RFI-AFRL-RQKP-2025-0002.pdf

RFI-AFRL-RQKP-2025-0002

Digital System-Level Mission-Driven Integrated Design Methods for Aerospace Systems

Request for Information (RFI)

1. Contracting Office Address

Department of the Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) – Wright Research Site, AFRL/RQKP, Area B, Bldg 45, 2130 8th Street, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433

2. Overview & Disclaimer The Air Force Research Laboratory, Aerospace Systems Directorate (AFRL/RQ) is seeking information on approaches to effectiveness-based military capability development (EBMCD). EBMCD is the process of finding an optimal integrated system (or system-of-systems) solution that best accomplishes an engagement, mission effect, or campaign goal. It merges two concepts, operational analysis (OA) and system-level physics-based multidisciplinary analysis and design optimization (MDAO). Specific interest is EBMCD for integrated OA at the mission level along with airframe, propulsion, and power & thermal management systems. Multi-fidelity (low, medium, high) physics-based analysis and coupling for the design of integrated airframe, propulsion, and power & thermal management system disciplines is a key underlying attribute supporting the EBMCD vision. Additional attributes of this activity are an emphasis on integrating military utility analysis at the mission level richly within a system design process, increasing the number of system disciplines captured simultaneously in design, and significantly elevating the coupled physics fidelity captured across system disciplines. An ability to rapidly iterate on requirements with mission-driven system-level designs is of interest and is anticipated to engage a wide range of digital engineering and technical disciplines.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only, as defined in FAR 15.201(e), to obtain pricing, delivery, capabilities, and other market information for planning purposes. This RFI shall not be construed as a formal solicitation or an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any product or service. This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals; therefore, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders to this RFI will have no competitive advantage in receiving any awards related to the submitted topic area.

The information requested will be used by the Air Force to facilitate decision making for potential future acquisitions. Submission of any information in response to this RFI is completely voluntary, and costs associated with any submission will not be reimbursed by the Government. Responses to this RFI will not be returned.

There is no guarantee that any submission in response to this RFI will result in a Government program. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Responders to this RFI will have no competitive advantage in receiving any awards related to the submitted topic area. The information submitted in response to this RFI may be used to help the Government further define its requirements. If the Government develops a program that addresses any submitted or similar topic, the resulting procurement will address technology and business specific requirements as defined by the Government to achieve the required objectives.

The Government will not use any proprietary information submitted to establish the capability, requirements, approach, or solution so as to not inadvertently restrict competition. Any submitted proprietary information shall be marked accordingly by responder and will be stored such that it is accessible only to government personnel and shall be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure.

3. Background Information

Conventional processes for system-level design of air vehicles lack rich mechanisms to assess discipline technology impacts to military utility in conceptual and early preliminary design. Furthermore, many individual discipline components are designed in isolation and integrated technology impacts on military utility are not captured until much later in the acquisition lifecycle.

The emphasis of this RFI is to develop a mission-driven system-level design process for aerospace systems with specific emphasis on airframe, propulsion, power & thermal management. The design process will be anchored by military utility analysis and associated measures of effectiveness with rich connectivity to coupled physics-based models of technical disciplines. Specific emphasis will be towards concurrent and simultaneous integration of airframe, propulsion, and power & thermal management disciplines as components of a multi-fidelity, multi-disciplinary design and analysis process. Key attributes of the target methodology include:

Rapid iteration of requirements with the mission-driven system-level designs

Reduced discovery of late-stage defects due to unmodeled physics

Technology investment decisions informed by military utility analysis

Applicability to a wide range of air vehicle systems across a wide range of Mach regimes

The end state of this process is an architecture in which design disciplines are coupled and assessed, at appropriate levels of fidelity, within a design process that includes mission effectiveness responses as constraints and/or objectives to establish relationships with disciplinary characteristics, technologies, design decisions and the initial requirements. The digital nature of the process enables improved communication and integration with a diverse set of stakeholders beyond the traditional design community.

4. Requested Information

AFRL/RQ is seeking information from industry to help shape future investments in this area. Responders are welcome to answer any or all of the questions posed below and also provide additional pertinent information as deemed appropriate.

AFRL is specifically seeking information directed at methodologies enabling simultaneous digital design for integrated airframe, propulsion, and power & thermal management systems. Digital Engineering (DigEn) will play a key role in the target methodology. As such, topics related to use of Military Utility Analysis (MUA), Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Integrated Physics-based Design (MDAO or MS&A), Data Science, Research Computing, and DevSecOps (Development Security & Operations) are of interest within the described target application. Key areas of interest across these topics include:

4.1 MUA: Military Utility Analysis

A. Information related to the implementation and usage of non-standard mover models in the Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration, and Modeling (AFSIM) software that can capture multidisciplinary (sub)system impacts on the mover behavior and characteristics across a range of underlying physics-based modeling fidelities.

B. Information related to methods for modeling the effects of electrical power systems, thermal management systems, and propulsion integration approaches on dynamic mission simulation models primarily in AFSIM but also in other similar modeling environments.

C. Information related to methods for dynamically selecting and utilizing (during the course of simulation execution) different fidelity mover models primarily in AFSIM but also in other similar modeling environments.

D. Information related to Model-Based System Engineering descriptive representations of military operations and military utility models. Of particular interest are approaches related to the use of UAFML or SysML to conduct Mission Engineering activities and the development of mission and simulation architectures.

E. Information related to methods for curating and translating system models between representations of different form, particularly SysML, a language neutral format (compatible with modern databasing approaches), and AFSIM script.

