Project FOX FAST CSO Call rev1.pdf

FA9302-21-S-C001

Finding Agile Solutions for Test (FAST) Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)

Call FA2280-23-S-C001 rev 1

20 Oct 2022

“Project FOX Agile Combat Employment Combat Mission Systems Operational Evaluation”

This Call is issued against the above referenced Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) solicitation in accordance with DoD Class Deviation 2022-O0007 “Defense Commercial Solutions Opening.”

1.0 Overview

1.1 Call Type. This is Call FA2280-23-S-C001, under the FAST CSO FA9302-21-S-C001. This is a Two-Step Closed Call. Therefore, potential industry partners will provide white papers in the first step, and the Contracting Officer (CO) and Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) will review these submissions and select the white papers that best meet the objectives described within this Call.

Offerors whose white papers are selected for the second step will be invited to provide a full proposal following the specific instructions in the request for proposal sent by the Air Force.

1.2 The NAICS code associated with this requirement will be 541715, Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (Exception 2), with a size standard of 1,250 employees.

1.3 Due date and time.

1.3.1 The submission of questions regarding this Call are due by 1700 Pacific Standard Time on 24 October 22.

1.3.2 The submission of white papers is due by 1700 Pacific Standard Time on 31 October 2022. White papers received after the due date and time shall be governed by the same language found in paragraph FAR 52.215-1(c)(3). Electronic submission (i.e., email) is preferred.

1.4 Submission. White papers must be submitted to the Contracting Points of Contact (POCs):

Contracting Officer Name: Tim Palen Address: 711 E Monument Ave Dayton, OH 45402 Phone: 513-409-3225 Email: timothy.palen@us.af.mil

Contract Specialist Name: Capt Hannah Kobolow Address: 40015 Sierra Hwy, Suite B-120, Palmdale, CA 93550 Phone: 661-575-1676 Email: hannah.k.kolobow.mil@mail.mil

1.5 Type of Contract/Instrument. The Air Force reserves the right to award the instrument best suited to the nature of the solution proposed. This could be either a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) based Fixed Price procurement contract or an Other Transaction for Prototypes under 10 U.S.C mailto:timothy.palen@us.af.mil mailto:hannah.k.kolobow.mil@mail.mil

4022. If an Other Transaction for Prototypes is issued, a follow-on Production agreement may be issued.

1.6 Estimated Number of Awards. The Air Force anticipates issuing multiple awards; however, the Air Force reserves the right to award zero, one, or more contracts for all, some, or none of the proposed effort based on the offeror's ability to perform the desired work and considering Air Force funding constraints.

2.0 Areas of Interest:

2.1. Brief Summary.

AFWERX is leading the effort to accelerate the end-to-end acquisition of combat capability for the joint warfighter, ensuring agility and adaptability remains the U.S. and partners’ conventional deterrent to nation state aggression, enabling strategic impact through tactical implementation of the Operational Imperatives.

AFWERX and its strategic partners in the test enterprise are leading the effort to demonstrate ACE (Agile Combat Employment) capabilities and advanced mission systems integration on eVTOL aircraft through a cross-platform government reference architecture; a culmination of AFWERX Agility Prime strategic investment and other government-led agile combat capability initiatives.

Project FOX-ACE (Fast Open X-Platform Agile Combat Employment) leverages strategic program office relationships, 309 Software Engineering Group (SWEG) and ACC Federal Laboratory partnerships, and cross platform joint service reciprocity to accelerate warfighter-driven combat capabilities.

The FOX-ACE project will rapidly integrate and deploy combat capabilities on relevant timelines and costs required to address the current and future threat environment. This effort will demonstrate the potential for rapid onboarding and integration of new technology on emerging and existing aerospace weapons systems.

The FOX-ACE campaign will integrate various AFWERX Prime objectives towards a focused military utility and suitability operational evaluation. The 96 Operations Group, Eglin AFB, FL is leading this integrated test team effort for the eVTOL ACE demonstration.

A primary goal of the eVTOL FOX-ACE project is to remain aligned with ongoing Project FOX testing on F-35 and F-22 as well as efforts with A-10, B-2, F-15E, and other program offices.

2.2. Elements of technology demonstration:

2.2.1. Operational Evaluation of eVTOL ACE military utility and suitability enabled by the following critical technology components:

(1) Edge compute ruggedized/hardened portable device (FOX BOX)

(2) BLOS (Beyond Line of Sight) Datalinks

(3) eVTOL and surrogate electric test aircraft Platform Adapter(s)

(4) ACC Federal Laboratory AVERA or similar containerized microservices mesh architecture

(5) Advanced combat mission systems applications: 309 SWEG Battlefield Management Portal (BMP) application with Agile Combat Employment (ACE) logistics plug-in and/or similar 3rd party software capabilities

(6) eVTOL and surrogate electric test aircraft

2.2.2. Utilizing an incremental development rapid onboarding approach, the phases of the project will progress from Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) products to a ruggedized combat capable hardware and software configuration with the capability to test and deploy autonomous and semi-autonomous logical skills. The initial phases of this demo will utilize a tablet interface with a FOX Box that contains the necessary components to prove the concept of walk-on mission planning and combat missions systems capabilities onboard any aircraft.

