Ku-Band Ground Station Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Special Communications Mission Solutions (SCMS) Division

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

PURSUANT TO FAR 15.201(e) - THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY.  This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future.  This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever.  Further, the government is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.  Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense.  Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations.  Failure to respond to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future associated RFP that may be issued.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE/TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Special Communications Mission Solutions (SCMS) Division is soliciting information and comments from industry on its ability to provide a non-developmental or Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Ku-band Ground Station satellite communications system which can support dual feeds of 10.7-12.75 Gigahertz (GHz) and 13.75-14.8 GHz.  The system should be a turn-key, fully integrated ground station with a concrete shelter, 4.9m antenna, antenna controls, and all Radio Frequency equipment, including transceivers, waveguides, high power amplifier, RF switches, and L-band Combiners.  The system must be able to monitor and control discrete hardware interfaces locally and remotely.  The system needs to provide its own heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) for operation in a desert environment, electrical power distribution, an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) sufficient for ten (10) minutes of operation, and fire-protection equipment.  The electrical power shall be provided to the ground station from an existing generator.  The system shall include engineering design, drawings for system installation, and maintenance, as well as an overall technical system technical manual.

The Ku-band Ground Station system requires support services to perform a factory acceptance test, training for up to eight (8) students, and system installation and commissioning services in undisclosed location.

RESPONSES

Requested Information

Section 1 of the response shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following as a minimum:

• Organization name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and name and e-mail of designated point of contact.
• Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUB Zone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business).
• Country of origin for main component(s)

Section 2 of the response shall provide technical information, and shall include the following as a minimum:

• Interested parties shall respond with existing capabilities or products that meet all or a subset of the aforementioned attributes.  Reponses that include information detailing potential tradeoffs or alternative solutions is encouraged.
• Respondents should provide a detailed description of the following characteristics of their solution in their submission:

1. 1. Lead Time
   2. List of Certifications and Standards
   3. Technical specification documents for all proposed equipment
   4. Type of Monitoring and Control System
   5. Enclosure Features
      • Exterior and interior dimensions (height x width x depth)
      • Weight in lbs.
      • Safety Protection (e.g., overvoltage, overcurrent, etc.)
      • Interior rack space available for equipment
      • HVAC system and air filtration
      • Fire protection
      • Power distribution and UPS
      • Antenna de-icing system
   6. Operational temperature range for the Ku-band ground station system
   7. Time required to install and omission the system
   8. Duration of the class for both operator and maintenance training
   9. Quantity and location of similar Ku-band systems delivered to date
   10. Basic and extended warranty information for all proposed equipment

• If applicable and able, respondents shall include a list of Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Justice (DoJ) or Department of Homeland Security (DoHS) programs of record that currently employ their solution.  It would be helpful if a sponsor POC for each program, with email address and phone number could be identified.
• The Government is interested in receiving vendors’ price lists for items they believe meet the need in this RFI.  Supplying price data does not imply a contractual obligation and must be provided and marked as PRICE DATA.
• Respondents should include a list of authorized distributors.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In response to this RFI, respondents shall submit written responses, not-to-exceed ten (10) pages in length via electronic mail.  Product specification, sketches, or listings of authorized distributors will not count toward the page limitation.  The Government is interested in identification of long lead items(s), sub-systems(s), or systems(s). 

The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this request or to otherwise pay for the information solicited.  Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations.  All information received in response to the RFI that is marked PROPRIETARY will be handled accordingly.  The Government will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified.  Responses to this RFI may not be returned.  Respondents may not be notified of the result of the review. 

Failure to respond to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future associated RFP that may be issued.  Information provided in no way binds the government to solicit or award a contract.  If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the System for Award Management (SAM) website: www.SAM.gov.  It is the potential vendor’s responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any follow-on information.

HOW TO RESPOND

Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a PDF Document Format.  Responses shall be limited to 10 pages and submitted via e-mail only to truman.b.harris3.civ@us.navy.mil.  Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and must be clearly marked.  Responses are due no later than 03 June 2025, 5:00 P.M. EST.

Responses to this RFI may not be returned.  Respondents may not be notified of the result of the review.  If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the SAM website: www.SAM.gov.  It is the potential vendor’s responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any follow-on information.