Attachment 1_RFI FA714625RCDMX_DRAFT SOO.pdf

Secretary of the Air Force 2

Concepts, Development, and Management Program Office 3

Mission Partner Capability Office (MPCO) (SAF/CDMX) 6

Draft Statement of Objectives (SOO) 8

For 10

Cross Domain Solution Development, Operations and Sustainment 12

Request For Information (RFI) 14

FA7146-25-R-CDMX 16

18 August 2025 19 ii

TABLE of CONTENTS 21

1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1 23

2.0 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................. 1 24

3.0 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 1 25

4.0 REQUIRED RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES ...................................... 1 26

4.1. INTERCONNECTIONS .................................................................................................. 1 27

4.2. COLLABORATIVE SERVICES .................................................................................... 2 28

4.3. INFORMATION SHARING SERVICES ....................................................................... 2 29

4.4. SUPPORTED DATA ....................................................................................................... 3 30

4.5. DATA SECURITY .......................................................................................................... 4 31

4.6. SECURITY DESIGN SIMPLICITY ............................................................................... 5 32

4.7. SECURITY COMPLIANCE ........................................................................................... 5 33

4.8. OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE AND SUSTAINMENT STRATEGY ..................... 5 34

4.9. MISSION PARTNER ENVIRONMENT (MPE) ENTERPRISE CROSS DOMAIN 35

SOLUTION (CDS) ..................................................................................................................... 6 36

5.0 PLACES OF PERFORMANCE .......................................................................................... 6 37

1.0 INTRODUCTION 39

SAF/CDMX is exploring several approaches to compete a contract for Cross Domain Solution 40 (CDS) support to US and Allied Partners. SAF/CDMX is looking to generate and increase 41 interest among industry and stakeholders by sharing information and collaborating with 42 interested vendors to hear ideas on how to make this potential contract successful. This is an 43 ongoing requirement. 44

2.0 BACKGROUND 45

The Secretary of the Air Force, Concepts, Development, and Management, Mission Partner 46 Capabilities Office (SAF/CDMX) established the Mission Partner Capabilities Office (MPCO) to 47 execute the DoD MPE responsibilities and functions in accordance with law, regulation and 48 policy, as outlined in DoDI 5101.22E. 49

The MPCO’s mission is to provide the DoD an enduring capability to rapidly and securely share 50 information and collaborate with allies, partner nations, and emerging coalitions worldwide at 51 the secret releasable level, supporting Coalition Warfighters across the full spectrum of military 52 operations from the strategic to the tactical level. The MPCO is responsible for delivering a 53 Multi-Level Security (MLS) Enterprise Class Cross Domain Solution (CDS), herein referred to 54 as the CDS, enabling global communication between coalition partner networks simultaneously. 55

3.0 OVERVIEW 56

This document captures the Government requirements for a capability that delivers a single 57 solution for communicating, collaborating and sharing data and services across multiple coalition 58 mission networks utilizing information sharing policies, data segregation and filtering techniques 59 while conforming to national and international standards. A solution is needed to deliver core 60 partner collaboration and information sharing capabilities and services, voice calls, video 61 telephony, chat, e-mail, file sharing, and remote desktop services. Information sharing amongst 62 the U.S. and its partners is a critical capability to the DoD. This solution must be agile to support 63 evolving policy, contingency operations, world events, integration of new data types and services 64 and integration of nontraditional data centric zero trust and traditional environments. 65

4.0 REQUIRED RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES 66

4.1. INTERCONNECTIONS 67

The capability to rapidly establish connections with multilateral and bilateral coalition networks 68 is essential. This allows for the formation of Communities of Interest (COIs), enabling secure 69 intelligence sharing at the Secret Releasable level among partners on geographically dispersed 70 networks. COIs support a diverse range of activities, including military operations and 71 humanitarian assistance. The CDS must provide seamless user interconnection to facilitate near 72 real-time information exchange and collaboration. The CDS requires the ability to seamlessly 73 interconnect users to exchange information and collaborate at near real-time. 74