2.3. Hardware

White papers should address the offeror’s ability to produce an edge compute device in two general configurations.

2.4. FOX Box Alpha (Carry-On Kit)

Carry-on sized low power required compute in the approximate shape and form factor of existing approved for flight devices (e.g., tablet, aircraft data cartridges, etc.) that can be secured to the operator or stowed in a standard publications bag/kit, with all or some of the requirements listed for the FOX BOX Bravo configuration.

2.5. FOX Box Bravo (Removable Kit)

- Approximately 5” wide x 3” tall x 2.5” deep

- Should contain edge Compute with GPU capabilities appropriate for future growth to AI/ML applications

- Shall contain I/O capable of ingesting and processing/converting to and from air vehicle message format to Project FOX OMS UCI message structure and able to host the platform adapter

- Shall have the ability to host a containerized micro-services architecture (GRA)

- Shall have the ability to connect to within Line of Sight (LOS) and Beyond Line of Sight

(BLOS) communications

- Shall be capable of being powered by ship power or battery power/micro fusion reactor

Operational Evaluation and Capability Demonstration Phase II

- Should be a modular architecture that can also potentially host 3UVPX form factor

- Should be able to contain a software defined radio architecture

- Should be able to interface with a variety of BLOS antenna/apertures for Operational

Evaluation and Capability Demonstration Phase III

- Shall contain a multi-level security architecture capable of supporting classified communications

2.6. Software

White papers should address the company’s ability to deliver software applications, architecture or tools that specifically support the combat capability needs of the ACE mission.

- Re-supply logistics, mission planning, and tactical combat capabilities including

- Tactical situation display / Battlefield management

- Navigation and logistics optimization

- Advanced electronic checklists

- Cyber security, monitoring, alerting, Active Cyber Protection (ACP) and countermeasures

- Enhance and remain compatible with a government reference architecture

- Support specific platform message conversion to Universal Command and Control

Interface (UCI) Protocols

2.7. Timelines

White papers should address the company’s ability to support an initial Phase I capability demonstration targeting ~December 2022 and follow-on incremental development of hardware and software on a 6-week delivery cycle.

2.8. Contract Vehicle Structure

White papers should address the business model/contract structure that would present favorable terms for your company while providing the flexibility for evolving specific capabilities.

The Air Force is interested in exploring innovative technology domains that may not be covered in the list above, the above-described area of interest is intended to also be a call for open ideas and technologies that cover other related areas not currently listed (i.e., the unknown-unknown). This Call is meant for innovative solutions to be adapted in innovative ways to meet DoD stakeholder’s needs in a short time frame.

3.0 Communication between Prospective Industry Partners and Government Representatives

3.1. Between Prospective Industry Partners and Project Fox Representatives

It is requested that interested industry partners submit questions in writing to the Contracting POCs no later than the date listed at the beginning of this call. Submitted questions will be reviewed and consolidated, and the Air Force will post answers to these questions as an amendment to this Call by the date listed. Please avoid using proprietary or confidential information. If a question requires the potential industry partner to provide information that includes proprietary information, please make sure to clearly mark the information appropriately. Discussion with any point 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 obligate the government.

3.2. Between Other Government Organizations and Project Fox

If a Government agency is interested in performing work, contact the Contracting Officer identified in this Call. If those discussions result in a mutual interest to pursue the agency's participation, the effort may be pursued independent of this solicitation.

3.3. Address questions to the Contracting Points of Contact identified in para. 1.4 above.

4.0 Submission Information

4.1. First Step: White Paper Instructions

4.1.1. General.

A white paper prepared in accordance with the format stated in para 4.1.3. below shall include discussion of the nature and scope of the solution offered, the offeror’s proposed technical approach, and a rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost. The Government will review the white papers in accordance with the review criteria stated in para 5.1. Based on this review, the Government will determine which have the potential to best meet the Air Force’s needs. Offerors will be notified of the disposition of their white paper. Those offerors submitting white papers assessed as meeting Air Force needs will be asked to submit a technical and price proposal. The cost of preparing white papers in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other contract; however, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. White papers may be ineligible for further consideration if all requirements of this solicitation are not met. The White Paper should focus on the solution offered to meet the objectives identified above.

