BAA_AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003.pdf

Beam Control Research and Development – BAA AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003 Page 1 of 16

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003

BEAM CONTROL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

HIGH ENERGY LASER - JOINT TECHNOLOGY OFFICE (HEL-JTO)

Overview Information

NAICS CODE: The NAICS Code for this acquisition is 541712 for Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology), and the small business size standard is 1000 employees.

FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO) 801 University Boulevard SE, Suite 209, Albuquerque, NM 87106 Administrative support, to include contracting, is provided to the HEL-JTO by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) TITLE: Beam Control Research and Development (BCRD)

BAA TYPE: Initial announcement

BAA NUMBER: AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003

THIS IS A TWO-STEP, OPEN ANNOUNCEMENT

First Step: WHITE PAPER DUE DATE AND TIME: White Papers may be submitted at any time upon issuance of this BAA through 14 September 2021.

Second Step: PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: Those white papers found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA may be invited to submit a full proposal. Proposals received after the provided due date and time shall be governed by the provisions of FAR 52.215-1(c)(3).

BRIEF PROGRAM SUMMARY: The objective of this program is to research and develop component technologies for HEL systems by addressing key technical barriers. The goal is to develop high energy beam control technologies that are lightweight, efficient, affordable, and reliable for Military Service applications. Specific technologies being addressed are based on technical gap analysis of Service HEL roadmaps. Architectures considered are beam director, beam control, target acquisition, target tracking, aim point maintenance, atmospheric propagation, and lethality effects.

Funding: Total funding for this BAA is approximately $49M. The anticipated funding to be obligated under this BAA is broken out by fiscal year as follows: FY17 - $5M; FY18 - $10M; FY19 - $10M; FY20 - $10M; FY21 - $10M; and FY22 - $4M. HEL-JTO anticipates 10-30 contract awards resulting from this announcement. Individual awards will not exceed 60 months with dollar amounts normally ranging between $0.5M to $2M per year.

There is also the potential to make awards up to any dollar value.

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Awards of efforts as a result of this announcement will be in the form of contracts only.

Awards under this BAA will generally be Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF). Cost reimbursement contracts require successful offerors to have an accounting system considered adequate for tracking costs applicable to the contract.

This is an unrestricted acquisition. Small businesses (less than 1000 employees) are encouraged to propose on all or any part of this acquisition. White Papers/Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. No other solicitation will be issued in regard to this requirement. Updates will be issued no less than annually for this Open BAA.

Communication between Prospective Offerors and Government Representatives:

Dialogue between prospective offerors and Government representatives is encouraged.

Parties interested in submitting a white paper may contact the technical POC or other HEL- JTO representative. Open discussion is encouraged to obtain the best technical solutions.

Full proposals will be requested by the Contracting Officer only. After receipt of full proposals, all communication will be conducted by Contracting POCs (AFRL/RVKD). For those white papers not selected to provide a full proposal, notification and feedback will be managed by Contracting POCs. Discussions with any of the points of contact shall not constitute a commitment by the Government to subsequently fund or award any proposed effort. Only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government.

Address technical questions to: Sylvia Dorato, HEL-JTO, (505) 248-8211, sylvia.dorato@jto.hpc.mil

Address contracting questions to: Anna Burkhalter, AFRL Det 8/RVKDT, (505) 853-4654, anna.burkhalter@us.af.mil (email preferred).

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BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT AFRL-RVKD-2016-0002

BEAM CONTROL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

HIGH ENERGY LASER - JOINT TECHNOLOGY OFFICE (HEL-JTO)

Full Text Announcement

NAICS CODE: The NAICS Code for this acquisition is 541712 for Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology), and the small business size standard is 1000 employees.

FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO) 801 University Boulevard SE, Suite 209, Albuquerque, NM 87106 Administrative support, to include contracting, is provided to the HEL-JTO by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) TITLE: Beam Control Research and Development (BCRD)

BAA TYPE: Initial announcement

BAA NUMBER: AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003

1) PROGRAM DESCRIPTION/STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES:

a) BACKGROUND The High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO), Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, develops and executes a DoD-wide, coordinated management and investment strategy to take advantage of opportunities presented by advances in high energy laser (HEL) technologies. The HEL-JTO vision is that HELs will be a viable weapons alternative in modern warfare.

