CATCH Call 04 Solicitation.pdf

Advanced Research Announcement (ARA), Call 04 Overview Information

NAICS Code: The NAICS code for this acquisition is 541715 and the small business size is 1,000 employees.

Federal Agency Name: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/RY Sensors Directorate

ARA Title: Combat Identification Automated Target Recognition Technology (CATCH)

ARA Number: FA2377-25-R-B004

Call Title: CATCH Call 04

Call Number: FA2377-25-R-B015

Call Type: 10 USC 4023 Competitive Procedures

THIS IS A ONE-STEP SOLICITATION FOR CALL 04 ISSUED UNDER THE CATCH

ARA. Unless otherwise stated in this call, all requirements listed within the basic ARA announcement are considered applicable. Offerors should monitor the System for Award Management (SAM) website at https://sam.gov/ in the event this announcement is amended, or calls are issued.

Proposal Due Date and Time:

ONE-STEP Call

• PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME – 01 December 2025 (Thursday), 5:00 PM, Wright-Patterson AFB local time (EDT). NOTE: Proposal receipt after the due date and time shall be governed by the provisions of FAR 52.215-1(c)(3).

Early proposal submission is encouraged.

Submission: Proposals must be submitted electronically to the Contracting Point of Contact (POCs):

Katelyn Naca, Contract Specialist, AFRL/RYKSR, katelyn.naca@us.af.mil Omar Eldadah, Contracting Officer (CO), AFRL/RYKSR, omar.eldadah@us.af.mil.

A DoD SAFE link can be provided if needed. The deadline to request a DoD SAFE link is 25 November 2025 (Tuesday), 05:00 PM (EDT).

Type of Contract/Instrument: The Air Force reserves the right to award contract(s) and/or Other Transaction(s) pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 4023. It is anticipated that a contract will be awarded under this Call and will be priced as a Cost Plus Fixed Fee type contract.

Cost reimbursement contracts require successful offerors to have an accounting system considered adequate for tracking costs applicable to the contract.

https://sam.gov/ mailto:katelyn.naca@us.af.mil mailto:omar.eldadah@us.af.mil

Estimated Call Value: The total estimated call value is $15,000,000.00 (the AF reserves the right to exceed this amount if determined to be in the best interest of the Government).

Anticipated Number of Awards: The Air Force anticipates awarding one contract for this call. However, the Air Force reserves the right to award some, all, or none of the proposals.

Brief Call Summary: See attached Statement of Objectives (SOO)

Address technical questions to the Technical POC:

Primary Technical POC:

Kameron Grubaugh, Program Engineer, AFRL/RYAP 2241 Avionics Circle, WPAFB, OH 45433 Email: kameron.grubaugh@us.af.mil Phone: 937-713-8275

Address contracting questions to the Contracting POCs:

Contracting POCs:

Omar Eldadah, Contracting Officer, AFRL/RYKSR 2130 Eighth Street, Bldg. 45, WPAFB, OH 45433 Email: omar.eldadah@us.af.mil

Katelyn Naca, Contract Specialist, AFRL/RYKSR 2130 Eighth Street, Bldg. 45, WPAFB, OH 45433 Email: katelyn.naca@us.af.mil mailto:kameron.grubaugh@us.af.mil mailto:omar.eldadah@us.af.mil mailto:katelyn.naca@us.af.mil

Full Text Announcement

I. Program Description: Air Force Research Laboratory, Sensors Directorate (AFRL/RY) is soliciting technical and cost proposals on the following research effort.

Unless otherwise stated in this call, all requirements listed within the basic ARA solicitation are considered applicable. See basic ARA for further detailed descriptions of items listed below.

1. Statement of Objective/Needs

a. Contract: Combat Identification Automated Target Recognition Technology (CATCH) Call 04

1. Program Summary – This program will focus on Air-to-Air (AA) Combat Identification (CID) development through feature fusion engines. The contractor shall conduct and provide analysis for the next generation of CID algorithms both operationally and tactically. The contractor shall test, assess, evaluate, and report findings on identified CID technology concepts that may improve current CID performance. The program will include both single platform and multiplatform CID research, development, assessment, and evaluation. All aspects of this program must be examined in context with existing fielded platforms and technologies, as well as ongoing research and development activities around the Department of Defense (DOD), which may include the broader Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), USAF, and sister service programs. This effort will include applied research and advanced development.

2. See Attachment 1 – Statement of Objective(s) (SOO)

2. Deliverable Items:

a. Data Items: See attached CDRLs dated 03 March 2025. (Attachment 3)

b. Software: To be determined based on contractor proposal

c. Hardware: To be determined based on contractor proposal

3. Schedule:

a. Overall effort:

1. Contract: 63 months (60 months technical PoP with 3 months for final reporting)

b. Data Items: See attached CDRLs dated 03 March 2025. (Attachment 3)

c. Software: TBD, if applicable.

1. Contract: 60 months after award (end of Technical POP).

d. Hardware: TBD, if applicable.

1. Contract: 60 months after award (end of Technical POP).

4. Other Requirements:

a. Program Security Classification: Individuals must be US citizens and have a security classification level of TS/SCI and SAP.

b. Export Control: Information involved in this effort is subject to Export Control (International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR)).

c. Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS): CPARS is not applicable on this call.

d. Unique/Special Clauses: TBD per individual award.

e. Associate Contractor Agreement: Not anticipated. TBD per individual award. The contractor shall enter into an Associate Contractor Agreement (ACA) for any portion of the contract requiring joint participation in the accomplishment of the government’s requirement.

f. Options: Options are not anticipated on this call.