4.1.2. White Paper Instructions.

White papers shall be detailed (clearly demonstrate how the offeror intends to meet the objectives identified in the Area of Interest above) enough to allow for a limited technical evaluation. White papers are limited to 5 pages prepared in .pdf format. Font should be size 10 standard business font, normal character spacing (i.e., not condensed). White papers received that exceed the page limitation will have the excess pages removed before review. White papers submitted that are illegible will not receive further consideration. Please include page numbers.

4.1.3. Format. The white paper shall be formatted as follows:

Section 1. Title page

4.1.3.1.1. The white paper shall include a title page which identifies the company name, the company’s Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) number, the company’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), Company POCs (include email and telephone), and the title of the white paper. The title page does not count towards the page limitations identified in para.

4.1.2. above.

Section 2. Technical summary of proposed solution

4.1.3.1.2. Describe the technical summary of the proposed solution meeting the area of interest/objectives, including how the solution addresses the objectives identified in para. 2 within this Call.

Section 3. Estimated delivery schedule or period of performance

4.1.3.1.3. Describe the estimated lead time from award of a contract/agreement or the estimated period of performance length.

Section 4. ROM

4.1.3.1.4. The ROM is provided as a bottom line estimate used to indicate possible magnitude of proposed solution. This is not a request for a full price proposal. The offeror may segregate pricing to fit the technical summary provided in Section 2 of the white paper (e.g., if the technical summary proposed two approaches, the offeror may provide a ROM for each). The Air Force may use this to assist in making budget related decisions. The Air Force does not intend to award based on this dollar value.

4.1.4. Other Information.

Multiple white papers addressing various approaches meeting the Area of Interest described in para. 2 of this Call may be submitted by each offeror. If the offeror wishes to restrict its white papers, they must be marked with the restrictive language stated in FAR 52.215-1(e). Offerors shall not submit white papers that contain classified information without receiving further instruction by the Contracting POC. There are no limits on the number of White Papers/proposals an offeror may submit.

4.1.5. Eligible Offeror.

This is an unrestricted request. Small businesses are encouraged to submit white papers. Offerors are encouraged to complete the Annual Representations and Certification in the System for Award Management (SAM) as soon as possible.

Offerors may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met within the White Paper and proposal (if applicable) by the due date as identified above and in subsequent requests for proposals, if selected to provide a proposal.

4.2. Second Step: Full Proposal Requirements

4.3. Proposal Due Date and Time

To be provided in the Requests for Proposal sent to offerors that submit White Papers considered to be of further interest to the Air Force. Proposals received after specified date and time, will be considered late in accordance with 52.212-1(f).

4.4. Submission POC

Full Proposals must be submitted to the Contracting Points of Contact (POCs) listed earlier in this Call.

4.4.1. General

The Government will invite selected offerors to submit full proposals based on favorable evaluation results of White Papers. Proposals will be requested via a Request for Proposal (RFP) letter issued by the Contracting Officer and will contain separate submission instructions and applicable due dates and timelines. The letter RFP will identify the information required to evaluate the full proposal (e.g., technical and price volumes). At a minimum, the Air Force will evaluate responses to letter RFPs for technical and price. Additional criteria may be required to adequately evaluate an offeror’s proposed approach (e.g., past performance). The letter RFP will contain other instructions such as the proposal due date, format, Air Force POCs, and submission method. The cost of preparing proposals in response to a letter RFP is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or agreement. Unsuccessful offerors will be notified by the Government, either via email or letter, to inform them that the proposed effort is not of interest to the Government at this time.

4.4.2. Statement of Work

Each response to a letter RFP shall include a non-proprietary version of a Statement of Work (SOW). The SOW shall contain a summary description of the proposed solution, to include detailed task descriptions. This document will be made part of any resulting contract. The following is an outline for a SOW.

(1) Background: The background information should identify the requirement in very general terms; describe why the project is being pursued, and how it relates to other projects. Summarize any statutory authority or regulations affecting the overall requirement.

(2) Scope: This section should provide a brief statement of what the offeror expects to accomplish under the contract — the breadth and limitations of the contract effort. It should not include specific work tasks or a description of deliverable products since this will be included in the “Tasks” section.

(3) Objectives: This section should provide a concise overview of the contract effort goals and objectives; and how the results or end products will be used.

(4) Tasks/Technical Requirements: This section defines the tasks that the vendor shall complete during contract performance and would have a task description for each step of the Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS). The description of task requirements will depend on the approach that is selected to describe the required effort.

(5) Deliverables: This section should clearly state all deliverables including CDRLs and material.

(6) Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be clearly stated using units of months after contract award. Milestones shall be stated as a number of months after contract award. These milestones shall include the end of technical effort and end of contract period of performance.

