Infill Radar Q_and_A.pdf

Infill Radar Q&A Page 1

Item Question AFLCMC/HBA response

A. Does the GOVT intend to procure the radar asset, or is the intent for the Industry Partner to supply and remove a contractor-owned radar?

B. Thus the cost estimate is to include the PM/ENG support labor, Install and removal, and support the 45day event?

C. Is it expected the Industry partner will be on station to operate the radar daily during the eval period?

A. The Government will not procure the radar. The intent of the proposed work is for the Industry Partner to (1) bring their radar to the windfarm test site (identified by the GOVT), (2) set it up for operations, (3) conduct flight tests (using GOVT provided aircraft targets), (4) collect data for analysis IAW RFP requirements and (5) analyze data collected to determine if radar meets the requirements FAA’s IRQRD. The chosen Industry Partner will remove their radar after the period of performance and restore the site to its original condition.

B. The cost estimate is to include program management and engineering support labor, installation (setup and optimization), removal, and support for the 45-day collection event.

C. On-site stationing is not required by the Industry Partner, but the Industry Partner is responsible for repairs and timely maintenance to the radar. Data collections should be on-going throughout the 45-day period.

Does the GOVT expect a 360 solution for the test and evaluation, or will a single 90deg AZ array panel, pointed at the windfarm, be sufficient for the evaluation period?

The Government expects the radar to cover the entire wind resource area (WRA). Data collection areas will also include areas outside the WRA. The chosen Industry Partner is to determine the radar configuration to achieve this coverage.

A. Will the GOVT provide a draft test plan for grading / evaluating radar performance in and around the wind farm?

B. Will there be GOVT coordinated and instrumented flights?

C. If so, What type of aircraft or UAV are planned for test targets?

A. This is a demonstration only. The Industry Partner is to provide deployment plans to include availability of their infill radar, time needed to deploy a radar to a selected site, set-up time at the site and optimize, any power or telecom needs at the site, and other on-site needs to demonstrate performance of their radar.

B. The Government is working with the civil air patrol (CAP) presently to coordinate flights.

C. Test targets include targets of opportunity and CAP flights, which may be the size of Cessna aircraft.

Does the 12 month PoP include the time for the Industry Partner to manufacture the radar, or is the 12month PoP the estimated timeframe for the GOVT to conduct all evaluations after being notified the radar is available?

The Government is only seeking off-the-shelf radars. The Government will not pay for radar development or design. The 12-month period of performance is from date of agreement award.

A. In the GFE section, There is mention of a power source. What about a platform or tower?

B. If so may we get height and dimensions of the platform.

C. Will the Industry Partner be responsible to get power from ground to top of the tower?

A. The Government does intend to provide power for the radar at Travis Air Force Base, but an Option ALIN is included for pricing for the Industry Partner to provide power. The Government will not provide a platform or tower.

B. Not Applicable.

C. Yes, the Industry Partner is responsible to get power from ground to the top of their radar tower.

Infill Radar Q&A Page 2

Item Question AFLCMC/HBA response

A. Are there other emitters in the immediate area, B. if so what frequency and strength?

C. Is there a specific emitting frequency the GOVT will not consider for this infill radar? (IE No L-Band, C-Band etc.. or specific frequencies within a band)

A. Yes.

B. There is an ASR-11 nearby on S-band, with a peak effective power of 25 kW, and average power of 2.1 kW (from an FAA website). There is an MSSR co-located with the ASR-11.

C. The Government does not want L-band.

Reference a.

Section 2, Para 2.5

(Q) Is the government’s maximum budget of $2,470,000 for each contract if more than one is awarded or for all contracts awarded?

Government total budget for this effort is as stated, whether or not we award one or multiple agreements.

Reference b.

Section 6.1

(Q) Is remote connectivity/operation available (if internet provided by USAF) and/or allowed (if internet connection provided by the contractor, e.g., 4G LTE/5G) or is the tuning activity limited solely to on-site personnel?

The USAF will not provide Internet connectivity.

The Government will allow off-site tuning via the Internet. The chosen contractor would be responsible for Internet connectivity.

Section 6.4.4

(1) As a phased array radar scans off boresight (i.e., the center beam of the antenna), should this requirement be interpreted as "Data latency from the time at which targets are illuminated by the radar beam to (1) the time of target message (time, positional information of targets) generation (i.e., time of track generation) and (2) delivery for data recording (i.e., data output from the radar system).

Data latency is from the time the radar illuminates a target to the time the target message is sent for delivery such as output of the radar system.

Section 6.2.2

(Q) Please clarify the meaning of "clear (outside the WRA)". If intended to mean surveillance of a non-WRA area using a phased array, please confirm

(1) if the contractor is permitted to re-site the system and update tuning for the non-WRA area,

(2) conduct additional flight testing operations specific to the non-WRA area (reference 6.3.6), and

(3) if the requested 45 days of data is inclusive of both the WRA and non-WRA area or if there is separate data collection time allowed for the non-WRA area.

(Q) Clear means outside of the wind resource area (WRA).

(1) The contractor will be permitted to re-site the system and update tuning for the clear area (outside the WRA) with government approval of new site.

(2) The contractor will conduct flight testing outside the WRA area. This is to allow for data to be collected in both areas to determine performance of their radar.

(3) The Government is open to discussing separate data collection times for the WRA and non-WRA areas. However, the 45 days include data collection in both the WRA and non-WRA.

Subject para 1.5.7

(Q) For purposes of planning, please provide the anticipated award date.

(Q) Please provide estimated readiness date of the site for contractor to begin installation.

1. It is anticipated that award data will be not later than 15 September 2025.

2. Site readiness has not been confirmed yet. It is anticipated that the site should be ready for contractor to use no later than 45 days after agreement award.

Infill Radar Q&A