Information The Government asks that interested parties provide responses limited to 12 pages or less, not including a cover page, using 12 point font or larger. Responses are desired for the emulator for the AN/UYK-43, and/or any portion of the AN/UYQ-21 family of display systems. The technical response to this RFI should contain the following information: - Industry's recommendation regarding how Industry can help the Government field a virtualized AEGIS Baseline 5.3 training system as part of a future version of CIAT - A description of the technical approach to developing a AN/UYK-43 and/or equivalent functionality for the AN/UYQ-21 family of display systems - including the approach for verification of the capabilities - Sufficient information to allow the Government to understand the vendor's experience with developing similar emulators for other military computing hardware - Sufficient information on vendor's capability doing similar emulator work to demonstrate the vendor's understanding of real time behavior, so that the emulator runs at a speed equivalent to the actual computing equipment - Information to demonstrate the degree to which the vendor understands the AEGIS Baseline 5.3 computing and display architecture - Examples of other projects that delivered emulators for other computing hardware, an explanation of why that work is relevant to the current challenge, the rough-order of magnitude of project cost (per year and total), scope of work describing roles, responsibilities and deliverables, and the project schedule including technical and programmatic milestones - Key personnel and a synopsis of their experience with emulations on military computers, including when that work was performed - Approach to adapt to and utilize the existing NTDS-Over-Ethernet based interfaces at all inputs and outputs - Non-binding cost estimate information for the emulator work for either or both of the AN/UYK-43 and the AN/UYQ-21 - Any key assumptions relevant to the responses above Cost estimates are for budgetary purposes only. The Government may request additional information upon review. Any results of any Government analysis will not be provided. Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged in Microsoft or Adobe PDF format. Information received shall be treated as Business Sensitive and will not be shared outside Government activities and agencies without permission of the provider. Any information supplied under this RFI shall be provided free of charge to the Government. All responses shall be unclassified. Information and materials submitted in response to this request will NOT be returned. If responses contain proprietary data, it shall be marked appropriately. It is the respondent's responsibility to clearly define to the Government what is considered proprietary information. The closing date for receipt of information is 14 March 2017. Technical Point of Contact Electronic submissions of the requested information should be submitted to the Technical Point of Contact Benjamin Tritt at benjamin.tritt@navy.mil Contracting Office Questions of a contractual/business nature shall be directed to the Contract Specialist Michael Price at michael.price3@navy.mil. Please do not send market information or material to the Contacting Office. This RFI is being posted by the Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, NSWC Dahlgren Division, 17362 Dahlgren Road, Suite 157, Dahlgren, Virginia, 22448-5100, United States
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