4.2 MBSE: Model-based Systems Engineering

F. Information on how Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and associated Digital Engineering frameworks will be applied to the design and development process of vehicle systems and systems-of-systems concepts to capture critical physics disciplines (including airframe, propulsion, electrical power, thermal management, and other subsystems) in an integrated manner.

G. Description of strategies for integrating physics-based modeling and simulation artifacts with a particular system of interest in a MBSE/Digital Engineering environment, including existing approaches as well as envisioned approaches that inherently perform integration better.

H. Information on how the integration of physics-based modeling and simulation artifacts in an MBSE environment supports future testing and validation of aspects of the design process.

I. Identification of what key model elements/components and attributes are required for reusable/extensible MBSE reference architectures describing integrated systems of interest for the purposes of design and performance/effectiveness analysis inclusive of airframe, propulsion, electrical power, thermal management, and other subsystems.

J. Features and characteristics of Digital Engineering framework required for integration, management, and visualization of MBSE in a broader digital ecosystem.

4.3 MDAO/MS&A: Multi-Disciplinary Analysis and Optimization/Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis (Integrated physics-based design) K. Approaches for simultaneous physics-based design of integrated airframe, propulsion, and power & thermal mgmt. systems accounting for coupled nonlinear and transient system effects.

L. Information related to including Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration, and Modeling (AFSIM) outputs as responses and or constraints in an MDAO or MS&A design exploration process.

M. Approaches for elevating and leveraging physics-fidelity in aerospace system design problems with large parameter spaces O(10,000), such as trade studies, sensitivity analysis, dimensionality reduction, etc...

N. Approaches for managing a variety of physics fidelities (multi-fidelity) for a set of disciplines within a single design problem.

O. Approaches for standardizing discipline coupling for large multidisciplinary design problems that may span across a wide range of computational and organizational boundaries.

P. Progress toward integrated demonstration of system-level design with distributed workforce or multiple partner organizations participating substantially in development and use of data, tools, and results with traceability to requirements.

4.4 Data Science, Research Computing, and DevSecOps

Q. Information on development and mgmt. of schemas and ontologies to effectively leverage engineering data flows to support and augment integrated physics-based design processes.

R. Information on development and maintenance of verification & validation analysis databases for component- and system-level numerical and experimental configurations and results.

S. Information on effective data, model, and analysis tool management and strategies for distributed or multi-organization teams including highly multidisciplinary analysis thrusts that require substantial communication of results between work sites.

T. Information on how modern computing technologies (e.g. Containerization &

Orchestration, High-Performance Computing, GPU) may be leveraged to sustainably manage and execute multidisciplinary physics-based design workflows.

U. Information on Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps) procedures as applied to physics-based analysis and model development, Model-Based

Systems Engineering requirements analysis, Military Utility Analysis, and multi-disciplinary and multi-fidelity optimization processes.

5. Response Instructions Responses shall be written and shall be limited to 15 double-spaced pages with one-inch margins using standard letter-size 8½” x 11” paper. The page count includes any title page.

The font for text should be Times New Roman 12-point or larger.

Please pay attention to any company templates that automatically create a “company proprietary” or similar type statement. Blanket proprietary markings must be removed and only material that is truly proprietary marked as such. IF APPLICABLE, clearly indicate the appropriate distribution statement (B,C,D, etc.), Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), or ITAR-restricted. Multiple responses from a firm are acceptable. Marketing information is NOT acceptable in the response. Endorsements from elected officials at the federal, state, and/or local levels are NOT acceptable in the response.

If based upon responses the government decides that further information is required, the government may reach out to responders to establish an industry day or may reach out for further clarification of response.

6. Request for Clarification A responder may request clarification, in writing, for any aspect of this RFI that is unclear, by sending an e-mail to AFRL.RQKP-RFI-2025-0002@us.af.mil.

7. Submission of Documentation Written responses are due to the Contracting Office identified below no later than 6 December 2024 at 5:00 PM eastern time, either via email or via DoD SAFE. If the contractor needs a DoD SAFE drop-off invite from the AF, please send that request to Peter.Seiley@us.af.mil. Submission of marketing information, existing commercial documentation, and product literature is NOT an acceptable response.

Documentation shall be delivered to the following email address:

Peter.Seiley@us.af.mil

8. Additional Information All responsible sources may submit information that shall be considered by the agency.

If late information is received, it may be considered, depending on agency time constraints. All routine communications regarding the announcement should be directed to the contractual point of contact listed above. The Government may or may not use any responses to this RFI as a basis for a subsequent project. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. The Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to the responders with respect to any of the information submitted under this RFI. Any questions submitted in response to this RFI may or may not be answered by the Government POC and may or may not be published.

Any answers published by the Government would only be intended to provide clarification on the information requested. No requests for a bid package or solicitation will be accepted; a bid package or solicitation does not exist at this time.

9. Timeline

The following is the timeline for the RFI:

15 November 2024 RFI clarifications due 6 December 2024 RFI responses due

10. Submission Checklist (if written response is selected) o 15 pages maximum including any title page. Fewer pages acceptable.

o 8 ½” x 11” paper o Double Spaced o One inch margins o Times New Roman 12-point font or larger o No Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost detail is being requested in response to this RFI o No marketing information, commercial documentation, or product literature o Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or PDF format only o Submitted via email or DoD SAFE.

o IF APPLICABLE, clearly indicate the appropriate distribution statement (B, C, D, etc.), Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), or ITAR-restricted o No marketing information, commercial documentation, or product literature o No endorsements from elected officials at the federal, state, and/or local level o Due date is 5:00 PM EST, Friday, 6 December 2024