ACV Suite of Training System (STS) Questions and Answers.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 31 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Source Sought Notice: Suite of Training Systems
- Solicitation number
- M67854-25-9-9000
- Issued by
-
United States Marine Corps
About this file
This document is a Request for Information (RFI) from the United States Marine Corps to gather market research and industry feedback for the design, development, and delivery of a suite of training systems to support the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV).
The key details are: The training system suite includes maintenance trainers, operator trainers, and digital classrooms to support the ACV personnel, recovery, 30mm, and command variants. The government intends to provide access to existing software built on the Unreal Gaming Engine, and is considering making Unreal a brand name requirement. Respondents are asked to provide information on their capabilities to design, manufacture, and deliver the training systems, including any alternative gaming engine solutions that could provide better performance. Responses are due by April 30, 2024, and the government anticipates an award in Q1 FY25. The government may consider alternative contracting approaches such as an other transaction agreement. The government will provide access to an ACV vehicle as government furnished equipment to the successful contractor.
View the file
Other files
On GovTribe
Work with this file
- Download the original file
- Contacts named in this file
- Similar government files
- Ask GovTribe AI about this file
Text version
Q&A
| Question # | Paragraph/Ref | Question | Government Response | |
| 1 | The Government intends to make available to Contractors, software already developed via a previous effort that is built upon an Unreal Gaming Engine upon the start of the project. This software consists of a surf zone and land scenarios and their accompanying physics models. | Please describe the accompanying physics models including their use and fidelity levels. Will a software design description document be provided? | The physics models referred to in the Request for Information (RFI) are part of the software and refer to the impact of the surf zone on the vehicle and its reactions. The physics models are based on the UNREAL 5 water physics model. Also included in the software is the land physics model that governs the Amphibious Combat Vehicle's interactions with compartmentalized terrain. Government Furnished Information (GFI) will be provided as needed at a later date. | |
| 2 | The Government intends to make available to Contractors, software already developed via a previous effort that is built upon an Unreal Gaming Engine upon the start of the project. This software consists of a surf zone and land scenarios and their accompanying physics models. | Does the Government have similar software and physics models for the embarkment and disembarkment at the ship? If so, can you describe the fidelity and whether it can also be made available. | The surf zone software and physics model software include a low fidelity rendering of embarking and disembarking from the ship's well deck. The Government has no additional models that can be released. | |
| 3 | The existing Driver Training System incorporates a realistic Unreal Gaming Engine environment that replicates the surf zone environment for students as part of its operating baseline. The Program Manager is seeking standardization across all training platforms to gain increased training value in terms of safety, familiarization, and platform familiarization. Interested vendors should submit any information that shows why their alternative solution or another gaming engine might offer a better solution. | Please provide videos from both the Driver’s eyepoint as well as one from an external obserview eyepoint. Please have these videos showing varying sea states at the ship and various surf zone wave intensities at the shore? | Government Furnished Information (GFI) will be provided as needed at a later date. | |
| 4 | Cyber Security | Given the interoperability requirement with the LVC network, what is the cybersecurity posture required? Is there an ATO requirement?---- | The cybersecurity posture is to be determined. | |
| 5 | Procedural/Troubleshooting Trainer (PTST) | Description indicates this is exclusively a virtual training platform and does not include any full-scale mockups of the ACV. Is that correct? | No. The concept for the Part Task Install Remove Trainer (PTIRT) has full scale replications of the side and front of the vehicle and is meant to be mounted to a classroom wall and be interactive with the student. | |
| 6 | Procedural/Troubleshooting Trainer (PTST) | Can the PTST use a mix of both desktop student stations and wearable VR headsets as determined by a training needs analysis? | Yes. The concept for the Procedural/Troubleshooting Trainer (PTST) can use a mix of both desktop student stations and wearable Virtual Reality (VR) headsets as determined by training needs. | |
