CyberQuest2020BAA.DOCX

1) Background. Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA) Executive Order (EXORD) 057-14 (U) established the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence (CCoE) and designated the CCoE Commanding General (CG) as the Force Modernization Proponent for Cyberspace Operations, Electronic Warfare (EW), and Communications Networks and Information Services (Signal). The EXORD further directed the CCoE to partner with the Intelligence Center of Excellence (ICoE) for institutional intelligence support to Cyberspace Operations. The CCoE Capabilities Development Integration Directorate’s (C-CDID) mission is to examine concepts and emerging Cyber, EW, Intelligence and Networking solutions/technologies to inform capability development efforts that support the Army Modernization Strategy and enable a MDO (Multi-Domain Operations) capable Army.

2) Intent. Army Futures Command OPORD 003-19 (Future Force Modernization Enterprise Annual Mission Guidance), directed the C-CDID to plan and conduct an annual prototyping experiment (Cyber Quest 2020 (CQ20)) to assess emerging technologies against associated Army capability requirements, inform capability development efforts, and inform rapid acquisition requirements. Capability development efforts are informed by validating concepts and determining their doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF) impacts. Cyber Quest will also serve as a technical risk mitigation opportunity for the Army acquisition communities. Army acquisition and capability development proponents can leverage CQ20 to validate candidate technology solutions for future participation in other Army/Joint exercises and experiments (i.e. Cyber Blitz, Army Live Prototype Assessments (ALPA), Joint Warfighting Assessments (JWA), etc.).

3) Cyber Quest 2020 (CQ20). The C-CDID seeks government, industry, and academic organizations that would be interested in demonstrating Cyberspace Operations, Signal, Intelligence and/or EW solutions during CQ20, in order to address experiment objectives listed Annex A. Each objective is aligned with the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Capability Manager (TCM) who is responsible for developing capability requirements that will ultimately yield materiel solutions to the Warfighter. A full list of TCM objectives for CQ20 is contained in Annex A.

4) Experiment Design. CQ20 will be designed to inform experiment objectives and associated essential elements of analysis (EEAs) or problem statements associated with technologies selected for evaluation. For example, the echelon, rank, military occupational specialties (MOS), number of military role players, and scenario will be determined based on the data collection requirements provided by the relevant TCM. Selected technologies may be evaluated in one or more of the following methods described in Annex B.

5) Technology Selection and Key Events: Industry, academia, and government organizations interested in participating in CQ20 should submit a white paper per instructions provided in paragraph 7. Selected organizations will be invited to brief and demonstrate their capabilities at Fort Gordon, GA the week of 21 Oct 2019. This initial selection will be based solely on the white paper submissions. A final selection of capabilities will be made by 5 Nov 2019, based on the briefings and demonstrations presented at Fort Gordon, GA. Selected vendors will be notified by email NLT 5 Nov 2019. Key planning dates are listed below.

a) Cyber Quest Industry Day[footnoteRef:2] – 23 Aug 2019. [2: The Cyber Quest 2020 Industry Day will be conducted in Room: Estes B; Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center, Augusta, Georgia. It will be conducted concurrent to TechNet Augusta 2019. Please check the AFCEA website for the latest information: https://events.afcea.org/Augusta19/Public/enter.aspx.]

b) Deadline for White Paper submissions – 13 Sep 2019.

c) Initial Technology Selection (based on White Papers) – 23 Sep 2019.

d) Technology Demonstrations (Fort Gordon) – 21-25 Oct 2019.

e) Vendor notifications – 5 Nov 2019

f) Initial-Planning Meeting/Coordinated Working Group #1 – 26-29 Nov 2019.

g) Mid-Planning Meeting/Coordinated Working Group #2 – TBD (25-28 Feb 2020).

h) Final-Planning Meeting/Coordinated Working Group #3 – TBD (21-24 Apr 2020).

i) Technology Integration Phase Start – 16 Mar 2020.

j) Cyber Quest Execution – 25 May-19 Jun 2020.