The HEL-JTO mission is to lead DoD’s integrated development of HEL weapon technology. The HEL-JTO’s objective is to make HELs lightweight, affordable, supportable, and effective on the modern battlefield. This program promotes projects, research, scientific studies, or other initiatives providing farsighted, high payoff research leading to advances in HEL science and technology.

b) OBJECTIVE The objective of this program is to research and develop component technologies for HEL systems by addressing key technical barriers. The goal is to develop high energy beam control technologies that are lightweight, efficient, affordable, and reliable for Military Service applications. Specific technologies being addressed are based on technical gap analysis of Service HEL roadmaps. Architectures considered are beam director, beam control, target acquisition, target tracking, aim point maintenance, atmospheric propagation, and lethality effects.

c) SCOPE Work to be performed in the Beam Control area shall be within the areas set forth under Technical Task Performance Requirements. All work is anticipated for accomplishment under cost plus fixed fee (completion) contracts.

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i) TECHNICAL TASK PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

(1) BEAM CONTROL As set forth on individual contracts, the contractor shall accomplish projects that address a current or projected HEL capability or enabling technology shortfall that 1) is unique to HEL weapons, and 2) that requires advanced development or maturation of some technology to overcome in the area of HEL Beam Control. Efforts for this area should address enabling technologies for high power lasers that are fieldable on military platforms for various applications. Research and development to be performed includes all parts of the HEL system including beam director, beam control, target acquisition, target tracking, aim point maintenance, atmospheric propagation, and lethality effects.

Approaches should show scalability to high power. White papers of particular interest for the beam control area should address research and development in the following areas (not in a priority order):

(a) BC-1 Optimize Imaging System Performance

Video tracker performance is highly dependent upon having images with good contrast, signal to noise and signal to background. However, the adjustment of parameters in the imaging system that influence these metrics is oftentimes a slow, manual process that is optimized for the human eye/brain combination.

This both greatly increases the engagement timeline for HEL systems and creates additional cognitive loading for the HEL weapon system operator.

Current JTO camera and tracker efforts do not address this important aspect of the operability of the system, and in general, not much attention (outside of increasing laser power) has been devoted to timeline issues that are present in the beam control system. This is an issue for currently fielded systems as well as systems that are currently envisaged.

Objective:

Means are sought to automatically optimize tracking subsystem parameters such as imager integration time, frame rates, focal length, track gate sizes, thresholding and spatiotemporal filtering so that tracking subsystem performance is optimized without the need for human intervention. Proposals should be responsive to mitigating common imaging issues which sometimes occur in Midwave Infrared (MWIR) and Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) HEL imaging subsystems, such as speckle, scintillation and HEL effects (e.g.

possible blackbody returns when imaging passively). It is realized that this type of adjustment is algorithm dependent, and as such the proposed approaches should work with all the well-known classes of tracking approaches (centroid, edge, correlation), for passive and active operation.

This effort should culminate with integration and demonstration of these techniques into a platform such as the Advanced Beam control for Locating and Engaging (ABLE) Enhanced Tracking System (ETS), to demonstrate ground-to-air, air-to-air, and/or air-to-ground capabilities.

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(b) BC-2 Novel AO Architecture

Adaptive Optics systems allow higher HEL power densities on target but are often complicated systems that take up space and power onboard weapon platforms. Conventional adaptive optics systems use one or more wavefront sensors and a Beacon Illuminator Laser (BILL) to measure atmospheric disturbances and apply corrections via a deformable mirror. Innovative approaches for adaptive optics to reduce complexity and Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) required on a weapon platform are sought in this announcement. Efforts to reduce adaptive optics SWaP that have previously been investigated at varying levels of effort include digital holography using the tracking illuminator laser as a BILL, optimization algorithms run on deformable mirror actuators such as Stochastic Parallel Gradient Descent (SPGD), passive wavefront sensing using a Shack Hartmann, and hot spot adaptive optics. Improvements to technology on these efforts as well as new, innovative techniques are of interest. HEL-JTO is actively pursuing adaptive optics technology via the Advanced Beam Control Demonstration project as a part of the ABLE program to address Moderate Turbulence levels. This technology is focusing on Rytov levels >1.0. Current state-of-the-art technology has operational capabilities of Rytov levels in the 0.5 to 1 range.