| 7 | Electronic Classroom/Interactive Courseware (EC/ICW) | EC/ICW identified as supporting haptic devices for land/water/gunnery operations. Is the intention to incorporate full-size mockups/replicas for haptic feedback, including control loading, or can these be lower-fidelity COTS such as joysticks, yokes, pedal assemblies … etc? | The Electronic Classroom/Interactive Courseware (EC/ICW) is not meant to be a simulator. The system is meant to be able to teach students through a virtual or other interactive environment about land/water/gunnery operations. | |
| 8 | Crew Trainer (CT) | Since the Crew Trainer (CT) is required to be deployable, will deployments be limited to Section Level configurations/quantities or to full Platoon Level configurations/quantities? | The Crew Trainer (CT) is not required to be deployable. It needs to be transportable via an internal unit lift or tractor trailer. The intent is to be able to move a single vehicle CT to a live fire area to enable remediation during live fire gunnery training. | |
| 9 | Part Task Install/Remove Trainer (PTIRT) | Is there a requirement to use a physical engine for maintenance training or is it limited to virtual? | There will be a physical recreation of an engine for the Part Task Install/Remove Trainer (PTIRT) that is non-functional. | |
| 10 | 2.0 Requested Information 2) Support | Is there a requirement to develop and deliver a Training System Support Center (TSSC) to the USMC? | No. There is no requirement to develop and deliver a Training System Support Center (TSSC) to the USMC. | |
| 11 | Part Task Install/Remove Trainer (PTIRT) | Do maintenance training needs suggest that the PTIRT must be capable of fault injection or isolation? Must the system signal that LRUs or components were installed incorrectly? | No. The instructors will be able to conduct physical inspections to ensure accurate installation has occurred. | |
| 12 | Student Training | Would student outcomes be improved if the PTIRT, EC/ICW and/or PTST were networked together? | There is no requirement for the Part Task Install/Remove Trainer (PTIRT), Electronic Classroom/Interactive Courseware (EC/ICW) and/or Procedural/Troubleshooting Trainer (PTST) to be networked together. However, if the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) can demonstrate how this would be a benefit to the Marine Corps it may be considered for added value. | |
| 13 | Crew Trainer Networking | Do operational or mission rehearsal needs suggest that the CT devices must be networked with each other for training or mission planning at the Section or Platoon levels? | The CT will consist of 6 vehicles networked together giving operators the ability to conduct section and platoon (-) events. | |
| 14 | Crew Trainer - Training Operations | Are you planning to conduct fireteam or squad size dismounts from the rear of the ACV? | No. There is no requirement for fireteam or squad size dismounts from the rear of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle. | |
| 15 | Crew Trainer - Training Operations | Will the Cargo hatches be utilized to conduct rear flank security practice? | No. There is no requirement for Cargo hatches to be utilized to conduct rear flank security practice. | |
| 16 | Crew Trainer - Training Operations | Will the CROWS need to be a physical replica of the crew serve weapons? If so, will the CROWS need to simulate a physical full weapon safety posture and change from a cold to hot status? | No. The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) does not need to be a physical replica. It will need to simulate the full weapons safety posture and go from cold to hot status. | |
| 17 | Crew Trainer - Training Operations | Will the CROWS gunner need to conduct a remedial action drill? | Yes. The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) gunner will need to conduct a remedial action drill. | |
| 18 | Crew Trainer - Training Operations | Will the driver, vehicle commander, and gunner hatches need to have room to properly open and allow for operator climb out? | No. There is no requirement for the driver, vehicle commander, and gunner hatches to have room to properly open and allow for operator climb out. | |
| 19 | Crew Trainer - Training Operations | Will any of the Crew Trainers (CT) need to be setup to include a physical 30mm turret for the ACV-30mm? | No. There is no requirement for any of the Crew Trainers (CT) to be setup to include a physical 30mm turret for the ACV-30mm. | |
| 20 | Crew Trainer - Training Operations | Will any of the CTs need to be a ACV-Recovery with a physical crane? If so, will the ACV-R need to be able to conduct a recovery mission with the crane arm? | No. There is no requirement for the Crew Trainers (CTs) to be a ACV-Recovery with a physical crane. | |
| 21 | Crew Trainer - Training Operations | Will any of the CTs need to be a variant of any of the ACV-Command Variants? | No. There is no requirement for the Crew Trainers (CTs) to be a variant of any of the ACV-Command Variants. | |
| 22 | Crew Trainer - Training Operations | Will the CTs require the capability to have the operators physically conduct water safety exits in the event of a waterborne emergency, such as a sinking or disabled ACV or will the operators execute the steps to exit instead? | No. There is no requirement for the Crew Trainers (CTs) to require the capability to have the operators physically conduct water safety exits in the event of a waterborne emergency. | |
