Relentless WP Call 01- RA South.docx

FA2391-23-S-2403

Pioneering Air Warfare Capabilities, Engineering and Research (PACER) CALL Relentless Wolfpack Overview Information NAICS Code: The NAICS Code for this acquisition is 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (Except Biotechnology with Aircraft, Aircraft Engine, and Engine Parts exception), and the small business size standard is 1,500 employees.

Federal Agency Name: Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Warfare Directorate, AFRL/RA Broad Agency Announcement Type: This is a One-Step Call against the PACER BAA, FA2391-23-S-2403.

Moratorium on White Papers: Beginning from the date of publication of this CALL and continuing one month after the due date for proposals, no white papers submitted covering the topic specified in this call, “Relentless Wolfpack”, Research Area 9 Autonomy, will be reviewed.

Broad Agency Announcement Number: FA2391-23-S-2403 CALL – 01 RA South Eglin Research Site, Relentless Wolfpack Request for Relentless Wolfpack Proposal Requirements Package:

1. To receive the Call package, performers must be actively registered in SAM.gov, maintain a Level 1 Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), and provide a certified DD Form 2345 (Military Critical Technical Data Agreement). Please be advised that the Call package contains Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

2. To maintain the highly accelerated development schedule required for the Relentless Wolfpack Grand Challenge, the Government will strictly enforce all administrative and proposal submission deadlines.

3. The solicitation timeline is structured as follows:

Request/Submission Timeline

If performers intend to propose, the performers must request the Relentless Wolfpack Proposal Requirements Package by 26 Aug 2026, 12:00 P.M, central time. Failure to request the Call package by this deadline will disqualify the performer from submitting a proposal.

Proposal Due Date and Time: Proposal Due Date and Time: 2 Oct 2026, 12:00 P.M central time. *NOTE: Proposal receipt after the due date and time shall be rejected by the government.

Submission: Proposal submission shall be electronic only; no other delivery methods will be accepted. Proposals must be transmitted directly to the Primary and Secondary Contracting Points of Contact (POC) listed below. The Government intends to utilize the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) Solicitation Module to distribute documentation and receive proposals, with DoD SAFE designated as the secondary/backup transmission method.

NOTE: Any proposal received after the exact due date and time shall be late and will not be considered for evaluation. Performers are encouraged to submit packages early to avoid technical or system transmission issues. The Government will not conduct forensic electronic reviews of system logs. Any electronic submission must be successfully and fully received on the Government designated POCs end by the exact closing date and time. Performers bear the sole responsibility for ensuring successful transmission and receipt.

Primary Jace Hilton AFRL/RAZ – Eglin Email: Jace.hilton@us.af.mil

Secondary Jane Ellison AFRL/RAZ - Eglin Email: jane.ellison@us.af.mil Type of Instrument: The Government intends to award an Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype under this effort and future OTs or contracts may be awarded for production.

Anticipated Number of Awards: The Air Force anticipates 2-8 awards from this announcement. However, the Air Force reserves the right to award zero, one, or more OTs for all, some or none of the solicited efforts based on the Performer’s ability to perform the work and funding fluctuations.

Brief Program Summary: Relentless Wolfpack will demonstrate that multiple weapons from different vendors can work together to synergize effects and neutralize targets in a contested battlespace.

Communication Between Prospective Performers and Government Representatives: All communication related to the proposal shall be directed to the Contracting POCs listed below:

Primary Jace Hilton AFRL/RAZ – Eglin Email: Jace.hilton@us.af.mil

Secondary Jane Ellison AFRL/RAZ – Eglin Email: jane.ellison@us.af.mil

Note: There is currently no funding available for this effort. No bid and proposals costs will be paid to any performers for submitting a proposal.

Full Text Announcement

I. Program Description: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/RA, is soliciting technical and cost proposals for the following research effort:

Exhibit Line Items: technical performance with identified milestone payments and deliverables for each milestone.

4. Foreign Access to Technology: Article XVI is incorporated in final OT.

II. Award Information A. Anticipated Award Date: 10 Dec 2026.

B. Anticipated Funding: This effort will be incrementally funded with the work being completed in FY27 and FY28.

III. Proposal Submission Information A. Overview: Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with the PACER BAA and this Call. There will be no other solicitation issued regarding this requirement. The government intends to review proposals and award some, all, or none of the proposals received without negotiation/discussion; however, the Government reserves the right to negotiate with those Performer(s) whose proposal is selected for funding. Performers should be alert for any BAA Call amendments that may change proposal requirements or permit extensions to the proposal submission date.

