20210628_CSO_Call_001_DevSecOps_Network_FINAL.pdf

AFLCMC/XA Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) Call

1.0 Introduction

The Architecture and Integration Directorate (AFLCMC/XA) seeks to develop a cross-cutter portfolio of complimentary/ linked projects and programs to support Joint All-Domain Command & Control (JADC2) and the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). The Air Force intends to facilitate the rapid exploration and maturation of innovative technologies. The Air Force will support future operations by providing the critical surveillance, tactical edge communications, processing, networking, and battle management command and control capabilities to the joint warfighting force.

This announcement is for a Category/Area of Interest (AoI) under the AFLCMC/XA JADC2 Commercial Solutions Opening. Interested parties are highly encouraged to visit the Government Point of Entry (www.beta.sam.gov) to review the JADC2 CSO special posting in its entirety to obtain more information on the process for submission and evaluation of the CSO solution white papers and proposals.

This Call seeks to solicit innovative solutions that meet the objectives detailed in Section 2.0.

The term innovative is defined as any technology, process, or method, including research and development that is new as of the date of proposal submission; or any new application of an existing technology, process or method as of the proposal date.

AFLCMC/XA is not obligated to extend a request for proposal or make an award as a result of this Call; all awards are subject to the availability of funds and successful negotiations. This Call is not an authorization to begin performance, and in no way obligates the Government for any costs incurred by the Offeror associated with developing a White Paper. Prior to commencement of any activities associated with performance under this Call, the Government will issue a written directive or contractual document signed by the Contracting Officer with appropriate consideration established. AFLCMC/XA reserves the right to modify the requirements of this Call.

Federal Agency: Air Force Program Office: AFLCMC/XA “Architecture and Integration Directorate” Call Title: Commercial Solutions Opening for MLS Network

NAICS: 541715

Call Type: Two-Step, Closed Call Call Number: Call 001 Call Release Date: June 28, 2021 White Papers Due: July 15, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET

The authority to issue this Two-Step, Closed Call is derived from AFLCMC/XA Commercial Solutions Opening, FA8612-21-S-C001, dated 28 June 2021. The CSO authority is Section 879 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2017, Public Law 114-328, and Class Deviation 2018-O0016.

2.0 Category/Area of Interest: Secure Processing/DevSecOps Technical Infrastructure

As defined in the CSO, the secure processing category is described as: leveraging the Enterprise Information Technology as a Service (EITaaS) work at the unclassified and secret level to expand this capability to all levels of security. A key feature of secure processing will be to develop a multi-level security (MLS) technology set that enables moving up and down in security level where feasible, no matter the hardware device, transportation method, or environment. Lastly, secure processing encompasses providing deployment, training, and support services for all of these capability worldwide.

Many organizations within the Department of Defense are exploring similar capabilities, but often do not design the environment in such a way that it could be replicated at higher classification levels. The timelines associated with getting an enterprise solution that will meet several organizations needs is slow and cumbersome to allow for rapid execution.

This call is intended to solicit innovative solutions that address the MLS network, with the start at the unclassified level only. All work should meet the objectives listed below.

Objectives:

To fully support software development and modeling, simulation, and analysis (MS&A) requirements throughout AFLCMC/XA, a multi-level security (MLS) network must be designed.

The DMZ is an unclassified space that will allow as an internet-facing area to vet and test newly acquired tools for use on the Unclassified Enclave. Developers will be able to test the functionality and security of the code prior to release to the unclassified enclave. In essence, the DMZ is the proving ground for all code developed outside of the internal domains.

The DSO Unclassified Enclave will be used to develop in-house applications that will be used to fill organizational requirements. The infrastructure requirements described below will be used to determine the hardware and software needs. Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) may or may not be used, and use will be determined to fill the requirements described below. If HCI is used, justification and demonstration will be provided to AFLCMC/XA to ensure feasibility of use.

The MLS network will be designed in a phased approach. Phase 1 will begin with a DMZ and a DevSecOps (DSO) Unclassified Enclave. It is the intention for the offeror to fully procure and implement the hardware and software to implement Phase 1. Figure 1 below depicts all necessary items in a color coded representation. Items displayed in green are intended to be procured within this initial phase that these objectives cover. While Gray items represent future phase(s) or internal acquired hardware, they are shown here only to provide overall context for current and future requirements.

Figure 1 Conceptual Network Design

3.0 Call Timeline and General Information

Milestone Due Date

Two-Step, Closed Call Published 28 June 2021 White Papers Due (Step-One) 15 July 2021 Request for Proposal (RFP) Issued or Non-Select Letter Issued 23 July 2021 Proposals Due (Step-Two) 13 August 2021 Target Selection Date/Contract Award 10 Sept 2021

* AFLCMC/XA reserves the right to alter or change any of the dates listed above.

Two-Step, Closed Call Published: AFLCMC/XA publishes a Two-Step, Closed Call.

White Papers Due (Step-One): White Papers addressing the Area of Interest (AoI) defined in Section 2.0 are due no later than (NLT) 15 July 2021 at 12:00 PM (noon) EDT. Late White Paper submissions will not be considered (see FAR 52.215-1(c)(3)). All White Papers submitted must adhere to instructions listed in Section 4.0 and Section 5.0 of this Call.

Request for Proposal (RFP) Issued: Offerors who submitted White Papers by the required due date and who have been favorably evaluated will be issued a Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP will detail the requirements (e.g. required content and evaluation criteria) that prospective companies should tailor their proposal towards.