a. Interconnections: The CDS must establish interconnection and interoperation of services 75 between any combination of connected networks within a provisioned COI. Information 76 sharing and release must adhere to national information sharing and release policies. 77

b. Single Sign-on (SSO): The CDS must deliver a SSO capability for access to CDS services 78 and tools where two-factor authentication is required (e.g. CAC/token). 79

c. Scalability: The CDS must be scalable and support any number of connections or 80 establishment of new connections with minimal or no impact to operations. (Threshold: 5 81 days). 82

d. Redundancy and Availability: The CDS configuration must incorporate sufficient 83 redundancy to minimize service interruptions during configuration changes, such as adding, 84 removing, or altering information sharing policies and/or interconnections. (Threshold: 99%) 85

4.2. COLLABORATIVE SERVICES 86

Interoperable collaboration tools and services are fundamental capabilities. These tools and 87 services must enable near real-time information exchange between bilateral and multilateral 88 network connections within COIs. COI members typically collaborate via voice and video 89 telephony, text-based chat, and other common services. The CDS shall enable seamless 90 collaboration among COI members, critical for supporting coalition efforts, military operations, 91 and responses to global events. 92

a. Interoperable Voice over IP (VoIP): The CDS must provide fully interoperable VoIP audio 93 and video capabilities between external users on any number of networks, in accordance with 94 an approved enterprise dial plan. This includes support for multi-party and ad hoc meetings 95 without requiring pre-scheduling mechanisms. 96

b. Chat Interoperability: The CDS must be interoperable with chat protocols (e.g., XMPP, IRC, 97 SIP) commonly used in current operations, providing Instant Message (IM) and Multi-User 98 Chat (MUC) capabilities between users on different networks. 99

c. Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Data Brokering: The CDS must support M2M data brokering 100 mechanisms that enable the transfer of data payloads supporting real-time and near real-time 101 collaborative tools, such as SharePoint co-authoring or database replication. 102

d. Secure Email: The CDS must allow signed email and support encrypted exchanges with 103 attachments between external users on any number of networks. 104

e. Remote Network Access (VDI): The CDS must support remote network access leveraging a 105 VDI between any number of networks. Users must be able to access applications and tools 106 available to the typical user on the network. 107

f. "Browse-Down" Capability: The CDS must support remote network access with a “browse-108 down” capability. 109

4.3. INFORMATION SHARING SERVICES 110

Information sharing tools and services are core capabilities; the ability to share information is a 111 paramount requirement. Users must have the ability to upload, store, share, and download files to 112 support mission objectives. The exchange of Common Intelligence Picture (CIP), Common 113 Operating Picture (COP), and other application data flows is essential for situational awareness 114 and military operations. The CDS must not impose restrictions that prevent users from fully 115 participating in information sharing or operating mission-critical applications that consume, 116 process, or view data. All information sharing across partner networks must include a "break 117 glass" feature for time-sensitive mission support, allowing authorized data exchange with 118 minimal CDS interference. 119

a. Web-Based File Transfer: The CDS must provide web-based file transfer services (e.g. “drop 120 box”), supporting at a minimum 5 GB of data. 121

b. M2M Data Brokering: The CDS must support Machine-to-Machine (M2M) data brokering 122 mechanisms that enable transfer of data payloads at a rate of 100 Mb/s minimum, equal to all 123 supported data types and formats (see Table 1) in near real-time. 124

c. Email Attachment Exchange: The CDS must allow exchange of email attachments of static 125 files equal to all supported data types (see Table 1), email applications and size between 126 users. 127

d. "Break Glass" Feature: The CDS shall enable a "break glass" feature to manually authorize 128 data transfer with minimal CDS interference. 129

e. Support for Low Bandwidth Environments: The CDS shall support users in low bandwidth 130 enterprise environments. 131

f. Full Motion Video (FMV) Streaming: The CDS shall support bi-directional FMV streaming 132 between partner networks. These streaming data flows must be routed and processed with 133 extremely low latency to support coalition Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance 134 (ISR) operations. 135