6) Cyber Quest Technology Submissions: The following organizations may submit White Papers: colleges and universities, non-profit research institutions, commercial firms, businesses (small, medium and large), small disadvantaged business concerns, historically black colleges and universities, and minority business enterprises and institutions. Collaboration among vendors and academia is highly encouraged.

7) White Paper Requirements: White papers will be evaluated against the criteria listed in Annex C. Preference will be given to submissions that have technologies that are at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6 or higher, and have been integrated with tactical mission command or radio systems (as appropriate). White papers will be the sole criteria used to select vendors that will be invited to brief and demonstrate their capabilities in front of the technology selection committee.

a) Vendors may respond to one or more of the areas listed in Annex A. A single whitepaper should be provided for each area of interest.

b) Format: The white paper format is outlined in Annex C.

8) Vendor and Academic Community Participation: Vendors are not required to provide a turnkey solution for all areas of interest. Niche systems that provide a critical capability in the key areas of interest will be considered. Vendors will be required to sign a Vendor Demonstration Agreement (VDA) and support Cyber Quest 2020 planning and execution events at their own cost.

9) DOD Participation: The Cyber Battle Lab, Intelligence Battle Lab, Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER), Cyber Protection Brigade (CPB), TCM Cyber, TCM EW, TCM Tactical Radio, TCM Networks and Services, Requirements and Integration Division (RID), Capabilities and Analysis Division (CAD), the Army acquisition community (Cross Functional Teams) and other appropriate organizations will be participating in this effort. Other federal and non-federal organizations may be invited to observe Cyber Quest 2020 as well.

10) US Government is not obligated by this BAA. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the preparation of information provided in the white papers. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any legal purpose deemed necessary. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. The information provided will be used to assess the respondent’s ability to address the objectives called for in this BAA. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. This is not an announcement of an acquisition solicitation.

11) Technology/Paper Down-Select Panel: All properly submitted responses that conform to the BAA requirements will be evaluated by a review panel comprised of technical experts from organizations that represent the Army operational, institutional, capabilities development, and acquisition communities. All government personnel are bound by public law to protect proprietary information. Note: U.K. and Australian Foreign Exchange Officers assigned to the Cyber Battle Lab may participate in the review of submissions. If any of the information provided in your submission has ITAR restrictions that would prevent them from viewing your submission, please indicate it in your whitepaper according to instructions in Annex C.

12) Contractor Support. The Government may use support contractor personnel to provide administrative assistance to federal employees regarding all aspects of any actions ensuing from this announcement, including the evaluation of Technology whitepapers and subsequent proposals. However, federal employees will be responsible for actual reviews and evaluations. These support contractors will be bound by appropriate non-disclosure agreements (NDA) to protect proprietary and source-selection information. They are not permitted to release any source-selection information to third parties, including others in their organization. By submission of a whitepaper, offerors are hereby granting support contractors access to financial, confidential, proprietary, and/or trade secret markings.

13) Points of contact: Any questions on filling out the submission form should be directed to Mr. Horace Carney (horace.r.carney.civ@mail.mil) or Major Trevor Corrigan, Australian Exchange Officer, (trevor.j.corrigan2.fm@mail.mil). Questions pertaining to the BAA electronic posting should be directed to Ms. Tara McAdoo (tara.l.mcadoo.civ@mail.mil) or sherrilyn.u.rice.civ@mail.mil, Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Gordon GA, (706)791-1812. All submission forms should be sent to Ms. Tamiko Brown (tamiko.l.brown2.civ@mail.mil).

Encl

1. Annex A - CQ20 C-CDID TCM Objectives.

2. Annex B - CQ20 Experiment Design.

3. Annex C - CQ20 White Paper Requirements and Format.

sherrilyn.u.rice.civ@mail.mil

CQ20 C-CDID TCM OBJECTIVES

Below are the experimentation objectives for CQ20.

2) Identify pre-defined and user defined analytic algorithms capable of depicting mission impact based on correlation of multiple data sets (e.g., net flows, packet capture, vulnerability data, alerts, etc.) and variables (e.g., key terrain – cyber, threat vector, warfighting functions, system dependencies, etc.).