B. Content and Form of Proposal Submission: The paragraphs below identify proposal format and content.

1. General Instructions:

a. Performers should consider proposal instructions contained in the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Guide for Industry, which can be accessed at BAA Guide for Industry https://www.afrl.af.mil/Portals/90/Documents/HQ/BAA%20Ind%20Guide%202020.pdf?ver=7AivkWvoUoptKgypgCuIvw%3D%3D. In the event of a conflict, the instructions within this specific Call take precedence over the general BAA Guide for Industry.

b. Technical/management (Volume I) and cost/business (volume II) volumes shall be submitted in separate volumes and must be valid for 180 days. Performers must reference FA2391-23-S-2403, PACER CALL – 01 RA South Eglin Research Site, Relentless Wolfpack on the cover page of each volume of proposal.

c. Performers must submit one electronic copy of their proposals in accordance with the directions in this CALL. The contracting office will confirm receipt of proposals. Only one proposal per Performer is allowed.

d. Performers are advised that only the Agreements Officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the Government.

e. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting agreement.

f. No classified technical proposals or cost volumes are expected. Performers are encouraged to keep all elements of the proposal package unclassified. In the rare case where a Performer has a need to submit a classified appendix, please contact the contracting POC for delivery instructions. Submission of classified information over nonsecure transmission is strictly prohibited.

1) The Technical/Management Proposal shall be limited to 25 pages. Technical/Management proposals and Statement of Work must be provided in Microsoft Word. Signed pages may be submitted in Adobe.

2) Font shall be standard 10-point business font Arial.

3) Character spacing must be “normal”, not condensed in any manner.

4) Pages shall be double-spaced (must use standard double-space function in Microsoft Word), if printed double sided (each side counts as one page toward the page limit) 8.5 by 11 inches, with at least one-inch margins on both sides, top and bottom.

5) All text, including text in tables and charts, must adhere to all font size and line spacing requirements listed herein. Font and line spacing requirements do not have to be followed for illustrations, flowcharts, drawings, diagrams, cover page, table of contents, and restrictive/proprietary markings (in header or footer). These exceptions shall not be used to circumvent formatting requirements and page count limitations by including lengthy narratives in such items.

6)Pages shall be numbered starting with the cover page being Page 1, and last page being no greater than Page 25. The page limitation covers all information including indices, photographs, foldouts (counted as 1 page for each 8.5 by 11 portion) tables, charts, appendices, attachment, resumes, etc.

7) The proposal page limit does not include the performer’s proposed Statement of Work (SOW); however, the same formatting rules apply to SOW, which is limited to 10 pages.

8) Please Note: The Government will check the proposal and SOW for conformance to the stated requirements. Any pages more than the stated page limitation after the format check will not be considered for review purposes.

b. The Technical/Management Content: Proposal(s) shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. Additional information on prior work in this area by performer, descriptions of available equipment, use of base support (if requested), data and facilities should be addressed in the proposal. This volume shall include a SOW detailing the technical tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable to incorporate in final agreement. Do not include any proprietary information on the SOW. Refer to the BAA Guide for Industry referenced above to assist in the SOW preparation. In addition to the contractor proposed SOW, a government generated supplemental SOW containing additional requirements will be included in any resulting contracts (Attachment 4).

c. Performers shall not merely restate or rephrase the Government’s requirements. Proposals consisting primarily of unsupported promises or “compliance statements,” such as “the Performer understands and will comply,” will be deemed inadequate. Performers shall provide a detailed Technical Approach and evidence-based justifications (including technical methodologies resource allocations, and relevant past performance) to demonstrate a specific ability and readiness to execute the proposed plan. Do not rely on the Government Team’s awareness of other programs or existing capabilities; unsubstantiated claims, marketing material, or mere restatements of the Government SOO.

1) Justification of existing Capabilities: When citing prior programs or existing capabilities (e.g., flight vehicles, prior NCA algorithm development) as evidence of capability, a detailed technical description of that capability is required; a program name alone is insufficient. Performers shall provide a detailed description of existing capability, identify key technical differences, associated risks, and specific risk-reduction steps for applying that existing capability to this effort.

2) New or Limited-History Requirements: For program aspects where more limited past work may exist (e.g., the path to WOSA v3.8 compliance), the execution plan and risk assessment must provide sufficient technical detail to support a formal evaluation of feasibility. The Government will evaluate the depth of the proposed methodology; a lack of detail will result in a higher risk assessment or a finding of technical insufficiency.

3) WOSA Compliance and M-Series Alignment: Performers shall provide evidence of the technical maturity, WOSAv3.8 compliance, and M-Series alignment of the proposed affordable mass cruise missile by provision of Government contract numbers. If WOSA v3.8 standards will not be met at time of contract award, the Performer shall provide a plan to meet these standards NLT 3 months after agreement award. Failure to achieve WOSA v3.8 compliance within 3 months will be cause for dismissal from the project.