4.4. SUPPORTED DATA 136

The CDS must enable the exchange of several data types between partner networks. A variety of 137 data types, formats and delivery mechanisms of static and streaming data are needed when 138 supporting coalition efforts. Information sharing between partner’s ranges from office 139 documents, imagery products, streaming data or data that needs to be ingested by applications. 140 Data exchanges are critical and need to be made with speed and agility to support warfighting 141 tactics, mission planning and execution even in low-bandwidth environments in which partners 142 operate. The CDS needs to be flexible to handle existing and future data types used by coalition 143 forces. 144

The CDS must support the data types and formats in Table 1, at a minimum. 145

Table 1. Data Types 146

Data Type Data Format Text, Documentation Plain Text (cvs, dws, ics, log, txt, vcs), USMTF, RTF, XML, PDF, PDF/A, HTML, XHTML, KLV, MS Word (doc, docm, docx), MS Excel (xls, xlsm, xlsx), MS PowerPoint (pps, ppsm, ppsx, ppt, pptm, pptx), Open Document Text

Still Image, Raster Graphics TIFF, JPEG2000, PNG, JPE, JPG, JPEG/JFIF, JFI, JIF, JP2, JPC, JPF, JPX, JPG2, BMP, GIF, NITF, APM, DIB, DWS, EMF, WMF

a. Adherence to Standards: The CDS must support Intelligence Community (IC) and DoD 147 Discovery Metadata Standards (DDMS), Standardized Agreements (STANAG) and 148 Federated Mission Networking (FMN) specifications as well as other international data 149 standards. 150

b. Encapsulated/Encrypted Data: The CDS must support the ability to ingest and process 151 encapsulated and/or encrypted data objects. 152

c. International Language Support: The CDS must support international character sets and 153 sovereign languages with the ability to recognize mission partner classification markings and 154 the ability to map US markings for parity. 155

4.5. DATA SECURITY 156

Secure data exchange across partner networks must be facilitated through security policies, data 157 filters, and built-in protections against malware and cyber-attacks. Protection against accidental 158 or malicious exfiltration of information between networks is crucial. Nearly all data formats 159 include a representation of a security classification marking (e.g., "UNCLASSIFIED"). The CDS 160 must be capable of filtering data to recognize security markings, permitting transfer based on 161 security policies and sharing agreements. 162

a. i. Configurable Connectivity Restrictions: The CDS must implement configurable 163 connectivity restrictions between external domains, leveraging digitally implemented 164 security policies in accordance with national disclosure policies and with MPCO 165 authorization. 166

b. ii. Automated Security Marking: The CDS must have the ability to ingest, filter, and 167 implement security marking classifications, caveats, and dissemination controls 168 automatically or semi-automatically, based on security policy attributes and without pre-169 shared data. 170

c. iii. Identity, Credentialing, and Access Management (ICAM): The CDS must be 171 interoperable with trusted ICAM standards. 172

d. iv. Defensive Cyber Operation (DCO) Support: The CDS must support DCO capabilities by 173 ensuring all audit logs can be ingested for monitoring and threat assessment analysis. 174

e. v. Data Rejection Rate: The CDS must minimize data rejection rates (Threshold: <5% false 175 positives.) 176

Data Type Data Format Geospatial SHP, DBF, SHX, GeoTIFF, NetCDF Graphic Image, Vector formats SVG, AutoCAD DIF, EPS, SHP, Cartographic GeoTIFF, GeoPDF, GeoJPEG2000, SHP Audio WAVE, AIFF, MP3, FLAC, Video MOV, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, motion JPEG2K, J2C, J2K Database XML, CSV, TAB Special Applications PDF, ANB, KLZ, TAR, ZIP, BZ, BZ2, GZ, GMTI, EFT

