Marauder Statement of Needs.pdf

Request for Information (RFI)

1. Title & Reference Information Project/Program Name: Marauder Reference Number: A063714 Date: May 20, 2026

Point of Contact Name: Kelly Puvogel Title: Procurement Contracting Officer/Agreements Officer Email: kelly.puvogel@us.af.mil

Name: Jennifer Cashwell Title: Contract Specialist Email: jennifer.cashwell.2@us.af.mil

2. Background

2.1. The Mission Need

Unit-Level Intelligence (ULI) personnel initially required tools to support end-to-end workflows across the Contingency Intelligence Network (CIN). Historically, ULI analysts relied on discrete, disjointed tools with dated technology and manual data transfers, which hindered battlespace characterization and mission planning. To support a wide range of Total Force operations — including air-to-air, air-to-ground, airlift, and personnel recovery

— the Department of War required a cohesive, data-driven solution.

As operational realities evolved, the program's core focus narrowed to optimizing the most critical phase of the intelligence cycle: the post-mission debrief and reporting workflow. Following combat or training sorties, returning aircrews must conduct rigorous debriefs with analysts to capture critical mission parameters and threat observations. The current mission need centers entirely on accelerating this specific workflow—capturing pilot insights, minimizing manual data entry, and rapidly generating accurate Mission Reports (MISREPs) for enterprise-wide consumption.

Ideally, this solution needs to seamlessly connect analysts to aircraft data sources and theater Common Intelligence Pictures (CIP), operating securely in both in-garrison and low-bandwidth Agile Combat Employment (ACE) environments despite threats of jammed or degraded communications. However, seamless operation within these contested, low-bandwidth ACE environments has not yet been fully achieved, representing a critical area for future capability development and vendor innovation.

mailto:kelly.puvogel@us.af.mil mailto:jennifer.cashwell.2@us.af.mil

2.2. The Solution: Marauder

Marauder was developed to meet this critical capability gap, serving as the official Mission Report (MISREP), Agile Combat Employment Report (ACEREP), and Tactical Combat Report (TACREP) tool of record. It accelerates the operational intelligence cycle by standardizing reporting formats and workflows across unit, wing, and Air Operations Center (AOC) echelons, ensuring strict compliance with AOC Intelligence Reporting Directives (IRD).

Marauder provides DoW commanders, mission planners, the Intelligence Community (IC), and over 2,000 active users with authoritative post-mission intelligence within 24 hours of engine shutdown. Its automated data structuring can feed targeting processes and combat assessments across the enterprise.

2.3. Program History and Team Culture

Now in its eighth year of development and sixth year of continuous production, Marauder utilizes a multi-environment architecture. Development occurs at the Unclassified level to facilitate rapid, remote collaboration, while production environments run at the Secret and Top Secret levels.

Developed within Kessel Run (KR), Marauder is a flagship success for the U.S. Air Force’s organic software development initiative. It represents a mature implementation of Agile methodologies and DevSecOps within the Department, and currently stands as the final program within KR to transition from government-led organic development to vendor-executed support. The current team operates as a "Balanced Team" utilizing Xtreme Programming (XP) practices, integrating Engineers, UX Designers, and Product Managers.

This User-Centered Design (UCD) approach ensures the product remains aligned with both high-level stakeholder objectives and the tactical operational needs of the warfighter.

2.4. Technical Architecture and Security

The technical architecture is built on a microservices model designed to auto-scale and withstand cyber threats within a secure cloud environment. The frontend is a reactive interface primarily utilizing JavaScript/TypeScript, while the backend is powered by Node.js (Express) and Java (Spring Boot). Marauder maintains independent centralized relational databases at both Secret and Top Secret levels, providing modern, read-only API access for external systems across the DoW.

Hosted on a government-owned cloud platform, the program leverages a mature CI/CD pipeline for automated testing, security scanning, and deployment, enabling production releases in minutes rather than weeks. To maintain high technical velocity, the development team actively integrates government-approved AI tools into the software development life cycle (SDLC) for maintenance and system optimization.

3. Marauder Problem Statement The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to conduct market research to identify qualified industry partners capable of assuming the execution, sustainment, and modernization of the Marauder capability. The Government seeks a vendor to transition Marauder from a government-led organic development effort into a vendor-executed model. The successful partner will be required to maintain current operational availability across all classification levels while aggressively advancing the platform’s automation capabilities, external system integrations, and data interoperability to meet the demands of a fluid, dynamic, and contested operational environment.

4. Scope The scope of this requirement encompasses the full software development life cycle (SDLC) support for the Marauder capability. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Transition & Knowledge Transfer: Successfully assuming technical and operational responsibility for the existing codebase and production environments from the current Kessel Run Balanced Team.

• Continuous Operations: Sustaining the current production baselines at the Unclassified, Secret, and Top Secret levels, ensuring uninterrupted support for the 20,000+ active users across the Total Force.

