RESEARCH IN TECHNOLGIES THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO RADIO FREQUENCY SENSOR SYSTEMS FOR NAVY AIRCRAFT DESC: BAA# N00421-00-R-0156, Broad Agency Announcement soliciting/requesting proposals for the RF Sensors Branch of the Avionics Division of NAWCAD Patuxent River Maryland, issued under the provisions of paragraphs 35.016 and 6.102(d)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) which provides for the competitive selection of research proposals for scientific study or experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge or understanding. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River Maryland is interested in receiving proposals for the research efforts described below. This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to make any award or to pay for any response preparation costs. The cost of proposal preparation for response to a BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resultant contract or any other contract. This BAA is to solicit technical/cost proposals for research support in technologies that are applicable to Radio Frequency (RF) Sensor systems for Navy Aircraft. Major areas of interest include (1) Signal Processing, (2) Antennas and Propagation, (3) Information Processing, (4) Devices and Materials, and (5) Radar Systems Engineering Methodologies. New, innovative and creative approaches to technical problems that significantly advance system performance are sought. Among the primary interest areas are AEW radar operating at UHF through L bands and S-band, tactical radar operating at C, X and Ku bands, synthetic aperture radar operating in X-, C-, L-, and UHF-bands, and C3I systems operating at any radio frequency throughout the spectrum. Examples of technologies include, but are not limited to, antennas, antenna array concepts, electronically scanned arrays, conformal arrays, radomes, propagation, scattering, and diffraction, rough surface scattering, computational electromagnetics (with emphasis on antenna design and antenna-platform interaction), phased array antenna concepts, electronicallyscanned arrays, devices and materials, optical components/fiber optics, photonics and monolithic microwave integrated circuits, high power broadband T/R modules and associated subassembly/device technologies, direct digital synthesis exciter concepts, space-time adaptive processing (STAP) techniques for circular arrays, massively parallel processing architectures for multi-channel STAP, software engineering, advanced signal processing of synthetic aperture radar data, moving target imaging techniques, automatic target recognition and classification, and advanced signal processing concepts for multi-mode sensor operation. THERE WILL BE NO FORMAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OR ANY SOLICITATION DOCUMENT ISSUED IN REGARD TO THIS BAA. Offerors are required to submit three (3) copies of a two (2) to three- (3) page white paper on their proposed research topic. The white paper should be formatted as follows: Section A: Title, period of performance, cost of effort, and name of company; Section B: Task objective; and Section C: Technical Summary. Multiple white papers may be submitted in different areas of technology. The purpose of the white paper is to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of the offeror whose proposed work is not of interest under this BAA. Those white papers found to be consistent with the intent of the BAA and of interest to the Government may be invited to submit a proposal. Such an invitation does not assure that the submitting company will be awarded a subsequent contract. When proposals are submitted, they should consist of a clear statement of objectives, a technical section which should include, but not necessarily limited to, expected contribution of the hardware/research to the DOD RF Sensors Mission, analysis that supports feasibility, background experience, concepts, ideas, methodology, a statement of work and milestones, a biographical section describing key individuals and a cost section. The technical proposal shall not exceed 50 pages. The cost proposal shall be submitted in a format in accordance with FAR part 15.403. Proposed technologies should be fully addressed as part of an overall system concept and include platform considerations as applicable. The proposed effort can include research and/or development and demonstration of relevant processing concepts and/or enabling technologies and hardware. Risk, potential payoffs and time frame for proof-of-concept demonstration should also be included. For planning purposes, the period of performance is estimated to be one (1) to three (3) years at a level of effort of approximately one (1) to four (4) man-years per year. The contract type is anticipated to be a Cost-Plus-Fixed Fee completion. The selection of one or more sources for contract award will be based on a scientific review of proposals submitted in response to the BAA. The major purpose of the evaluation will be to determine the relative merit of the technical approach of each proposal. Business and contractual aspects, including proposed cost and cost realism, will also be considered as part of the evaluation. Selection of proposals for award will be based on the potential benefits to the Government compared to the cost of the proposals, in view of the availability of funds. The merit of the proposal shall be determined based on the following criteria: (1) The offeror's ability to demonstrate feasibility and potential contributions of the effort to DOD priorities in RF Sensor related technologies; (2) Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal; (3) The offeror's capabilities, related experience, facilities, techniques or unique combinations of these which are integral factors for achieving the proposed objectives; and (4) Proposed cost, adjusted for cost realism. In addition, the Government may consider other factors, such as, past and present performance on recent Government contracts and the capacity and capability to perform the requirements of the effort. No further evaluation criteria will be used in selecting proposals. Proposals may be submitted at any time during the twenty-four (24) month period following publication of this announcement. Early submission is encouraged. Awards may be made at any time throughout the year. Submission of a proposal is not restricted in any way to any particular entity. The white papers, in addition to any technical questions, shall be submitted to RF Sensors Branch, Mr. Tim McMichael, Code 4.5.5.5, Bldg. 2187, MS 5, Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River Maryland, 20670-5304. The point of contact for contractual matters is Ms. Michelle Thompson (301) 757-1784 or email address Thompsonml@navair.navy.mil. Offerors may contact these individuals, at any time, for clarification of technical/contractual issues and cost response format. Any negotiations that may be necessary will be conducted between the offeror and the contracting officer. Offerors are cautioned that only contracting officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. E-MAIL: thompsonml@navair.navy.mil, thompsonml@navair.navy.mil. Posted 10/18/99 (W-SN392619).

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