Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Webster Outlying Field, Special Communications Mission Solutions Division Ku-Band Ground Station

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)/SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE:

Summary: Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Webster Outlying Field, Special Communications Mission Solutions Division has a requirement for non-developmental or Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) Ku-band Ground Station satellite communications systems.

Salient Characteristics/Specifications:

The Ku-band Ground Station satellite communications systems will need to support dual feeds of receive 10.7-12.75 Gigahertz (GHz) and transmit 13.75-14.8 GHz.  The system should be a turnkey, fully integrated ground station with an equipment enclosure, 4.9m antenna, Beacon receiver, Uplink Power Controller, 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 minutes of operation, and fire-protection equipment.  Backup electrical power shall be provided to the ground station from an exterior 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 include factory acceptance testing, installation, and final system acceptance testing to be performed onsite for final delivery in undisclosed location.

Requested Information from Interested Companies:

Section 1 of your response shall provide administrative information as follows:

• Company name, cage code, mailing address, phone number, and name/e-mail of designated company 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, non-traditional defense contractor).

Section 2 of your response shall provide capability information as follows:

• Interested parties shall respond with existing capabilities or products that meet all the Salient Characteristics/Specifications. Reponses that includes alternative solutions are encouraged.

• Respondents shall include product specifications with submission.
• If you are an interested vendor, please identify the following information:
  • Whether your capability is considered commercial, modified-commercial or non-commercial?
  • Whether you are the original equipment manufacturer, authorized manufacturer or authorized distributor of the capability.
    • If the original equipment manufacturer is advised whether you have authorized manufacturers and/or authorized distributors of the capability
    • If you are an authorized manufacturer and/or authorized distributor of the capability, identify who original equipment manufacturer along with provide proof that you are an authorized manufacturer and/or authorized distributor from the original equipment manufacturer.
• Respondents should provide a detailed description of the following characteristics of their solution in their submission:
  • Lead Time
  • List of Certifications and Standards
  • Technical specification documents for all proposed equipment
  • Type of Monitoring and Control System
  • Antenna Features
    • Reception and transmission for Ku-band configurations
    • 1:1 Redundant Lower Noise Block Down Converter (60 deg LNB 11.7-12.2GHz)
    • 2 Port Tx/Rx LP Feed; 10.7-12.75 and 13.75-14.8 GHz
    • Operational Temperature range -40 deg to 52 deg C (-40 deg to 125 deg F)
    • Dimensions (Diameter x depth x height)
    • Total Power Capacity
    • Lightning Rod and grounding Kit
    • Wind and Environmental resistance factors
    • Cross Axis and Polarization Waveguide capabilities
  • 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
    • Insulation type
    • Build material and color finish
    • Power distribution and UPS
    • Antenna de-icing system
  • Operational temperature range for the Ku-band ground station system
  • Time required to design, install and commission the system
  • Quantity and location of similar Ku-band systems delivered to date
  • Basic and extended warranty information for all proposed equipment

Government Disclaimer

THIS IS A RFI/SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. The Government is seeking industry input/sources sought to assist in identifying capabilities that fully meet the requirements described above. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties responding to this RFI/Sources Sought notice. This RFI/Sources Sought notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation.  In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this request or otherwise pay for the information solicited. No proprietary information shall be submitted in response to this RFI/Sources Sought notice.  Should an interested vendor require submitting proprietary information in order to adequately respond to the RFI/Sources Sought notice, please reach out to the Government individual identified in this posting, before submission and provide any specific handling instructions.  The Government will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information submitted. Responses to this RFI/Sources Sought notice may not be returned. Respondents will not be notified of the result of reviewing information submitted.

Failure to respond to this RFI/Sources Sought notice does not preclude participation in any future associated solicitation that may be issued resulting from this RFI/Sources Sought notice.

How to Respond

Interested parties shall respond within 14 business days after release of this RFI/Sources Sought notice. Please submit your response to this RFI/Sources Sought notice, not to exceed 10 pages, via e-mail to truman.b.harris3.civ@us.navy.mil