RFI Industry Questions And Answers_27AUG2025.xlsx
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- Request for Information - AI-Enabled Airspace Management Solutions to Reduce Commander Cognitive Burden
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About this file
This document is a Request for Information (RFI) Questions and Answers spreadsheet related to AI-enabled airspace management solutions for the U.S. Army. The RFI seeks innovative AI and machine learning technologies to reduce commander cognitive burden in complex airspace operations, with a specific focus on managing unmanned aerial systems (UAS), loitering munitions, and autonomous platforms in contested and congested environments. The Army is particularly interested in solutions that can provide real-time airspace awareness, integrate with existing systems like NGC2, and demonstrate operational readiness for a November 2025 demonstration at Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) 26-01.
Key technical requirements include compliance with DoD cybersecurity frameworks (such as Zero Trust Architecture, NIST RMF), potential integration with tactical data sources (radars, blue force tracking, C2 systems), and the ability to reduce manual input for airspace management. The Army will evaluate MVP solutions based on UAS management capabilities, with an expectation of government purpose rights for AI/ML models. While no immediate follow-on awards are planned, the government may use insights from this RFI to develop future opportunities. Potential users could span thousands of personnel across Brigade Combat Teams, Division Headquarters, Corps-level commands, Air Defense Artillery, and Aviation Brigades.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RFI Industry Questions And Answers_25AUG2025.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Airspace AIML RFI_30JUL2025.pdf |
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Sheet1
| Question | Answer | |
| 1 | What cybersecurity standards (e.g., Risk Management Framework, Zero Trust Architecture) must AI/ML solutions comply with to integrate with Army systems? Are there specific encryption or authentication protocols required for secure data handling in contested environments? | AI/ML solutions intended for integration with Army systems must adhere to DoD-wide cybersecurity frameworks to mitigate risks such as data poisoning, model evasion, adversarial attacks, and supply chain vulnerabilities. These systems are currently treated as information technology (IT) or national security systems (NSS) under DoD Instruction (DoDI) 8510.01, requiring authorization to operate (ATO) before deployment and are subject to meet Army Authorizing official requirements. These requirements include but are not limited to Security Hardening, FIPS 140-3, ZTA, NIST AI RMF, NIST RMF. |
| 2 | Will follow-on awards from this RFI likely be executed through OTA agreements (like the current NGC2 prototype) or traditional FAR-based contracts? | At the current time there are no follow-on awards associated with this RFI or the demonstration opportunity. However, the government may use the information gathered from the RFI or the demonstration opportunity to develop future request for proposals. |
| 3 | What are the Army’s evaluation priorities for MVP solutions, TRL, interoperability with NGC2, scalability, or reduction of commander cognitive burden? | The army will be evaluating the MVPs based on UAS management in contested and congested environments. |
| 4 | What level of data rights (government purpose, restricted, unlimited) does the Army expect for AI/ML models and training datasets delivered under this effort? | The government recognizes AI/ML models may have an underlying proprietary architecture to them. However, the use of the models will likely fall under government purpose rights, unless otherwise specified. At the current time it is assumed the data used to train the models and ML algorithms will be provided by the government and remain under ownership of the government. To include transformations of the data |
| 5 | Beyond JPMRC 26-01, what is the planned transition path from prototype to program of record for airspace management solutions? | At the current time there are no transitions planned after JPMRC 26-01. However, the government may use the information gathered from the MVP demonstrations for future opportunities. |
| 6 | What standards, APIs, or data models should vendors align to in order to integrate seamlessly into the NGC2 ecosystem? | For the purposes of this RFI it can be assumed that any data feeds available at the Brigade command post or higher echelons will be accessible to the system. These can include tactical radars, blue force tracking, fires, ISR, airspace management, C2, weather, tactical messaging, geospatial ...etc. However, we welcome solutions that can infer real time airspace awareness from nontraditional sources like video and others. |
| 7 | How will the Army measure and quantify “reduced cognitive burden” on commanders (e.g., decision latency, reduced deconfliction errors, workload indices)? | The government is seeking solutions that reduce the amount of manual input required to create airspace awareness and reduce the cognitive load needed to process the information and threats visually and contextually within the airspace. |
| 8 | Will the MVP need to demonstrate resilience against adversary EW and jamming at JPMRC, including degraded comms operations? | EW and jamming can be a part of the MVP however, they are not the focus of the demonstration. The MVP at a minimum should address the challenges of UAS management in contested and congested airspace. |
| 9 | Will the Army provide access to representative airspace operational data (friendly, adversary, neutral) for model training and validation? | The companies selected to participate in the demonstration opportunity will be provided with additional information and items to assist them in supporting the exercise. |