| 23 | Technical Data Package (TDP) Access | Since the Government does not own the full rights to the ACV TDP, how will we gain access to the necessary technical information to accurately model and simulate the vehicle components and systems? Will the government facilitate access to the ACV or provide any additional technical data beyond the GFE vehicle? | The Government team will provide access to an Amphibious Combat Vehicle Personnel Variant (ACV-P) for 3-D scanning to reverse engineer the portions of the Technical Data Package (TDP) necessary for the training systems. | |
| 24 | Unreal Gaming Engine Requirement | The RFI mentions the government is considering making the Unreal Gaming Engine a brand name requirement. How firm is this requirement, and will the government consider alternative game engines if they demonstrate equivalent or superior capabilities? We must assess the feasibility and cost implications of integrating with the Unreal engine. | The Government team is open to other software equivalents that can match or exceed the current surf zone characteristics, and/or add further capabilities. | |
| 25 | Existing Software | What is the scope and quality of the existing software (surf zone, land scenarios, physics models, 3D ACV-P model) that the government intends to provide? How well documented is this software, and how much additional development will we need to integrate it into a comprehensive training solution? | The software is low fidelity, but includes a surf zone scenario and a land driving scenario. Government Furnished Information (GFI) will be provided as needed at a later date. | |
| 26 | Training System Requirements | The RFI outlines a suite of training systems including PTST, EC/ICW, PTIRT, and CT. Are the stated requirements and quantities firm, or do we have flexibility to propose alternative configurations or quantities based on our assessment of the optimal training solution? | The Government team is open to a collaborative requirement development approach. | |
| 27 | Schedule and Delivery | What is the government's desired timeline for the design, manufacture, and delivery of the initial training system? Is there a target date for delivery of all systems? | The contracting strategy will be based on industry feedback and on what is in the best interest of the Government. The acquisition plan has not yet been confirmed. | |
| 28 | Expansion to Other ACV Variants | The RFI mentions the desire for commonality with the ACV Family of Vehicles. Should our proposed solution be scalable to accommodate training systems for the other ACV variants? What is the anticipated timeline for expanding the training systems to cover those variants? | Yes. The proposed solution should be scalable to include other Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) variants at a later date. | |
| 29 | Physical Space Requirements | Does the government expect us to provide dedicated physical spaces or facilities for the training systems, such as simulation rooms or classrooms? Or will the government provide the necessary physical infrastructure to house and operate the training systems? | No. The Government the does not expect vendors to provide dedicated physical spaces or facilities for the training systems, such as simulation rooms or classrooms will be providing the physical infrastructure. | |
| 30 | General | Does the Government anticipate conducting a Bidders Conference/Industry Day to inform industry as to the present state of the PTST, EC/ICW, and PTIRT development? | The decision to host an industry day will be based on industry feedback. A decision has not yet been made. | |
| 31 | General | Given the previous development of the surf trainer, what is the extent to which the Government can provide a Technical Data Package (TDP)/Vehicle Specifications for the current development effort including, but not limited to: | ||
| • | Drawings | |||
| • | SME Support | |||
| • | Task – Condition – Standard supporting MOS 2141 | |||
| • | Budget Consideration | |||
| • | ROM based on Government Procurement Schedule | The software that will be provided includes a 3-D rendering of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle Personnel Variant (ACV-P) exterior and interior. The Government will be able to provide subject matter expert (SME) support and task condition standard for the 2143 MOS (Military Occupational Specialty). | ||
| 32 | General | Does the Government anticipate owning the required rights to the ACV Technical Data Package (TDP), if so when? | The timeline for the ACV Technical Data Package (TDP) is to be determined and cannot be relied on for this effort. | |
| 33 | General | Has the Government conducted an Independent Government Estimate to determine the cost for a contractor to scan and 3-D model the ACV variants wrt hardware of the required components and their constituent parts? | No. The Government team has not conducted an Independent Government Estimate to determine the cost for a contractor to scan and 3-D model the ACV variants wrt hardware of the required components and their constituent parts at this time. | |