3) Identify technologies capable of assessing overall mission risk and cyber defensive posture by correlating inputs from multiple network sources including: key cyber terrain, Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), system vulnerabilities, risk mitigations, etc.

4) Identify and integrate technologies capable of displaying and sharing user defined and mission relevant social media trends.

5) Identify available technologies capable of immediately integrating with emerging Command Post Computing Environment (CPCE) and other Army programs of record to make the Commander more mobile, agile and lethal.

2) Integrate new and existing cyberspace technologies and procedures to prosecute and exploit advanced waveforms and emerging wireless and Internet of Things (IoT) protocols.

3) Integrate new and existing cyberspace technologies and procedures that provide support to mission planning, rehearsal, and execution of Offensive Cyberspace Operations.

a) Determine if the HC/LOS network can support Terrestrial Layer System (TLS) and Logistics network (LOGNET) requirements.

b) Incorporate beam steering and beam forming technologies to determine their effectiveness in protecting and hiding the network.

c) Identify commercial capabilities that increase bandwidth efficiency among fielded tactical radio systems in order to gain greater throughput and support TLS.

2) Identify commercial technologies that can protect tactical satellite transmissions.

2) Identify capabilities that can model, simulate, visually display and assess the differences in performance between a current and planned network. The intent would be to analyze and validate expected changes in network performance (e.g. connectivity, throughput, propagation/coverage, network health, service health, performance, signal flow, etc.).

3) Identify capabilities that can support Army Identity and Credential Access Management Capability Requirements.

a) Demonstrate ICAM capabilities that create trusted digital identity representations of Personal and Non Personal Entities.

b) Align those identities to credentials in order to access transactions and provide authorized access to required resources.

4) Demonstrate emerging Information Dissemination Management Content Staging (IDMCS) capabilities that ensure the correctly prioritized information is provided at the required time and to the required location by the appropriate individual.

2) Assess Advanced Networking Waveforms (ANWf) and Dynamic Spectrum Allocation technologies to determine if they can maintain communications in congested environments.

3) Identify technologies for Assured Voice Communications leveraging Frequency Hopping 3/Cypher Text 2 (FH3/CT2).

a) Provide the EW personnel with the capability to sense electromagnetic signals between 2Mhz and 40Ghz. This includes frequency hopping technologies over long distances (greater than 50km).

b) Determine the type and amount of antennas required to enable the Terrestrial Layer System (TLS) to detect signals between 2Mhz and 40Ghz.

c) ES data must be small enough in size to traverse the lower tactical network environment and be ingested into the EWPMT (EW Planning and Management Tool).

a) Provide the maneuver commander the ability to baseline the EMS in his area and identify interference attempts by red forces.

b) Incorporate small form factor devices and advanced antennas in order to sense all signals generated within an Army tactical formation.

c) EP data must able to import into EWPMT to display the unit's use of the EMS.

a) Determine the ability for an Army tactical unit to shape and present its size and position to the enemy through manipulation of the EMS.

b) Identify capabilities that will deceive the enemy of the movements of the Army unit within the saturated EME.

c) Defend against Electronic Attack through EMS deception and long range delivery means.

Table 1: CQ20 Objectives

CQ20 Experiment Design

Selected technologies may be evaluated in one or more of the following methods described below, which are based on the TTCP GUIDEx[footnoteRef:3]. Technologies that perform well during their assessment or experiment will be recommended for evaluation during the live exercise phase of CQ20. [3: The Technical Cooperation Program Guide for Understanding and Implementing Defense Experimentation]

· Operational Context. An Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) Tactical Operations Center (TOC), manned with Army and Joint CEMA staff role players, will be placed into a Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) wartime scenario overlay to drive at Army and Joint MDO requirements. This will enable scenarios to use LVC injects to assess capability learning impacts in an operational relative environment. The scenarios are not the primary focus of the experiment, nor is accomplishing specific scenario objectives. The scenario is merely the backdrop that enables the operational assessment of concepts, capabilities, and learning demands in real-time. Therefore, the intent is to establish operational realism within a No Fear of Failure environment to evaluate innovative concepts and capabilities.