The next generation Beam Control System advancement will require operating in Rytov levels >1.0, and improve SWaP.

With the goal of improving performance in Deep Turbulence (Rytov >1.0) and reducing SWaP, innovative adaptive optics approaches are being sought.

Topics addressing adaptive optics capability without the need of a BILL are of interest. Technical approaches may include but are not limited to, innovative wavefront sensing techniques, data processing and control algorithms to be operated in real time conditions approaching 20 kHz, closed loop adaptive optics without conventional wavefront reconstruction techniques, aero-optics compensation, and deep turbulence compensation. Proposed tasks may address individual adaptive optics component technology capabilities or innovative closed loop adaptive optics.

(c) BC-3 Automatic Aimpoint Selection and Maintenance The application of Directed Energy to tactical targets with complex shapes and six degree of freedom of motion presents unique challenges to aimpoint selection, maintenance, and tracking, especially for complex targets.

Reduction in the engagement timeline for these types of threats involves automatically estimating pose and ID in real-time – removing the need for the operator to perform this time-consuming and error-prone cognitive task. To date, this has not been done in HEL weapons and it is a vital enabling technology for future weapons.

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The HEL-JTO desires that an image processing system be developed to synthesize target ID and pose with the central aim of reducing aimpoint drift. It should be demonstrated in real-time within the ABLE-ETS, with a drift objective of zero urad/sec, with a threshold performance of <5 urad cumulative drift over 20 seconds for a target experiencing a pose change of 90 degrees.

Pose estimates should be accurate to within 10 degrees per axis, but this objective is secondary to drift reduction. Target ID functionality should demonstrate a misclassification rate of <10% for a small set of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) target classes (five). Proposals should be capable of operating with active tracking systems at frame rates of 500hz or greater with an image size of 512x512 and with passive imagery at lower frame rates (<200hz, same image size).

To facilitate pose estimation and ID functions, the JTO is developing a burst illumination, full-frame LIDAR capability as part of eye-safer SWIR sensor development. Thus, proposals should, in the near term, assume conventional 2-D image data is available and have a well-articulated path and development effort to work with full-frame 3-D data with testing approximately coincident with the delivery of the 3-D camera capability (~Jan 2019).

(d) BC-4 Deformable Mirrors Performance Improvements for ABLE

Deformable mirrors (DMs) for high energy laser adaptive optics have made advancements in recent years with technology development to improve high power reflectivity, achieve high performance atmospheric compensation rates, and improve hysteresis. However, some shortfalls have been identified in a current HEL-JTO adaptive optics effort. DMs that meet all required parameters under normal operational conditions are not currently available. For example, an inter-actuator stroke limit specified as a set value shall be achievable for all operational conditions while meeting all other specifications. Drive electronics are also required to meet specifications identified in this adaptive optics effort.

Currently available drive electronics that are both compact, ruggedized, and high speed are not available.

DM high performance optical coatings are usually generated by high energy ion beam bombardment coating processes like Ion-Beam Sputtering. These coatings have very high tensile stress deforming the thin face sheet which requires the use of a significant amount of actuator stroke to correct, limiting the use of DMs. This announcement is requesting the development of low stress, low absorption (ppm level), very low transmission, high reflectivity optical coatings for high power DM applications. It is acceptable to propose research for fully integrated face sheet structures that are coated, integrated with actuators, and balanced for stress with minimal optical deformation while in a passive state.

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This announcement is requesting projects for development techniques to improve DM performance capabilities and develop high speed, ruggedized, compact drive electronics. Innovative techniques must be capable of meeting the following specifications under all operation conditions. Additionally, individual technology improvements to address a subset of DM capabilities, such as high power coatings, are acceptable.