| 34 | General | By what process will the Government provide access to an ACV as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) to the successful Contractor? Will an ACV variant be delivered to a contractors’ facility or will the contractor be required to incur cost to travel to a location where an ACV will be made available? Does the Government intend to make these costs reimbursable to the winning contractor? | All costs should be included in the proposal. The Government intends to provide access to an ACV at a Government location in either Virginia or California; location TBD. | |
| 35 | General | Will the Government provide SME support at the awarded contractors facility for the duration of development and test? | Subject Matter Expert (SME) support will be available via electronic means and short duration support trips may be arranged. | |
| 36 | Source Sought Notice | From the Sources Sought Notice, the statement, “The Government may use the information received from this notice to justify a sole or limited source justification for Unreal Gaming Engine.” This approach may limit competition and viable technical solutions. It appears the Government is committed to using the Unreal Game Engine, yet the Government is interested in alternative solutions, but those solutions must be compatible w/ Unreal. Is this the intent, or is the Government interested in a solution such as Unity being used for this requirement, independent and not necessarily having to be able to integrate w/ Unreal? | No. The Government team is open to other software equivalents that can meet or exceed current capabilities while matching cost and schedule. | |
| 37 | Source Sought Notice | The Sources Sought asks, “… interested companies provide a list of Government Furnished Information (GFI) they believe would be required to minimize software development costs.” Can the Government provide a list of documentation that is presently available or planned to be available to assist with addressing this question. | The Government currently has technical manuals that cover the maintenance tasks required and Training and Readiness Manuals that break down the Performance Evaluation Checklist (PECL) steps. Limited information exists for ACV modeling in the surf zone but extensive documentation is available in respect to ACV interactions on land. | |
| 38 | Where can we work on the ACV being provided? Will we be responsible for the reassembly of the ACV? | The Government will be responsible for disassembly and assembly of the vehicle with the vendor afforded access to conduct imaging of the process and individual parts/assemblies. | ||
| 39 | Exactly what other content will be provided in advance of the RFP? | The government team will use the responses the this RFI to determine what additional content if any will be provided in advance of the Request for Proposal (RFP). | ||
| 40 | Can we watch/video the maintainers perform the tasks? | Yes. Vendors will have the opportunity to watch/video the maintainers perform the tasks. | ||
| 41 | Where will each of the trainers go and how were the quantities selected? | Trainer quantities and delivery locations are to be determined. | ||
| 42 | What doesn’t the USMC like about the US Navy’s Multipurpose Reconfigurable Training System? | The Government team is open to capitalizing on other capabilities/developments. | ||
| 43 | If the USMC currently has Electronic classrooms, what are the specifications of its equipment? If not, will the equipping of the electronic classroom be part of the contract? | Currently no electronic classrooms exist. The equipping of the electronic classroom will be part of the contract. | ||
| 44 | “Haptic devices to support land & water operation and gunnery exercises” Does this mean mixed reality motion simulators or desktop controls? Does this mean haptic wearable devices? | The Government team is open to all viable devices that will support land & water operation and gunnery exercises. | ||
| 45 | What do the Marines like about the electronic classrooms already in use for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, the Army’s Striker program, and the Marine Corps’ Light Armored Vehicle Anti-Tank? | The Government team currently has not insight on the Marine's feelings concerning the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, the Army’s Striker program, or the Marine Corps’ Light Armored Vehicle Anti-Tank. | ||
| 46 | Does PM AAA want the ‘replica parts’ for the PTIRT application to be made of any particular type of material, or can these tasks be accomplished in XR? | The Part Task Install/Remove Trainer (PTIRT) is a hands on trainer. Extended Reality (XR) can be used to assist in the hands on training. The material can be chosen by the vendor for Government approval. | ||
| 47 | Is this a physical training device or a digital twin, or both/mix? | Whether the requirement will be a physical training device or a digital twin, or both/mix the Government is open to any proposed solution by industry. | ||