4) Autonomy Capability: Performers shall provide evidence of autonomy capability supportive of meeting Relentless Wolfpack requirements. The Performer shall specify the nature of the swarm (homogeneous or heterogeneous), successfully demonstrated behaviors (e.g., formation keeping, weapon target assignment, coordinated time on target), and method of demonstration (digital simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, surrogate and/or cruise missile testing). In addition, the performer shall describe how their current autonomy algorithms address the notional Capstone Demonstration vignette for the case of a swarm comprised of four homogenous systems, followed by a discussion of autonomy algorithm adjustments and additional data needed to service collaborative decision-making by a heterogeneous swarm comprised of four to six systems from four to six different providers.

d. Any questions concerning the technical proposal or SOW preparation shall be referred to the Contracting POCs listed above.

3. Cost/Business Proposal (Volume II):

· A list describing all Government property that the performer or its subcontractors propose to use. The list shall identify the account contract/agreement under which the property is held and the authorization for its use (from the agreements officer having cognizance of the property);

· The dates during which the property will be used and, for any property that will be used concurrently in performing two or more contracts/OTs, the amounts of the respective uses in sufficient detail to support prorating the rent;

· The amount of rent that would otherwise be charged;

· The voluntary consensus standard or industry leading practices and standards to be used in the management of Government property, or existing property management plans, methods, practices, or procedures for accounting for property.

· An acknowledgement that the performer bears the responsibility for all costs associated with returning government property to the issuing activity.

b. General Pricing Structure and OT Applicability

1) The Government intends to award a Fixed Price Other Transaction (OT) agreement for prototype under the authority of 10 U.S.C § 4022. Under this authority, a follow-on production contract or other transaction may be awarded without the use of competitive procedures if competitive procedures used for the prototype OT are deemed sufficient and prototype project is successfully completed by the performer. Performers shall propose an Fixed Price structure based on the successful completion of observable technical R&D milestones. Submission of certified cost or pricing data, detailed indirect rates, overhead breakdowns, Forward Pricing Rate Agreements or DCAA compliant accounting system data is expressly NOT required and will not be evaluated.

c. Proposal Submission Requirements

1) To facilitate the Government’s assessment of price realism, fair and reasonable pricing, and technical understanding of the research effort, the performer shall submit a Technical Basis of Estimate (BOE) consisting of the elements outlined in the table below:

2) Milestone Payment Schedule

Milestones should run sequentially for payment purposes, and the sum of all milestones must equal the Total Proposed Price. The government has prepared milestones and deliverable/acceptance criteria to be completed by performers, attachment 9. The following is an example of generic milestones:

4. Peer or Scientific Review Criteria: Proposal will be reviewed against the criteria listed below. The evaluation factors are listed in descending order of importance: Technical is the most important factor, followed by Cost/Price. The technical factor will be evaluated based on the four subfactors listed below, which are ranked as equally important to one another

a. Technical (ranked equally):

i. Unique and innovative approach proposed to accomplish the technical objectives. New and creative solutions and/or advances in knowledge, understanding, technology and the state of the art.

ii. The performer’s understanding of the scope of the technical effort.

iii. Soundness of the performer’s technical approach includes whether the proposal identifies major technical risks, clearly defines feasible mitigation efforts, and demonstrates related experience and qualifications of technical personnel.

iv. 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 evaluation includes the realism of the proposed cost. The Government will evaluate the realism of the proposed price by assessing the alignment between the Performer’s Basis of Estimate (e.g., labor hours, skill mix) and the proposed technical approach. This is to ensure the performer understands the effort. If a performer proposes the use of GFP a rental equivalent value may be applied to the Cost Factor for evaluation purposes only.

c. Proposal Risk Assessment: Proposal risk for technical, cost, and schedule will be assessed for each proposal, as part of the evaluation of the above evaluation criteria. Proposal risk relates to the identification and assessment of the risks associated with an offeror’s proposed approach as it relates to accomplishing the proposed effort. Tradeoffs of the assessed risk will be weighed against the potential scientific benefit. Proposal risk for schedule relates to an assessment of the risks associated with the proposed number of hours, labor categories, material, or other cost elements as it relates to meeting the proposed period of performance.

Proposal Risk Assessment

Low: Little potential to cause disruption of schedule, increase in cost, or degrade desired performance. Normal effects will probably be able to overcome issue.

Moderate: Can potentially cause some disruption of schedule, increase cost, or degrade desired performance. Special monitoring required to overcome issues.

High: Likely to cause significant disruption of schedule, increased cost, or fail to meet performance goals. Risk may be unacceptable even with special efforts.

5. Review and Selection Process:

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

Attachments:

1. Model OT - Articles

2. Statement of Objectives

3. Deliverables – ADRL

4. Statement of Work Supplemental

5. SF 424 Research and Related Key Personnel

6. Security Program Questionnaire

7. Privacy Act Statement

8. Data Assertions

9. Milestones

10. AFRLI 61-113

11. Draft SOO Question and Answers