• Modernization & Continuous Development: Designing, developing, and deploying new features focused on accelerating the intelligence cycle through advanced automation and data integration, considering both in-garrison and low-bandwidth Agile Combat Employment (ACE) environments.

• User Support & Training: Providing help desk support from account management to troubleshooting in addition to a training program should be required by the warfighter and stakeholders.

5. Desired Outcomes The Government seeks industry approaches that can achieve the following operational outcomes:

• Extreme Automation (Streamlined Workflows): Fundamentally accelerate post-mission reporting through the automated ingestion, correlation, validation, and dissemination of mission data. Leverage automation and AI-enabled capabilities to improve mission reporting efficiency, data integration, interoperability, and informed decision making. The desired outcome is a drastic reduction in manual data entry, administrative burden, and cognitive load for Unit-Level Intelligence

(ULI) personnel through seamless integration of aircraft system data, ATO/ACO feeds, C2 and targeting systems, and other relevant intelligence sources.

Seamless Enterprise Integration (Interoperability): Transform Marauder into a highly integrated node within the intelligence enterprise. The capability must actively push and pull data at the speed of operations, utilizing modern API endpoints to share published intelligence products instantly with the AOC, targeting, and IC enterprises across SIPR and

AFSCI.

• Multi-Level Data Sharing: Provide adaptive means to customize and disseminate intelligence, accommodating complex sharing requirements (e.g., FVEY, NOFORN) without creating data silos.

• Maintained Technical Velocity: Preserve the Agile/DevSecOps culture currently in place, ensuring rapid, continuous delivery of software updates (within minutes/hours) using modern CI/CD pipelines.

6. Constraints & Considerations Industry partners must incorporate the following constraints and considerations into their proposed approaches and technical strategies:

6.1. Security Classification & Environment:

• The capability operates across multiple security domains. The vendor must be capable of providing cleared personnel (up to Top Secret/SCI) to execute development, maintenance, and deployment tasks.

• Development occurs primarily at the Unclassified level, but the vendor must manage and sustain production environments on Secret (SIPR) and Top Secret (AFSCI) networks.

• The system must maintain resilience against anticipated threats in contested environments, including denied, degraded, or intermittent communications (DDIL) and cyberattacks.

6.2. Regulatory & Compliance Requirements:

• All development and deployment must occur within the mandated government-owned cloud platform and adhere to established DevSecOps and continuous authorization-to-operate (cATO) protocols.

• The capability must comply with all Department of War (DoW) and Air Operations Center (AOC) Intelligence Reporting Directives (IRD).

• Data sharing mechanisms must adhere to strict dissemination controls, including classified and unclassified environments; physical and cyber.

6.3. Schedule Drivers & Milestones:

• A critical schedule driver is the requirement to conduct a seamless transition and knowledge transfer from the current government-led (Kessel Run) team prior to the expiration of current support mechanisms (anticipated in late 2027).

• The vendor must maintain the current CI/CD pipeline velocity, ensuring the ability to deploy urgent, mission-critical updates to production within minutes or hours, rather than traditional milestone-based release cycles.

6.4. Budgetary & Resourcing Considerations:

• Note to Vendor: While specific funding lines are not detailed in this Statement of

Need (SoN), the Government seeks highly efficient team structures (e.g., Balanced Teams utilizing XP/Agile) that maximize automation to keep sustainment costs lean while surging resources toward modernization and capability development. The proposed scope of work addresses the critical need for modernizing and automating the current Marauder operational environment. Additionally, due to recent fiscal restructuring we have anticipated budget constraints.

7. Information Requested from Industry Interested vendors are requested to submit an RFI response addressing the key areas identified in this SON. Responses should be submitted in PDF format.

RFI Response Areas:

Interested vendors are requested to provide a concise RFI response addressing the following:

- Recommended approaches and potential solutions to the problem set described herein

- Key considerations, risks, constraints, or opportunities the Government should evaluate

- Relevant capabilities, experience, technologies, or innovations applicable to this effort

- Recommendations for follow-on engagement, collaboration, or further discussion with the Government

RFI Response shall:

- Address all key areas identified in this request

- Not exceed two (2) pages in length, excluding the cover page

- Be concise, clear, and focused on relevant capabilities, innovative solutions, and experience

Cover Page:

Additionally, vendors shall include a separate cover page containing standard industry information, to include at a minimum:

- Company name

- Cage Code and/or Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

- Business size/status

- Primary point of contact

- Email address and phone number

- Relevant contract vehicles (if applicable)

- Company address and website

Note: This Request for Information is issued solely for Market Research purposes. It is not a solicitation and does not constitute a request for proposals or quotes. Responses will be used for informational and acquisition planning purposes only and will not be evaluated for award. Funds are not presently available for this requirement no award will be made until appropriated funds are made available from which payment for contract purposes can be made. The Government reserves the right to cancel this RFI in the event funding does not become available during the offer acceptance period.