Frequency Response Including DM, Drive Electronics, and Cables (kHz):

0.5 Attenuation Frequency: > 20 kHz.

Overshoot: < 1.25

Step Response Including DM + Driver + Cables 10% Settling Time < 100 usec

Step Response Overshoot Including DM + Driver + Cables < 1.15

Hysteresis (%) < 3%

Actuator Response Gain Uniformity < 2.5% RMS; < +/- 10% Maximum

Active Flatness (nm), Post-Coating < 20 nm RMS

Unpowered Flatness (nm), Post-Coating < 50 nm RMS

Powered (Mid-Range Bias Voltage) Clear Aperture Flatness (nm RMS), Post-Coating< 100 nm RMS

Unpowered Clear Aperture Flatness (nm RMS), Post-Coating< 250 nm

RMS

Wavelength(s) (nm): 1030-1090, 995, 1030, 1617, 1530-1650, 532, 640, Reflectivity(ies): >99.99% (1030-1090), > 99.5% (995), > 99.5% (1030), > 99.5% (1617), >98.5% (Average 1530-1650), >50% (532, 640), > 75% (830)

Absorption: < 70 ppm 1030-1090 nm

Total Loss: < 100 ppm 1030-1090 nm

High power threshold > 150 kW/cm2 continuous wave

Thermal Wavefront Distortion (Low Order): < 30 nm RMS

Thermal Wavefront Distortion (High Order): < 4 nm RMS

(2) ADVANCED BEAM CONTROL CONCEPTS Projects under the Advanced

Concepts topics are intended to be higher risk, higher potential payoff, and longer range to pay-off than the other topics of this announcement. The white papers and proposals should address key technical barriers of HEL development that are proving difficult to resolve with more established approaches. The white paper and proposal should present a clear and compelling understanding of the specific challenging HEL technology barrier(s) being addressed and the limitations of conventional HEL approaches that this unorthodox approach will attempt to alleviate. Failure to address these important aspects will result in a white paper or proposal being found non-responsive.

(a) ACB-1 High-power propagation through strong atmospheric and deep

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New techniques are sought for the correction and control of high-average-power and/or high-peak-power (pulsed) laser propagation with coherent or spectrally combined beams through the atmospheric boundary layer (low altitude), aero-optic flows, and other strongly turbulent environments. Beam propagation and control concepts should address compensation for aero-optic effects caused by the platform motion, transmission through the turbulent atmosphere to a non-cooperative target, and reflections from the target and propagation back through the turbulence (for beacon concepts). Techniques should be pursued for active pre-compensation of the HEL beam in order to achieve optimal “power-in-the-bucket” at the target. Demonstrations should include analysis, 3-D modeling and simulation including adaptive optics and advanced control algorithms, and optionally, experiments.

ii) TECHNICAL TASK MANAGEMENT The contractor shall identify a Principal Investigator to manage the technical task effort. The Principal Investigator shall be responsible for ensuring proper technical task program planning and control, timely problem identification and resolution and adequate technical and programmatic interaction with the Government Program Manager. The Principal Investigator shall plan, organize and manage resources necessary to accomplish the technical task and shall promote strong management, communications and coordination with any subcontractors and/or associate contractors involved in the technical task. The Principal Investigator shall be responsible for ensuring a timely contractor response to all Government Program Manager information requests.

(1) Cost and Schedule Management The contractor shall maintain a cost and schedule accounting system that allows timely, accurate assessment of the technical task status. The cost and schedule management system shall allow accurate accounting of contractor and, if possible, associate contractor and/or subcontractor progress. The contractor shall account for costs and schedules for all tasks to the Contract Work Breakdown Structure level 3. The effects of projected cost and schedule variances must be reported in a timely manner to the Government Program Manager and Government Technical Representative. The contractor shall provide an accurate determination of the incremental funding required to maintain contract performance to the Government Program Manager and Government Technical Representative.

(2) Program Schedule The program schedule represents the offeror’s commitment to perform the program tasks in an orderly, timely manner. On individual contracts, the contractor shall specify specific days after contract start in the program schedule using a timeline chart showing all major tasks and subtasks, milestones, decision gates, reviews, technical interchange meetings, demonstrations, tests, product deliveries, and overall period of performance.