· Technology Integration. Industry and government sponsored solutions will be integrated with Army Program of Record (POR) systems, supported by realistic operational scenarios and substantive data injects, to drive measurable outcomes and concepts. Army POR capabilities could include Command Post of the Future (CPOF) or Command Post Computing Environment (CPCE); DCGS-A (Distributed Common Ground System – Army); EWPMT, and AFATDS (Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System).

CQ20 WHITE PAPER REQUIREMENTS AND FORMAT

This Annex contains the guidance for how it is recommended White Papers are formatted for submission along with guidance on the information it should addressed. These guidelines are aimed to assist drafters submit a successful proposal.

1) White Paper Format and Setup. White paper submissions should be a maximum of five (5) pages in length[footnoteRef:4], including figures, charts, and tables. It should conform to the following formatting criteria: [4: Excluding a cover page.]

General Formatting.

· Single line spaced.

· Utilize one (1) inch margins

· 12 pitch font.

· Please identify if your technology has any International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions. There will be non-U.S officers participating in CQ20.

· Must be print-capable.

· Must not be password protected.

· If submitted electronically (via email) must not exceed 5MB.

Cover Page

· The BAA number.

· Any required security markings.

· The submitter’s Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Number.

· Does not contribute to five (5) page length.

Main Body (including annexes and enclosures).

· Identify any Security Classification requirements that are applicable to your technology solution (if known).

· Should include the following sections: (further details in Table 2)

· Perceived Military Benefit and Utility.

· Capability Description.

· Quad-Chart.

· Not to exceed five (5) pages[footnoteRef:5], excluding the cover page. [5: White papers longer than 5 pages will be rejected.]

Table 1: White Paper Formatting Guidance.

2) White Paper Contents. White Papers should include, as a minimum, the following sections. Please note, white papers will be reviewed by a mixture of military and civilian subject matter experts.

Section 1: Perceived Military Benefit and Utility.

· What will it enable the soldier to perform?

· Provide expected or perceived use cases.

Section 2: Capability Description.

· State the TRL of their technology (http://acqnotes.com/acqnote/tasks/technology-readiness-level).

· Should be at least TRL Six (6).

Hardware description:

· Quantity that could be brought to CQ20.

· Physical interfaces.

· Expected performance parameters.

· Documentation/manuals/specifications/etc.

· Information Assurance status and/or Certifications.

· Size, weight, and power (SWaP).

· Antenna information (if applicable).

· Frequency Bands (if applicable).

Software description:

· Operating system.

· Platform.

· Software interfaces.

· Base Station Controller (if applicable).

· Information Assurance and/or Certifications.

· Compatibility/interoperability with existing commercial protocols.

· Application Programming Interface (API).

· Portability of software solutions.

· Documentation, manuals, specifications, etc.

· How will the discrete technology delivered under this topic be sufficiently innovative and flexible to be integrated with other technologies or into other Command and Control (C2) systems?

Software Supportability and Sustainability:

· Licensing model: Is licensing per device, per user, etc.? Is the license one-time or recurring (e.g. annual)?

· Patching model: How are security updates published? Is a recurring (e.g. annual) support and/or maintenance fee required to access updates? What technical data is included with security updates? (e.g. what vulnerability was mitigated or corrected, and the method of mitigation or correction?)

· Product roadmap: Is a product roadmap available with target dates for future releases, milestones, planned features, and end-of-life for specific versions?

· Data rights: Are government data rights such as source code and technical data available, included with the license or at additional cost?

· (5) Third Party Software: Is any third party software either required or optional for full functionality such as Operating Systems, hardware drivers, database, other applications, or plugins? Provide data for 1-4 for each third party software requirement, if available.

Section 3: Quad Chard.

· Problem statement.

· Technology description

· Operational View (OV-1) diagram illustrating a CONOPS (Concept of Operation) for your technology.

· POC information.

Table 2: White Paper Suggested Contents.