Proposals Due (Step-Two): Offerors who received an RFP from AFLCMC/XA are required to submit their proposals by the stated due date. More details and requirements that companies shall adhere to will be contained in the RFP.

Contract Award: The Government anticipates making one award, but reserves the right to award zero, one, or more Contracts for all, some, or none of the solicited effort. Details as to the negotiation and award process will be contained in the RFP.

4.0 White Paper Format Instructions

White Papers should be created using 8.5 x 11 inch portrait format pages with single spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font with 1” margins. White Papers shall not exceed the 10 pages, not including the cover page. The cover page shall include the following: Contractor Name, CAGE Code, and date.

All text, including text in tables and charts, must adhere to all font sizes and line spacing requirements listed herein. Pages submitted in excess of these limits will not be read or considered in the Government’s evaluation of the White Paper.

5.0 White Paper Contents

White Papers shall be valid for 180 days. All White Papers should include the following content:

The White Paper shall address how the Offeror plans to provide an innovative approach to meet the objectives listed in Section 2.0.

The White Paper shall address each of the listed objectives and should provide a brief description of how the Offeror will address the objectives.

The White Paper shall include a rough-order-of-magnitude (ROM) price for a proposal.

Inclusion of the ROM does not imply or guarantee an RFP will be issued to the Offeror.

The White Paper shall be limited to 10 pages in technical length.

6.0 White Paper Evaluation

The White Paper shall be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation factors listed below. The Government will evaluate the Step One proposal and rate it as “Selectable” or “Not Selectable”.

The overall proposed approach will be evaluated as a whole, rather than evaluating each phase separately. To be rated “Selectable”, the proposal must meet the following criteria:

Risk: The offeror demonstrates an understanding of the problem space and provides a realistic plan to achieve the objectives stated in Section 2.0. The proposal demonstrates consideration of potential obstacles to implementation/adoption and has proposed convincing solutions to address these challenges. The offeror provides example(s) of prior relevant experience.

Price: Price shall be considered to the extent appropriate, but at a minimum, to determine that the price is fair and reasonable.

Availability of Funds: Any award shall be subject to the availability of funds.

White Papers will be evaluated on the basis of the merit of the proposed concept in addressing the AoI and not against other White Papers submitted in response to the AoI.

7.0 White Paper Submission Instructions

This solicitation will be conducted in two steps. The Government intends to evaluate Step One White Paper submissions, due NLT 15 Jul 2021 at 12:00 hours Eastern Daylight Time, in accordance with the Step One evaluation criteria above. Late White Paper submissions will not be considered (see FAR 52.215-1(c)(3)). The Government will then request a Step Two proposal from some subset of offerors, which will be due approximately three weeks later. Those offerors not requested to submit a Step Two proposal will be notified. An Offeror submitting a Step Two proposal without submitting a Step One proposal will not be eligible for award.

At each step, the Offeror’s proposal package shall include one (1) electronic copy submitted via DoDSafe. The electronic copy shall be in a format readable by Microsoft (MS) Word and/or Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, MS Excel, MS-Power Point, MS – Project.

In order for an Offeror to submit a proposal via DoDSafe, they must request a DoDSafe drop off link NLT 12 Jul 2021 at 16:00 hours Eastern Daylight Time. Requests for the DoDSafe drop off link shall be made to Capt Matthew Hendricks at matthew.hendricks.2@us.af.mil and Mr. Ryan Murphy at ryan.murphy.43@us.af.mil. Proposals may be submitted through the drop off until the proposal due date and time. Late proposals will not be accepted.

Only one (1) proposal shall be submitted, per company, in response to this requirement.

Proposals received after the date/time specified will not be evaluated. Proposals shall be addressed to the Contracting Officer, Capt Matthew Hendricks.

LATE WHITE PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. AFLCMC/XA will not be responsible for any proposals that are late due to issues with either Offeror or Air Force email systems or the DoD SAFE. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure the Air Force receives the email with all attachments at the designated email address or the DoD SAFE website (if requested) by the specific due date and time.

8.0 Projected Acquisition Particulars

As previously stated, the submission of a White Paper does not imply or guarantee that an Offeror will receive an RFP after the White Paper is evaluated. The information contained in this section is provided to allow Offerors the opportunity to make an informed business decision in determining whether to respond to this call. The Government reserves the right to change, add, remove, or modify this information in the RFP.

The Government intends to award one contract following the evaluation of both white papers and proposals.

The resulting contract shall be a FAR Part 12, Firm-Fixed-Price effort.

The expected period of performance for the awarded contract is 15-18 months after contract award.

The successful Offeror shall be an American entity with all work performed in the United

States.

Use of Non-Government Advisors: Offerors are advised that technical and cost/price data submitted to the Government in response to this Call may be released to non-Government advisors for white paper review and analysis. All non-Government advisors have appropriate signed non-disclosure statements.

Government Furnished Property is not anticipated.

9.0 Contact Information

The Point of Contact for this effort is the Contracting Specialist, Mr. Ryan Murphy, or the Contracting Officer, Capt Matthew Hendricks. The Offeror shall not contact any other Government personnel or offices regarding this Call.

Position: Name: Email:

Contracting Officer: Capt Matthew Hendricks

Matthew.hendricks.2@us.af.

mil

Contracting Specialist Mr. Ryan Murphy Ryan.murphy.43@us.af.mil