4.4.3. Cost or Pricing Data

This Call is being executed under a CSO, which is authorized under a current Class Deviation (ref. DARS Tracking Number 2022 -O0007, Class Deviation – Defense Commercial Solutions Opening). As such, awards made against this CSO will be considered commercial for the award itself. Awards issued outside of a CSO will require a separate determination of meeting the definition of a Commercial Item IAW FAR 2.101. Since awards made against this Call will be considered commercial, certified cost or pricing data will not be required. However, a Contracting Officer may require other than certified cost or pricing data in order to support price reasonableness.

4.4.4. Proposal Validity Period

Unless otherwise specified in the letter RFP, offerors must state the proposal validity period of their proposal. A minimum proposal validity period of 90 days should be provided.

5.0 Evaluations

5.1. White Paper Evaluation. The Air Force will review white papers as follows:

1. Clearly demonstrate how all objectives will be accomplished.

2. Provides the solution most advantageous to the government.

3. Funds Availability.

5.2. White Papers will be categorized as Recommended, Selectable, or Non-selectable as follows:

1. Recommended: White papers are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available, and normally are displaced only by other recommended proposals.

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

3. Not Selectable: Even if funds were available, the white papers should not be funded

5.3. The Air Force will negotiate directly with those offerors selected for funding based off the white paper evaluations described above. Awards are contingent upon successful negotiations. The Air Force reserves the right to discontinue negotiations with any vendor should parties fail to reach agreement on contract terms, conditions, or price within a reasonable time. The Air Force may award all, some, or none of the proposed effort. Price will be considered to determine that the proposed price is fair and reasonable.

5.4. Other Information

5.5. System for Award Management Registration

5.5.1. FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management (SAM) and DFARS 252.204-7004, Alternate A, System for Award Management (SAM) are included by reference. SAM is the primary Government repository for prospective federal awardee information and the centralized Government system for certain contracting, grants, and other assistance related processes. By submission of an offer, the offeror acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee shall be registered in the SAM database prior to award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchasing agreement resulting from this solicitation. Vendors may obtain information on registration and annual confirmation requirements via the SAM accessed through https://www.acquisition.gov or by calling 866-606-8220.

5.6. Debriefings

5.6.1. The Government will conduct written, post-award debriefings upon request only in accordance with FAR 52.212-1(l) and will address the evaluation factors contained herein only. It will not include a comparison of submissions against a common statement of work (SOW) as the CSO provides no common statement of work that interested parties must respond to and instead represents opportunity for submission of a variety of innovative commercial items, technologies, and/or services that represent meaningful submissions of diverse scope and price.

5.7. Non-government advisors

5.7.1. Offerors are advised that data submitted to the Government in response to this solicitation may be released to individuals who work for the following government support contractor(s):

MTSI

5.7.2. These contractors provide advice and assistance analyzing and reviewing acquisition documentation and participate as advisors in Government Source Selections. Offerors not wishing to have their submission released to the companies listed above must notify the Contracting POC before submission of their white paper. Please contact the Contracting POC within this Call with questions or concerns regarding their role.

5.8. Covered Defense Information

5.8.1. Offerors should take note that the clause at DFARS 252.212-7012 Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting is included in this Call. It is anticipated that contractors will be provided or generate Covered Defense Information which will be processed, stored, or transmitted on/through an unclassified system that is owned, or operated by or for, a contractor.

5.8.2. Offerors shall follow the provision at DFARS 252.204-7019 Notice of NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Requirements.

5.9. Other Applicable Provisions/Clauses/Information

5.9.1. Export Control: Information involved in this effort may be subject to Export Control, International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) 22 CFR 120-131, or Export Administration Regulations (EAR) 15 CFR 710-774. If effort may be subject to export control, then a Certified DD Form 2345, Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement, will be required to be submitted with proposal. (See DFARS 225.7901-4, DFARS 252.225-7048, Export-Controlled Item).

5.9.2. Foreign Participation: Contract arrangements will be handled in accordance with the International Traffic and Arms Regulation.

5.9.3. Marking Proprietary Proposal Information

5.9.4. Information contained in unsuccessful proposals will remain the property of the Applicant. The Federal Government may, however, retain copies of all proposals. Public release of information in any proposal submitted will be subject to existing statutory and regulatory requirements. If proprietary information is provided by an Applicant in a proposal, which constitutes a trade secret, commercial or financial information, it will be treated in confidence, to the extent permitted by law, provided that the proposal is clearly marked by the Applicant as follows:

5.9.5. Proposal data the firm does not wish to make public, or to be used by the Government except for peer review, shall:

(1) Mark the first page of each proposal volume with the following legend: "This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed-in whole or in part-for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal. If, however, a contract is awarded to this offeror as a result of – or in connection with – the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in pages [insert numbers or other identification of sheets]"; and

(2) Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend: “Use or disclosure of data contained on this page is subject to the restriction on the first page of this volume." DoD assumes no liability for unmarked data disclosure or use and may use or disclose such data for any purpose.