Include an annual status brief in Albuquerque, NM.

iii) MEETINGS

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(1) Kick-Off Meeting At the start of each contract, the contractor shall support a kick-off meeting at the contractor’s facility.

(2) Technical Interchange Meetings The contractor shall hold technical interchange meetings as required but no less than annually.

(3) Status Brief/Proposed Continuation of Effort The contractor shall present a status brief/proposed continuation of effort near the end of the initial contract award period to be held in Albuquerque, NM.

(4) HEL-JTO Annual Review The contractor shall present the results of their effort at the HEL-JTO Annual Review to be held in Albuquerque, NM.

d) EXIT CRITERIA AND DELIVERABLES

i) PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE 15-60 months. Efforts may initially be awarded as 12 months of technical performance with an additional 3 months to prepare a final report. If the government elects to continue the effort, the technical period of performance will be extended through a negotiated modification to the contract.

ii) DOCUMENTATION The contractor shall provide all documentation necessary for efficient program planning and control. The contractor shall provide data in accordance with the DD Form 1423 attachment to the contract. (See Atch 1)

iii) ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA Government acceptance criteria for each deliverable, product or tangible end result shall be specified on individual contracts.

2) AWARD INFORMATION:

a) BAA TYPE: This is a two-step, open broad agency announcement. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation.

As STEP ONE - The Government is only requesting WHITE PAPERS at this time. DO NOT SUBMIT A FULL PROPOSAL. Those white papers found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA may be invited to submit a full proposal, see Section 5 of this announcement for further details regarding the proposal.

b) FUNDING: Total funding for this BAA is approximately $49M. The anticipated funding to be obligated under this BAA is broken out by fiscal year as follows: FY17 - $5M; FY18 - $10M; FY19 - $10M; FY20 - $10M; FY21 - $10M; and FY22 - $4M. Individual awards will not exceed 60 months with dollar amounts normally ranging between $0.5M to $2M per year. There is also the potential to make awards up to any dollar value.

The Government reserves the right to select all, part, or none of the proposals received, subject to the availability of funds. All potential offerors should be aware that due to unanticipated budget fluctuations, funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice. HEL-JTO anticipates 10-30 contract awards resulting from this announcement.

c) FORM: Awards of efforts as a result of this announcement will be in the form of

Beam Control Research and Development – BAA AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003 Page 10 of 16 contracts only. Full proposals may be awarded without discussions unless the contracting officer deems discussions necessary.

d) COST SHARING OR MATCHING: Cost sharing is not a requirement.

e) ALLOWABLE CHARGES: The cost of preparing white papers/proposals in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract, but may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18.

f) GOVERNMENT APPROVED ACCOUNTING SYSTEM: An offeror must have a government-approved accounting system prior to award of a cost-reimbursement contract per limitations set forth in FAR 16.301-3(a) to ensure the system is adequate for determining costs applicable to the contract. The acceptability of an accounting system is determined by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA).

g) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION: All offerors and their subcontractors (including any and all educational institutions) are required to accept Disclosure of Information requirements per DFARS 252.204-7000. No exceptions will be made.

h) NON-GOVERNMENT ACCESS TO WHITE PAPER/PROPOSAL INFORMATION:

Only government personnel will evaluate submissions. However, both administrative and technical-advisory contractors will have access to submitted information. The service contracts include all appropriate Organizational Conflict of Interest clauses to prevent impaired objectivity, partial advice, or unfair advantage. Any objection to non-government administrative or advisory access must be in writing to the Contracting Officer and shall include a detailed statement of the basis for the objection. A list of the current service providers may be obtained from the Contracting Officer.

i) This acquisition may involve data that is subject to export control laws and regulations. Only contractors who are registered and certified with the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp/ and have a legitimate business purpose may participate in this solicitation. For questions, contact DLIS on-line at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp or at the DLA Logistics Information Service, 1-800-352-3572. Do not submit a DD2345 with proposal. Certification will be verified by the contracting office through DLIS. DFARS 252.225-7048 Export-Controlled Items (JUN 2013) will be included in all contracts involving export-controlled items.