| 48 | Will an ATO be required for the CT? If so, will the Government pay for it? | If an Authority to Operate (ATO) is required, the Government will obtain the ATO and will pay for the cost. | ||
| 49 | Will PM AAA provide the necessary information necessary to build the capability of connecting with live virtual constructive training environment? | Yes. The Government team will provide the necessary information to build the capability of connecting with live virtual constructive training environment. | ||
| 50 | Is it expected that a 3 person physical trainer will be designed and built for vehicle crews? | The Crew Trainer (CT) will be a 3 person trainer. Vendors should propose solutions in the RFI response. | ||
| 51 | It says to support 5-6 vehicle crews, but are requesting only a quantity of 4 Crew Trainers. Is there an expectation to expand in the future? | Each Crew Trainer is a pod of six vehicle crews. Four Crew Trainers (CTs) would be able to train 24 crews simultaneously. | ||
| 52 | Does PM AAA require a replica cockpit with driver, vehicle commander, and gunner on a motion platform or are you interested in having their controls and displays available to them for comms purposes geo-located, or non-geo-located? | No. There is no requirement for a physical replica of the cockpit or a motion platform | ||
| 53 | Would installation in a shipping container be sufficient for portability to live fire range locations? | Yes. Installation in a shipping container would be sufficient for portability to live fire range locations. | ||
| 54 | What are gunnery tables 1-12? | The Gunnery Tables will be provided at a later date as needed. | ||
| 55 | How many specific physical locations (beaches, oceans, rivers, terrain) are to be built for the Training Systems? | The quantity of physical locations to be built for the Training Systems is to be determined. | ||
| 56 | Is there any additional information available about this? “The government may provide a technological software tool in development by the Office of Naval Research to assist the successful Contractor, should a contract be awarded, in creating the training content”. | The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has conducted additional surf zone modeling that the Government team is currently working to gain access to. | ||
| 57 | What is the anticipated timeline for the RFP and this contract? | The contracting strategy and Request for Proposal (RFP) timeline will be based on industry feedback. The anticipated award date is 1QFY25. | ||
| 58 | In 3.0, what are the range of ‘Financing Terms’ available? | The financing terms are to be determined. The Government team will use responses from this RFI to make a determination. | ||
| 59 | Will the delivered system include both a Virtual Reality Simulation and a Physical Property with a Mixed Reality application? | Yes. The delivered system will include both a Virtual Reality Simulation and a Physical Property with a Mixed Reality application | ||
| 60 | We believe that the VR and Training software portion would be (NAICS) 541519 / 611430 as the primaries and that the support (NAICS) code would be 336992 as purchased items. Is this a viable option? | |||
| 336992 Military Armored Vehicle, Tank, and Tank Component Manufacturing: This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing complete military armored vehicles, combat tanks, specialized components for combat tanks, and self-propelled weapons. | The Government team will consider including 541519 - Other Computer Related Services and 611430 - Professional and Management Development Training as the primary NAICS codes. | |||
| 61 | Virtual Reality asset conversion from Unreal to Unity is available. Unity may provide additional options that would include VR, AR, Mixed Reality, and Interactive 3D components that will expand the accessibility to the learning experiences that will support additions to VR simulation to include maintenance and repair support. | The Government team concurs. Virtual Reality asset conversion from Unreal to Unity is available and all viable options will be considered. | ||
| 62 | The solicitation states “The Government will provide access to an ACV (a vehicle) as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) to the successful Contractor, should a contract be awarded for this effort. PM AAA desires the resultant Training Systems to maintain commonality with the ACV Family of Vehicles (FOV) (ACV-Personnel, ACV-Recovery, ACV-30mm, and ACV-Command variants.” | Will the Government provide access as required to each of the 4 named variants? | The Government team intends to use the Amphibious Combat Vehicle Personnel Variant (ACV-P) as the base model and at a later date provide access to the other vehicle variants as their designs stabilize. | |
| 63 | The solicitation states that “The Government intends to make available to Contractors, software already developed via a previous effort that is built upon an Unreal Gaming Engine upon the start of the project. This software consists of a surf zone and land scenarios and their accompanying physics models.”. | What version of the Unreal Gaming Engine was the software developed against? | Unreal-5.2 is the version of the Unreal Gaming Engine the software was developed against. | |