5. Other Information:

a. Government Furnished Property (GFP) Availability: Not anticipated on this call.

b. Government Furnished Information (GFI) Software: Software; data

c. Base Support/Network Access: Not anticipated on this call.

d. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI): TBD per individual award.

e. Multiple awards subject to Fair Opportunity are not anticipated.

f. Data Rights: Unlimited data rights are desired for this call. See detailed information contained within the basic ARA. Data Rights desired by the contractor should be included with submission as part of the Section K (Certs and Reps), as attached to the ARA.

II. Award Information:

1. Anticipated Award Date: February 2026

2. Anticipated funding: $15,000,000.00

a. Total Effort

This funding profile is an estimate only and not a contractual obligation for funding. All funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability. Potential offerors should be aware that due to unanticipated

Funding (in millions $M)

FY26 FY27 FY28 FY29 FY30 FY31 Total Funding ($)

6.3 External $1.5M $3M $3M $3M $3M $1.5M $15M

Total Amount $1.5M $3M $3M $3M $3M $1.5M $15M budget fluctuations funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice.

Notice to Offeror(s)/Supplier(s): Funds are not presently available for this effort. No award will be made under this solicitation until funds are available.

The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, either before or after the closing date. In the event the Government cancels this solicitation, the Government has no obligation to reimburse an offeror for any costs.

III. Eligibility Information:

1. Eligible Offeror: This is an unrestricted solicitation.

2. Other:

a. Foreign Participation: Foreign Participation is not authorized on this call due to the sensitive nature of the technology and its level of classification.

b. Export Control: This acquisition involves data that is subject to export control laws and regulations.

NOTE: You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met on the proposal due date, as identified in each call.

IV. Proposal and Submission Information:

1. Overview: Proposals submitted under this call shall be in accordance with the instructions provided both herein and within the basic ARA announcement. The Government intends to review resulting proposals and award all, some, or none of the proposal received without negotiations/discussions. Offerors are required to price each task separately. See paragraph 3 of the SOO.

However, the Government does reserve the right to negotiate with those offerors whose proposals have been selected for funding. Offerors should be alert for any call amendments that may change proposal requirements or permit extensions to proposal submission dates. No classified submittals will be accepted.

2. Proposal Instructions (One Step and/or Request for Proposal):

a. Technical/Management Proposal shall be limited to:

1. Thirty-Five (35) pages for the Contract

b. Statement of Work (SOW) shall be limited to:

2. Ten (10) pages for the Contract

c. Subcontracting Plans: For efforts to exceed $900,000.00, Subcontracting Plans shall be submitted in the cost/business proposal. Reference FAR

19.704 and DFARS 219.704 for subcontracting plan requirements. Small business concerns are exempt from this requirement.

d. See information provided in basic ARA announcement (Section IV.3.).

V. Proposal Review Information:

1. Proposal - Peer or Scientific Review Criteria: The Contract Proposals will be reviewed through Peer or Scientific Review using the criteria below. The technical aspect, which is ranked as the first order of priority, shall be reviewed based on the following criteria that are of equal order of importance.

a. Technical Merit:

1. The offeror’s understanding of the scope of the technical effort.

2. Soundness of the offeror’s technical approach including whether the proposal demonstrates related experience and qualifications of technical personnel.

3. Proposal’s potential to advance technology and the state of the art.

4. The potential to transition the research and development deliverables to future Government needs. Any proposed restriction on technical data or computer software will be considered.

b. Cost/Price: The cost/price criterion includes the realism of the proposed cost. Cost/Price is a substantial factor but ranked as the second order of priority (If an offeror proposes the use of GFP other than any GFP identified in this Call, and that proposed GFP provides the offeror an unfair competitive advantage, then FAR 45.202 requires rental equivalent be applied to the Cost Factor for evaluation purposes only).

2. Proposal – Review and Selection Process:

a. Categories: Based on the Peer or Scientific Review, proposals will be categorized as Selectable or Not Selectable (see definitions below). The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on the Peer or Scientific Review, as well as importance to agency programs and funding availability.

1. Selectable: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available

2. Not Selectable: Even if sufficient funding existed, the proposal should not be funded.

b. No other criteria will be used.

c. Prior to award of a potentially successful offer, the Contracting Officer will make a determination regarding price reasonableness.

NOTE: The Government reserves the right to award some, all, or none of proposals. When the Government elects to award only a part of a proposal, the selected part may be categorized as Selectable, though the proposal as a whole may not merit such a categorization.

VI. Award Administration Information:

Award Notices: Offerors will be notified whether their proposal is recommended for award on or about 30 days after receipt of the proposal. The notification is not to be construed to mean that any contract award is assured, as availability of funds and successful negotiations are prerequisites to any award.

VII. Other Information:

Proposal Content Checklist: See basic ARA.

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment 1: Placeholder Statement of Objectives (SOO)

Attachment 2: SOO Supplemental Requirements

Attachment 3: Contract Data Requirements List (CDRLs)

Attachment 4: Placeholder Contract Security Classification Specification (DD Form 254)

Attachment 5: Section K (Reps/Certs)

Attachment 6: Security Program Questionnaire

Attachment 7: Research and Related Senior and Key Person Profile Worksheet

Attachment 8: AFRL Privacy Act for Covered Individuals

Attachment 9: Security Risk Review

Attachment 10: Model Contract

Attachment 11: Placeholder for Government Furnished Information (GFI)