j) DATA RIGHTS: DoD policy, per DFARS 227.7103-1, is to acquire only the technical data, and the rights in that data, necessary to satisfy government needs. The Government anticipates receiving, as a minimum, Government Purpose Rights to technical data developed under contracts awarded based on proposals received in response to this announcement. Data rights offered other than Unlimited Rights, as defined in DFARS 227.7103-5, should be identified in DFARS clause 252.227-7017, Beam Control Research and Development – BAA AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003 Page 11 of 16

Identification and Assertion of Use, Release, or Disclosure Restrictions, and addressed in the full proposal.

3) ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:

a) All qualified offerors who meet the requirements of this BAA may apply.

b) Foreign participation: Foreign Disclosure Review will be accomplished on each full proposal selected for funding; foreign participation may or may not be allowed.

c) Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to immediately notify the

Contracting Officer before deciding to respond to this announcement. Foreign contractors should be aware that restrictions might apply which could preclude their participation in this acquisition.

d) There are no limits on the number of white papers an offeror may submit.

e) You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met on the white paper (and later proposal).

4) STEP ONE INFORMATION—WHITE PAPER SUBMISSION: Separate white papers are required for each separate project the offeror is pursuing. Each white paper must stand on its own merit. The HEL-JTO will use only information provided in a white paper in the evaluation process potentially leading to a full proposal request.

a) SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES: It is recommended that white papers be received by the following dates to maximize the possibility of award. However, white papers may be submitted and will be considered throughout the open period of this announcement.

15 October 2016

15 April 2017

15 October 2017

15 April 2018 Future recommended dates will be added as they approach

White papers will be accepted until 5 PM Eastern Time on 14 September 2021. This BAA will close on 14 September 2021.

All offerors submitting white papers will be contacted by the HEL-JTO. Offerors can contact the technical POC identified in section 6 for status of their white paper no earlier than 45 days after submission.

b) Extraneous information (information not explicitly requested in this announcement) is not desired by the government and shall not be submitted. The government will only read and evaluate each section up to the stated page limitation. Pages over the page limitation will not be evaluated.

c) Page Format:

i) Paper Size – 8.5 inch x 11 inch

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ii) Margins – one-inch on each side

iii) Font – Arial 11+ point font or equivalent, to include tables, diagrams, and charts.

Any other information (e.g. captions, restrictive markings) shall not be smaller than Arial 8 point font or equivalent.

d) Restrictive Marking: If the offeror wishes to restrict its white papers, they must be marked with the restrictive language stated in FAR 52.215-1(e).

e) HANDLING AND MAILING INSTRUCTIONS: Electronic submission is preferred.

Submit white papers through the AMRDEC SAFE site at:

https://safe.amrdec.army.mil/safe To use this site, users will:

- Log in (either with or without CAC)

- Upload file and enter description of file as instructed in paragraph f below

- Enter HEL-JTO@jto.hpc.mil as recipient (this is not a group email account)

- Request notification of download

- Recipient receives an email from AMRDEC SAFE providing a link and a temporary password Offerors are responsible to confirm receipt with the HEL-JTO at the above email address or (505) 248-8200 no sooner than 5 days after submission. HEL-JTO is not responsible for undelivered documents.

All mailed CD responses to this announcement must be addressed to HEL-JTO, 801 University Blvd SE, Suite 209, Albuquerque, NM 87106, and reference BAA- AFRL-RVKD-0003. If submitting by overnight express mailing (FedEx, DHL overnight), point of contact is Sylvia Dorato, 505-248-8200. NOTE: Do not submit by any means such that delivery will be made before 8:00 a.m. MDT. Do not submit by multiple methods. White papers sent to any other address are ineligible for award.

f) Prepare all documents electronically in Microsoft Word format. Submit a single Microsoft Word document containing all parts identified in paragraph g below on a single CD or electronically for each white paper submitted. Multiple submissions on a single CD or electronic submission will be considered non-responsive. Format so that the Government can read both electronic and printed versions. Label each single CD or include in Description of File as follows:

i) BAA AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003

ii) Offeror’s (company) name

iii) Technical task area (as listed in 1(c)(i) above)

iv) Project title (to correspond exactly to the project title used on the cover pages of each white paper/proposal component)

v) Contact information

g) Instructions for White Paper Composition

i) Part 1. COVER PAGE. Template provided as Atch 2.