| 10 | What are the 25th Infantry Division’s biggest operational challenges with UAS and airspace management today that industry should prioritize solving? | 25ID and the Army are seeking solutions that address the increasing use of UASs, loitering munitions, and the integration of autonomous platforms into the airspace management frameworks. |
| 11 | To what extent will MVP solutions need to integrate with joint and coalition partners’ airspace systems during JPMRC? | MVP Solutions that integrate with joint and coalition partners are welcome at the demonstration opportunity however, the focus of the MVP should be to provide integration of UASs, loitering munitions, and the integration of autonomous platforms into the airspace frameworks. |
| 12 | What level of Soldier touchpoints and feedback cycles will be available with the 25th ID during MVP development and testing? | 5-10 Soldiers/operators |
| 13 | What Army-provided infrastructure (e.g., simulation environments, range data, or mission rehearsal tools) will vendors be able to leverage before the November 2025 demonstration? | The companies selected to participate in the demonstration opportunity will be provided with additional information and items to assist them in supporting the exercise. |
| 14 | Under Number 4) Acquisition, Contracting, and Cost you ask for the licensing model for the proposed solution. This model may vary depending on the anticipated number of users or seats the government expects to support in the use of the solution. Can the government provide an expected order of magnitude for the anticipated user count? | Airspace Management is critical to the U.S. Army, particularly in tactical and operational environments. While exact user numbers are not known at this time, it can be assumed future fielding of solutions will be across multiple Army units, including Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), Division Headquarters, and Corps-level commands, as well as specialized units like Air Defense Artillery (ADA)and Aviation Brigades. |
Given this widespread deployment, it is reasonable to estimate that there could be thousands of users across the Army, including airspace managers, planners, and operators who rely on real-time airspace deconfliction, coordination, and situational awareness.
| 15 | What are the anticipated message formats and/or how many different message formats are anticipated (e.g. legacy message format, with different formats for each)? | For the purposes of this RFI it can be assumed that any data feeds available at the Brigade command post or higher echelons will be accessible to the system. These can include tactical radars, blue force tracking, fires, ISR, airspace management, C2, weather, tactical messaging, geospatial ...etc. that can include published standards like Link 16, USMTF, VMF, ADATP3, ASCA, KML, and Geopackage. However, we welcome solutions that can infer real time airspace awareness from nontraditional sources like video and others. | |
| 16 | Will the government be providing a DevSecOps stack? If so, what tools will be included? | For the purposes of this RFI response it can be assumed development efforts in the future can take place in both government provided environments and contractor facilities. It can be assumed a standard set of AI tools (TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, Kubeflow, Mlflow, GitLab, Databricks Jenkins, IBM Adversarial Robustness Toolbox (ART)...etc.)will be available in the government environment. | |
| 17 | Will the government be providing a cross-domain solution for vendors to move their from their development environment and deploy to the government's environment. | For the purposes of this RFI response it can be assumed development efforts in the future will have the ability to load vendor developed solutions into the government environment | |
| 18 | For the JPMRC demonstration for which the MVP must be operationally ready for deployment by November 2025, when will the government provide access to the data models and the actual/emulated data sets to represent each data source? | The companies selected to participate in the demonstration opportunity will be provided with additional information and items to assist them in supporting the exercise. | |
| 19 | Assume the ASTARTE Suite (from the C5ISR or equivalent) will be at the demonstration | ||
| Assume a 2 week Demo in in Hawaii during the November timeframe (1 week Integration followed by a second week demo) | At the current time the executiion details for the companies supporting the Demonstration Opportunity have not been finalized. The companies selected to participate in the demonstration opportunity will be provided with additional information and items to assist them in supporting the exercise. | ||
| 20 | Will there be any customer funding available to support the near term demo (in November)? If so, to what extent (shipping/logistics only; minor development, etc.)? | ||
| The government has not yet determined whether funding will be made available to support vendors participating in the demonstration opportunity at JPMRC 26-01. Vendors are requested to submit their associated costs as part of their response, which will be used to assess the feasibility of providing such funding. Any decision regarding funding will be made at a later date and is subject to government review and approval. | |||
| 21 | Regarding the Airspace Management AI/ML Solutions RFI, are you interested in AI/ML solutions that can integrate with other airspace management solutions to reduce cognitive load, or are you looking for complete solutions only? | The government is looking for solutions that can satisfy one or more of the focus areas listed in the RFI. |
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