4.6. SECURITY DESIGN SIMPLICITY 177

The CDS design must facilitate near real-time information exchange and protect against 178 accidental or malicious data exfiltration while simultaneously defending networks against cyber-179 attacks. It is essential that these protection mechanisms do not obstruct information exchange 180 between partners. Minimizing guard complexity, automating configuration, and incorporating 181 data analysis and normalization are key objectives. The goal is to enhance information sharing at 182 the speed of warfare, removing barriers and increasing security concurrently. 183

a. i. Security Stability: The CDS security posture must not be negatively impacted by routine 184 CDS operations that support partner daily operations and interactions, such as establishing 185 new interconnections, updating security policies, or removing connections. 186

b. ii. Simplified Security Mechanisms: The CDS design must reduce the complexity of the 187 security mechanisms that operate on data flows. 188

c. iii. Automated Security Controls: Support for COI’s classification and requisite security 189 controls should be "automatic," without requiring pre-shared data to support integration with 190 a data-centric environment (e.g. Mission Partner Environments (MPEs)). 191

d. iv. Rapid Filter Configuration: The CDS must enable rapid configuration, modification, and 192 implementation of data filters to support evolving mission needs and information sharing 193 policies. 194

4.7. SECURITY COMPLIANCE 195

Security compliance in accordance with DoD Chief Information Officer (DoD CIO), the 196 National Cross Domain Strategy Management Office (NCDSMO) and other governing bodies’ 197 applicable policies must be maintained when operating a CDS for DoD use. All Authorization 198 and Accreditation (A&A) processes must be supported. 199

e. i. Security Markings Compliance: The CDS shall comply with US security classification 200 markings guidance provided by the Security Markings Program and DoDM 5200.01 Vol.2. 201

f. ii. DoD Policy Compliance: The CDS shall comply with applicable DoD policies and 202 guidance, e.g., 8540.01 Cross Domain Policy. 203

g. iii. Technical Guidance Compliance: The CDS shall comply with further data and technical 204 guidance for securing data CDS, such as the NCDSMO Raise the Bar (RtB) Strategy. 205

4.8. OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE AND SUSTAINMENT STRATEGY 206

Due to the complex nature of the CDS, an approved, documented operational, maintenance, and 207 sustainment (OM&S) strategy is essential. The CDS supports global interconnections of regional 208 networks that must be able to exchange information at all times. Operational configuration 209 updates, maintenance, and sustainment activities must be managed with minimal or no 210 operational impact. Partners must have access to help desk support and other user-relevant 211 information to operate effectively using the CDS. 212

h. i. Documentation: The CDS must be documented, and all operational, engineering, and 213 security compliance documentation must be drafted, approved, and maintained. 214

i. ii. Standard Operating Procedures: The CDS must have standard operating procedures in 215 place to support routine and contingency response connection requests as authorized by the 216 MPCO, with minimal or no operational impact. 217

j. iii. Help Desk and Systems Administration Support: The CDS must have 24x7 Help Desk 218 and Systems Administration support. 219

k. iv. Maintenance Compliance: The CDS must follow all DoD and applicable guidance for 220 CDS maintenance, including patching, updates, and Capital Equipment Replacement Plan 221 (CERP) implementation. 222

4.9. MISSION PARTNER ENVIRONMENT (MPE) ENTERPRISE CROSS DOMAIN 223

SOLUTION (CDS) 224

Future knowns requirements for the CDS include integration with a collaborative environment 225 for DoD and mission partners built on a data-centric zero trust architecture. Data is secured 226 without deference to the network it resides, secured by person and non-person entity data 227 labeling and policy enforcement. The CDS must support data-centric, zero-trust as a specialized 228 technology for specific cybersecurity circumstances where partners cannot directly federate. 229

l. i. Data-centric/Net-centric Interoperation: The CDS must fully interoperate between data-230 centric and net-centric environments, enabling interoperation between MPE where practical 231 limitations prevent federation and operation within that environment. 232

m. ii. Data Parameter Recognition: The CDS must have the ability to recognize the necessary 233 parameters associated with transferring data between data-centric, zero-trust and the MPEs 234 connected by the CDS. 235

5.0 PLACES OF PERFORMANCE 236

TNE supports locations across the globe, however, the primary locations are outlined in the table 237

2. 238

Table 2. Locations 239

Primary Service Center East (RAF Molesworth, UK) Service Center West (Oahu, Hawaii) Service Center Central (MacDill AFB, Tampa FL) Coalition Integration Lab (Langley, VA) Secondary Air Force Rome Laboratory (Rome, NY) Mission Partner Capability Office (National Capital Region)