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ii) Part 2. TECHNICAL/MANAGEMENT. (Limit: Three pages) Technical/management shall present, briefly and concisely, the important goals, aspects and core issues of the proposal in technical context. The technical area shall include:

(1) Abstract

(2) The technical task from 1(c)(i) above to be addressed, statement of objectives and proposed approach to meet the objectives

(3) Description of the research and effort to be accomplished. Identify specific tasks.

(4) An assessment of technical risk

(5) Description of how proposed work advances the state of the art

(6) Management – describe how the research shall be organized, subcontractors or organizations that will be doing portions of the technical effort and how the efforts are related to each other along with any other management or administrative information that should be provided for evaluation of the effort.

iii) Part 3. CAPABILITIES. (Limit: One page) This section shall describe the overall capabilities of the company to include current and past work in similar HEL technology and a brief description of the facility capabilities that will be used to execute the proposed effort. Identify government property, equipment or facilities that may be required.

iv) Part 4. SCHEDULE. (Limit: One page) The schedule shall identify and describe major milestones for the entire effort not to exceed 57 months. Start and end dates for specific tasks identified in the technical/management section should be shown.

The schedule shall be broken into roughly 12-month “phases” with each phase representing a logical break-point in the effort. After the initial phase, the technical period of performance may be extended to continue the effort into subsequent phases through a negotiated modification to the contract. The schedule should include an additional 3 months after the end of technical performance to provide for preparation, submission, review by the HEL-JTO, and acceptance of the final technical report. The start date should notionally be 12 months from white paper submittal with an initial technical period of performance not to exceed 12 months.

v) Part 5. COST. (Limit: One page) Rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost section should provide top-level details on major cost items such as labor, special equipment that will need to be purchased, materials and any subcontracts or other organizations’ costs (to include government furnished facilities, equipment or personnel) for the proposed effort. If the effort exceeds 12 months, provide a ROM on the same page for each phase as described in Part 4 above. The ROM cost section shall not exceed one page. Cost shall NOT include capital equipment/improvements or general purpose computers or software.

Guidance for the proposed maximum amount and length of project dependent on the technical task area is shown below:

(1) BC-1 Optimize Imaging System Performance - $1M per year for 2 years

(2) BC-2 Novel AO Architecture - $1M per year for 3 years

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(3) BC-3 Automatic Aimpoint Selection and Maintenance - $1M per year for 3 years

(4) BC-4 Deformable Mirrors Performance Improvements for ABLE - $1M per year for 3 years

(5) ACB-1 High-power propagation through strong atmospheric and deep turbulence

- $300K per year for 2 years

vi) Part 6. RESUMES. (One page per resume) A brief resume on the principal investigator and any other key personnel who will be performing a major effort on the proposed research should also be included.

h) WHITE PAPER REVIEW INFORMATION:

i) Evaluation of white papers will be accomplished through a technical peer review of each paper by technical task area using the criteria below, in descending order of importance. No further evaluation criteria will be used in assessing white papers.

(1) Consistency with HEL-JTO vision and mission and its significance to DoD HEL S&T objectives.

(2) Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposed effort

(3) Funds Availability

ii) White papers submitted will be evaluated as they are received. All offerors will be notified of the results of their white paper. Offerors may request white paper status from the technical POC no earlier than 45 days after submission.

iii) Only those offerors whose white papers meet the criteria will be issued a Request for Full Proposal. However, any offeror who submitted a white paper may elect to submit a full proposal; notification of intent to submit a proposal must be received no later than 5 calendar days after receipt of unsuccessful offeror letter by the Contracting points of contact; full proposal instructions will be provided at that time.

Such proposals will be evaluated in accordance with same criteria as if they had been requested by the government.

iv) To be considered for award, a white paper must be submitted.