| 64 | Does the Government intend to provide licensing for any Unreal Gaming Engine required for a proposed solution as GFE, or will that be part of the pricing of any future RFP? | The Government does not intend to provide any licensing. | ||
| 65 | Does the Government intent to provide all the systems design, software design, source code, and data associated with the current implementation, or only the software as implemented? | The software as implemented will be provided. Whether all the systems design, software design, source code, and data associated with the current implementation will be provided is to be determined. | ||
| 66 | Is the existing software built to simply make use of the Unreal Engine as a rendering/modeling component, with external code and documented interfaces, or is it tightly-coupled with the Unreal Engine and essentially an extension of Unreal? | The current Amphibious Combat Vehicle Driver's Training System (ACV DTS) is built in Unreal and utilizes the whole engine for core systems such as physics, rendering, lighting, player mechanics, and Instructor/Operator (I/O). The current DTS application is built in Unreal Engine 5.2. | ||
| 67 | Does the current implementation model arbitrary, data-driven surf zones using bathymetry data, or does it model a single instance of a surf zone? | The current implementation models a single instance of a surf zone. | ||
| 68 | How was the existing surf zone modeling validated, and will those validation tools or data be provided to allow validation of updated/extended models? | Extensive feedback from user evaluations was used to iteratively update the surf zone models. This method may be used again to improve the surf zone depending on cost and schedule. | ||
| 69 | Does the hardware and software to be provided by the Government include the ability for a driver or other operator to use Night Vision Goggles in training? | No. The hardware and software provided by the Government will not include the ability for a driver or other operator to use Night Vision Goggles in training. | ||
| 70 | The solicitation states that “Interested vendors should submit any information that shows why their alternative solution, or another gaming engine might offer a better solution than the Unreal Gaming Engine from a performance perspective and how its solution is compatible and interoperable with the Unreal Gaming Engine.” | Will the Government provide evaluation methods and metrics used in evaluating system performance , including computer specifications and computational spare requirements, so that the contractor may accurately evaluate the performance of alternative solutions?” | Yes. The Government team will provide evaluation methods and metrics used in evaluating system performance , including computer specifications and computational spare requirements, so that the contractor may accurately evaluate the performance of alternative solutions | |
| 71 | The solicitation states that the PTST must support “ MOS 2141 (AAV/ACV Repairer/Technician) entry-level and sustainment training.”. | Will the products resulting from this solicitation be required to support any AAV training? | No. The products resulting from this solicitation will not be required to support any Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) training. | |
| 72 | The solicitation states that the EC/ICW “Supports both operator and repair curricula from basic to intermediate to advanced levels of training, similar, but not limited, to electronic classrooms already in use for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, the Army’s Striker program, and the Marine Corps’ Light Armored Vehicle Anti-Tank Variant. “ | Will the products resulting from this solicitation be required to support training for any platform other than ACV? | Whether the products resulting from this solicitation will be required to support any Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) training is to be determined. | |
| 73 | The solicitation states that there is an existing Driver Trainer System “The existing Driver Training System incorporates a realistic Unreal Gaming Engine environment that replicates the surf zone environment for students as part of its operating baseline.” | Will access or technical data be provided for the physical hardware associated to the existing driver trainer during the solicitation or after contract award? | Access may be provided for the physical hardware associated to the existing driver trainer. The technical data is proprietary to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). | |
| 74 | If the solicitation turns into a formal RFP, will the government provide the quantity of troubleshooting procedures and process steps defining the fault tree for each of the required systems? | Yes. If the solicitation turns into a formal RFP, the Government team will provide the quantity of troubleshooting procedures and process steps defining the fault tree for each of the required systems |
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .