RFI - Tactical Secure Voice - Anti-Jam Radio Comm.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Tracking No.: 822571804

Air Forces Northern (AFNORTH) is seeking information from industry to assist with the development and planning of a requirement for Tactical Secure Voice/Anti-Jam Radio Communication.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

(RFP). NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.

1. Overview/Purpose/Description of Procurement: The Continental United States (CONUS) North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Region is seeking a tactical, secure, and anti-jam radio solution to facilitate reliable air-to-ground and ground-to-air communication within the CONUS Area of Operations (AOO). Specifically, the Continental NORAD Region (CONR) Air and Space Operations Center (AOC) at Tyndall AFB, FL, the Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) in Rome, NY, and the Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA require a non-Satellite Communication (SATCOM) Line of Sight (LOS) radio system. The AOO encompasses a vast geographic area, comprising up to 148 remote sites that connect to the EADS and WADS, and the solution must be capable of supporting seamless communication between these remote sites and the Air Defense Sectors (ADS). The reliability and security of this communication capability are of paramount importance, as they directly impact the effectiveness of the NORAD Region's air defense and aerospace surveillance mission, and ultimately, the safety and security of the United States.

Therefore, this RFI is issued to gather information from potential vendors on their ability to provide a solution that meets the outlined requirements, with the goal of enhancing communication capabilities and supporting the critical mission of air defense and aerospace surveillance. The potential acquisition of this capability is considered a high priority, as it will play a critical role in ensuring the continuity of operations and the ability to respond to emerging threats in a timely and effective manner.

2. Scope of Effort: The scope of effort for this requirement includes:

Providing Tactical Secure Voice and Anti-Jam Radio capabilities to support the air component of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, with a primary focus on ensuring interoperable command and control (C2) of aerospace defense, air sovereignty, and counterterrorism assets within the

CONUS.

Supporting the CONR AOC and the two ADS: EADS and WADS.

Enabling the EADS to perform its C2 mission east of the Mississippi River, and the WADS to perform its C2 mission west of the Mississippi River.

Providing secure and reliable communication capabilities to support the critical mission requirements of AFNORTH, CONR AOC, EADS, and WADS.

Ensuring interoperability with existing systems and infrastructure, including those used by NORAD, United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), and other stakeholders.

Supporting the overall mission of AFNORTH to provide 24/7/365 effective air component support to NORAD and USNORTHCOM, and to contribute to the defense of the CONUS.

3. Technical Characteristics: The required Tactical Secure Voice and Anti-Jam Radio capability shall possess the following technical characteristics:

LOS Ultra High Frequency (UHF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) capabilities equal to or better than currently fielded equipment, with the ability to operate in a high-volume, sustainable environment.

A reliable and responsive maintenance and sustainment agreement in-line with currently fielded systems, including a sustainable parts and replacement pipeline.

Capability to operate with the Mobile User Objective System satellite waveform.

Wide-Band Secure Voice capability.

Anti-Jam technology.

HAVEQUICK and Second-generation Anti-jam Tactical UHF Radio for NATO (SATURN) waveform capabilities.

Internet Protocol (IP) Data connectivity, including remote tuning and radio over IP support, to facilitate seamless communication with air defense fighters and other stakeholders.

Compatibility with existing NORAD enterprise systems, including those used by the CONR AOC, EADS, and WADS.

Ability to operate in a SATCOM-denied environment.

Performance characteristics that meet or exceed those of currently fielded tactical secure voice radios, with enhanced security, reliability, and maintainability features.

4. Functional Characteristics: The required Tactical Secure Voice and Anti-Jam Radio capability shall possess the following functional characteristics:

Remote control capability, allowing authorized personnel to securely control the system's functions, including transmission, reception, channel/frequency selection, and configuration of settings.

Local encryption and decryption of voice traffic at the user end, specifically at the ADS and the

601 AOC.

End-to-end encryption to ensure the security and integrity of voice communications, rather than relying on traditional radio encryption at the device level.

Compliance with relevant security standards and protocols, including those related to encryption, authentication, and access control, to protect sensitive information and prevent unauthorized access.

Secure and reliable means of communication, with minimal latency and jitter, to support the critical mission requirements of the ADS and 601 AOC.

Built-in redundancy and failover capabilities to ensure continuity of operations in the event of a failure or disruption.

5. Requested Information: The government needs a reliable way to communicate securely by radio within the CONUS AOO, even when facing jamming attempts, to include both air-to-ground and ground-to-air across 148 remote radio sites connected to EADS and WADS.

We are open to exploring all solutions, including:

All-in-one systems: A single system providing both secure voice and anti-jamming capabilities.

Networked systems: Multiple interconnected radio systems working together to deliver secure and reliable communication.

Hybrid approaches: Combining different technologies to achieve our goals.

Upgrading existing systems: Finding ways to add secure voice and anti-jamming capabilities to our current infrastructure.

The following is a list of capabilities that DISA is seeking information on from industry as related to section 2-4 above.

5.1 Required Capabilities: The Government requires a solution that meets or exceeds the following capabilities:

Secure Voice: Resistant to interception and exploitation, ensuring confidentiality and integrity of voice communications.

Anti-Jam: Maintains reliable communication capabilities in a jamming environment.

Line-of-Sight (LOS) Coverage: Provides communication capabilities across the entire CONUS

AOO.

LOS ground-to-air and air-to-ground with government furnished terrestrial or beyond line of site connectivity from the 148 remote location into both EADS and WADS.

Interoperability: Seamlessly integrates and operates with existing Government systems and infrastructure.

5.2 Vendor Response: Vendors are requested to provide detailed information demonstrating how their proposed solution can deliver the required capabilities:

Solution Description:

o Provide a comprehensive description of your proposed solution, including:

All components, technologies, and architectures involved.

Specific methods used to achieve secure voice and anti-jamming capabilities.

Performance Characteristics:

o Detail the performance characteristics of your solution, specifically:

Proven anti-jamming capabilities with supporting test data and metrics.

Coverage range, bandwidth, and latency air-to-ground, ground-to-air.

Scalability and Flexibility:

o Explain the scalability and flexibility of your solution, demonstrating its ability to:

Adapt to changing mission requirements and evolving threats.

Cost and Pricing Structure:

o Provide a transparent and comprehensive cost and pricing structure for your proposed solution, including:

All associated hardware, software, implementation, training, and maintenance costs.

Options for different deployment models (e.g., purchase, lease, service).

Lifecycle cost analysis considering ongoing maintenance and support.

Submission Format: Please submit your proposed solution and supporting information in a clear and concise manner, using the following format:

Cover Letter: Introduce your organization and provide a high-level overview of your proposed solution.

Technical Description: Detail your solution's components, technologies, and performance characteristics, addressing each point outlined above.

Pricing and Cost Structure: Provide a transparent breakdown of all costs associated with your proposed solution.

Additional Information: Include any relevant supporting documentation, case studies, or white papers that strengthen your proposal.

Note: The Government will use the information provided to inform its acquisition strategy and identify potential solutions. We reserve the right to contact vendors for additional information or to discuss their proposed solutions in more detail.

6. Corporate Information: Please provide the following information about your company. If submitting a team response, please include the requested information for all companies on the team.

Company Name: Provide the full legal name of your company.

Company UEI or CAGE: Provide the Unique Entity Identifier and/or Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code.

Physical Address: Provide the physical address of your company's headquarters or main office.

Point of Contact: Provide the name, phone number, and email address of the primary point of contact for your company.

Business Type: Identify your company's business type, such as:

i. Small Business (if applicable, please specify the type, e.g. Small Disadvantaged Business, Woman-Owned Small Business, etc.)

ii. Large Business

iii. Non-Profit Organization

iv. Academic Institution

v. Other (please specify)

Facility Clearance Level: Specify your company's current facility clearance level, if applicable.

Please provide the following details:

i. Clearance level (e.g. Top Secret, Secret, etc.)

ii. Date of last clearance verification

iii. Facility Clearance Agency (e.g. Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, etc.)

Contract Vehicles: List all contract vehicles that would be available to the Government for the procurement of your products and/or services, such as:

i. General Services Administration Schedule

ii. Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract

iii. Blanket Purchase Agreements

iv. Other (please specify)

Note: If your company has multiple contract vehicles, please list each one separately. If your company does not have any contract vehicles, please indicate "None" or provide an explanation.

7. Response Guidelines: Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper.

Submissions cannot exceed 20 pages (excluding diagrams or illustrations), single spaced, 12-point type with at least one-inch margins on 8 1/2” X 11” page size. The response should not exceed a 10 MB e-mail limit for all items associated with the RFI response. Responses must specifically describe the contractor’s capability to meet the requirements outlined in this RFI. Oral communications are not permissible. SAM.gov will be the sole repository for all information related to this RFI.

Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All Government and Systems Engineering and Technical Advisory contractor personnel reviewing submitted responses will have signed non-disclosure agreements and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described in section 41 of USC 423. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified.

Companies who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email no later than April 11, 2025, 1700 CST to kristin.s.martin2.civ@mail.mil and jessica.d.penick.civ@mail.mil.

8. Industry Discussions: Defense Information Systems Agency representatives may choose to meet with potential offerors and hold one-on-one discussions. Such discussions would only be intended to obtain further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, including any development and certification risks.

9. Questions: Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to kristin.s.martin2.civ@mail.mil and jessica.d.penick.civ@mail.mil. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Answers to questions will be posted to SAM.gov. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after March 28, 2025 at 1700 CST will be answered. The Government will not reimburse companies for any costs associated with the submissions of their responses.

DISCLAIMER:

This RFI is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals, nor will any award be made as a result of this synopsis.

All information contained in the RFI is preliminary as well as subject to modification and is in no way binding on the Government. FAR clause 52.215-3, “Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes”, is incorporated by reference in this RFI. The Government does not intend to pay for information received in response to this RFI. Responders to this invitation are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. This RFI will be the basis for collecting information on capabilities available. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received in this RFI that is marked “Proprietary” will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.