NOCA - FINAL ECLIPSE.pdf

Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Number

FA8650-21-S-1016

Enabling Cyber-Linked Physical Sensing Exploitation (ECLPSE)

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: Enabling Cyber-Linked Physical Sensing Exploitation (ECLPSE)

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Notice of Contract Action (NOCA)

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: FA8650-21-S-1016

TECHNICAL POC: Steve Hopp, AFRL/RYAA, (937) 713-8330, email: stephen.hopp.2@us.af.mil, AFRL mailing address: 2241 Avionics Circle, Bldg 620, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7303.

CONTRACTING POC: (Primary) Jessica Ward, AFRL/RYKSR, (937) 713-9853, email:

jessica.ward.15@us.af.mil, (Alternate) Joseph Strehle, (937) 713-9973, email: joseph.strehle@us.af.mil, mailing address: 2130 Eighth Street, Bldg 45, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7251.

This announcement does not request any white papers or proposals at this time. The following topic is an anticipated requirement for AFRL/RYA for FY21-FY25. A BAA solicitation requesting white papers for this topic is anticipated to be published November 2020.

The funding listed reflects the estimated requirement funding only. This estimate is not a guarantee of funding. Funding is uncertain and is subject to change. Changes in funding availability may occur at Government discretion.

Technical Description: ECLPSE will be a Two Step, Open BAA to support research and analysis on cyber-physical sensing and EW-kinetic effects to enable understanding how cyber-connected devices interact with the physical environment found in manufacturing automation, utilities, transportation, agricultural, medical, and other common applications. Through kinetic attacks on cyber/EW-physical devices, it is possible to enable, deter or deny cyber operations such as limiting efficient exfiltration methods through channel herding. Understanding these interactions will enable commanders to induce kinetic effects through cyber or vice versa such as disabling bridges, airports, troop movement, etc. A better understanding of these interactions will also provide DoD with methods to help civilian authorities better protect domestic infrastructure such as dams, electric power grid and airports as well as help planning to improve the resilience of deployed bases.

This effort will also support research and analysis regarding the prevention and exploitation of information leakages similar to electromagnetic security (EMSEC) vulnerabilities in the cyber/EW-physical domain. For instance, using Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) against EM emissions, it is possible to produce actionable intelligence against emitting systems. AFRL Sensor Directorate describes Cyber-Physical-MASINT as an area being developed by the US Air Force involving phenomena transmitted through cyber-physical devices and the interconnected data networks to infer information through effects such as digital noise, bit errors or latencies. Similarly, actionable intelligence can be acquired by targeting devices available due to the cyber-physical infrastructure and disseminated through the cyber-domain. Cyber-physical sensing is exploiting the induced effect from the physical world through the cyber-domain. The effect only exists as a product of cyber-systems and their interactions. Cyber/EW-MASINT is the ability to collect MASINT by measuring ancillary signatures induced in cyber/EW-physical systems by anomalous events reported through state-of-health (SoH) communications or as adverse signal noise in digital products. The information derived will come from a combination of sensors, controls, or secondary/tertiary system effects (e.g. noise, bit errors, etc).

mailto:stephen.hopp.2@us.af.mil mailto:jessica.ward.15@us.af.mil mailto:joseph.strehle@us.af.mil

Enabling Cyber-Linked Physical Sensing Exploitation (ECLPSE) Examples of applications are fire detection using battery charging thermocouples or using the noise data from metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors to detect radiation. Commercial supply-chain and logistics processes will enable rapid, low-cost and reduced footprint deployment in new areas of interests (AOI).

Research objectives involve systems analysis of behaviors, interactions, and vulnerabilities; lead to R&D, evaluation, test, and training for new and disruptive technologies; and provide insights and awareness for strategic, operational, and tactical decisions and vectors for continued development and analysis.

The purpose is to generate knowledge and battlespace understanding of sensing effects across multiple domains (air, space, cyber, and ground) to include internet of things (IoT) and distributed sensing with traditional and ad hoc configurations. There is a definite and urgent need for the development, testing, and evaluation of operational cyber-physical, EW-kinetic, and related non-kinetic sensing capabilities in support of national military objectives. The effort is estimated to be 15% basic, 70% applied and 15% advanced research. The projected TRL’s for the various research efforts range from TRL 1 to TRL 4. In addition, while not included in the BAA Technical Objectives in Paragraph III below, there is a potential that this effort, which includes any contracts issued resulting from this BAA, may also include technical objectives for incidental Operations and Maintenance (O&M) work and funding and incidental Procurement work and funding.

Additional research objectives are to understand sensing effects across multiple domains; perform modeling, simulation and analysis; experiments, testing and evaluation; Small Unmanned Systems Exploitation (SUSEX); cyber research and development; electronic warfare research and development;

machine learning; autonomy; hard and soft information fusion; multi-level fusion; and novel exploitation products.

Security: General Operations Security (OPSEC) procedures, policies and awareness are required in an effort to reduce program vulnerability from successful adversary collection and exploitation of critical information. OPSEC will be applied throughout the life cycle of the contract. The Critical Information List (CIL) and the RY OPSEC Plan will be provided upon request by AFRL/ RYOY Information Protection Office.

While working on the government installation, OPSEC guidance and OPSEC training will be provided by AFRL/RYOY Information Protection Office. This training will ensure contractors are familiar with RY’s CIL and RY’s OPSEC Plan as it pertains to their contract. The contractor shall apply OPSEC in their management of their current program IAW AFI 10-701 Operations Security and WPAFB Supplement to

AFI-10-701.

All DoD contractors (including subcontractors) shall supplement their current security practices by requiring any personnel involved in executing this contract where critical program information (CPI) has been identified to protect the CPI to the standards articulated in the Program Protection Plan and in accordance with DoDI 5200.39. Upon contract award, all identified DoD contractors (including subcontractors) shall acknowledge and meet the requirements stated by the Program Manager for the protection of CPI. The DoD contractor must immediately notify the U.S. Government upon the discovery of any nonconformance with CPI protection.

The proposed technology will drive the classification level of the effort. All activities associated with this effort will be provided with, and comply with, an applicable Security Classification Guide (SCG) for the

Enabling Cyber-Linked Physical Sensing Exploitation (ECLPSE) system under test or under development. Research being performed may require clearances up to Top Secret/SCI depending on the technology proposed.

The contractor will be expected to deliver all software and/or hardware as required, and all associated data developed and/or used in the execution of this effort, unless clearly stated otherwise in the proposal. It is anticipated that a BAA providing more details into this program will be released November 2020; the solicitation will be made available at www.fedbizopps.gov. Direct any questions to the Contracting or Technical point of contacts identified in the announcement.

Funding: Anticipated Program Funding: $92,900,000 (FY 21-FY25). Estimated award values will vary with no individual award exceeding $20M.

THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR PROPOSALS OR WHITE PAPERS. DO NOT SUBMIT WHITE PAPERS OR

PROPOSALS AT THIS TIME. ANY WHITE PAPERS OR PROPOSALS RECEIVED WILL BE DISCARDED.

http://www.fedbizopps.gov/