5) STEP TWO INFORMATION—REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL & AWARD:

a) REQUESTS FOR FULL PROPOSAL: Those white papers found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA may be invited to submit a full proposal. Notification by email will be sent by the contracting POC along with full proposal instructions. Such invitation does not assure that the submitting organization will be awarded a contract. Those white papers not selected to submit a proposal will be notified in the same manner.

Prospective offerors are advised that only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. Proposals received after the provided due date and time shall be governed by the provisions of FAR 52.215-1(c)(3).

b) Full proposals (to include an Oral Presentation) shall be prepared in accordance with

Beam Control Research and Development – BAA AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003 Page 15 of 16 the instructions set forth in the request for full proposal provided by the contracting POC. Certified cost and pricing data will be required per FAR 15.403 on all contracts awarded at $750K and above.

c) PROPOSAL REVIEW AND EVALUATION PROCEDURES: The Government reserves the right to select for award to responsible offerors any, all, part, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement, subject to the availability of funds. The technical, cost and business proposals will be evaluated at the same time.

Proposals may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this announcement are not met by the proposal due date and time. At a minimum, incomplete proposals may be given lower priority and, although technically acceptable, not awarded due to funding limitations.

d) EVALUATION CRITERIA

i) Evaluation of full proposals will be accomplished through a technical peer review of each proposal by technical task area using the criteria below in descending order of importance. No further evaluation criteria will be used in assessing proposals.

(1) Consistency with HEL-JTO vision and mission and its significance to DoD HEL S&T objectives

(2) Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposed effort

(3) Funds Availability

e) REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

i) Proposals will be categorized as follows:

(1) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available, and normally are displaced only by other Highly Recommended proposals.

(2) SELECTABLE: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available, but at a lower priority than Highly Recommended proposals. May require additional development. To ensure a diversity of approaches, a Selectable proposal may be prioritized over a Highly Recommended proposal if the Selectable proposal presents a unique approach unlike any of the Highly Recommended proposals.

(3) NOT SELECTABLE: Even if sufficient funding existed, the proposal should not be funded. The proposal is not technically sound or does not meet the agency’s need.

ii) Proposals that are recommended for award as a result of the technical peer review will be evaluated for cost reasonableness and realism.

f) AWARD NOTICES: Offerors will be notified in writing whether their proposal is recommended for award. An award recommendation is not to be construed to mean the award of a contract is assured as availability of funds and successful negotiations are prerequisites to any award. This announcement is not an authorization to commence work or to incur any costs to perform the tasks described above.

Beam Control Research and Development – BAA AFRL-RVKD-2016-0003 Page 16 of 16

g) DEBRIEFINGS: When requested, a debriefing will be provided. The debriefing process will generally follow the time guidelines set out in FAR Part 15, but the debriefing content will vary to be consistent with the procedures set out in FAR 35.016 governing BAAs. All requests for debriefing must be received by the contracting POC, in writing, no later than 3 days after notification of unsuccessful proposal.

6) AGENCY CONTACTS:

Questions of a technical nature shall be directed to the cognizant technical point of contact specified below:

Dr. Sylvia Dorato Telephone: (505) 248-8211 Email: Sylvia.Dorato@jto.hpc.mil

Questions of a contractual/business nature shall be directed to the cognizant contracting officer specified below (email requests are preferred):

Anna Burkhalter Telephone: (505) 853-4654 Email: Anna.Burkhalter@us.af.mil

In accordance with AFFARS 5301.91, an Ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition announcement. Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. AFFARS Clause 5352.201-9101 Ombudsman (Nov 2015) will be incorporated into all contracts awarded under this BAA. The AFRL Ombudsman is as follows:

Ms. Barbara Gehrs

AFRL/PK

1864 4th Street Building 15, Room 225 Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7130 FAX: (937) 656-7321; Comm: (937) 904-4407 Email: Barbara.Gehrs@us.af.mil

All responsible organizations may submit a white paper which shall be considered.

7) ATTACHMENTS

a) Atch 1: DD Form 1423 Contract Data Requirements Lists

b) Atch 2: White Paper Cover Page Template

c) Atch 3: Representations and Certifications and Applicable Provisions