Posted: Sept. 17, 2025, 9:04 a.m. EDT
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)
Title: COBRA DANE Modernization
Issuing Organization: US Space Force, Space Systems Command, System Delta 85, Battlespace Awareness Division, LEO/MEO Sensing, Peterson Space Force Base, CO (SSC/SYD 85/BAL).
NOTICE ID: FA872326RB001
This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does NOT constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation in the future. This RFI does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service. The government is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents 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. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if any is issued. It is the responsibility of the vendor who is interested in any potential future solicitation(s) to monitor all sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement.
Interested parties responding to this RFI should ensure its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine vendor qualifications. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information or provide feedback.
The Government reserves the right to use results of communications with industry for any purpose consistent with, and not otherwise prohibited, in FAR Part 10.
1.0 PURPOSE
The LEO/MEO Sensing Program Office is requesting information on capabilities and methods to modernize portions of the COBRA DANE Ground Based Radar located at Eareckson Air Station (EAS), Shemya Island, Alaska.
2.0 BACKGROUND
The AN/FPS-108 COBRA DANE is a ground-based, L-band (1175-1375 MHz), large phased-array radar located on the Northwest corner of EAS, AK. Now 49 years after its fielding in 1976, COBRA DANE remains one of the most powerful, sensitive, and accurate Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) radars and complements the Long-Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) at Clear Space Force Station, AK. The persistent, powerful L-Band radar provides unique Space Domain Awareness (SDA) capabilities for tracking small, closely spaced objects in Low and Medium Earth Orbits (LEO and MEO, respectively).
Currently, COBRA DANE supports two co-equal mission areas, Missile Defense (MD) and SDA. COBRA DANE supports US Space Command's (USSPACECOM's) MD mission by providing midcourse coverage for the Missile Defense System. COBRA DANE detects Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) and Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) , classifies Reentry Vehicles (RVs) and other missile objects, provides real-time information to the GMD Fire Control (GFC), and provides tracking of threat ballistic missiles with sufficient accuracy to commit the launch of interceptors and to update the target tracks to the interceptor while the interceptor is in flight.
At the COBRA DANE system boundary, the radar connects to two Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) terminals to support the SDA mission command-and-control (C2) circuits. SDA C2 will soon transition to Starshield thanks to the SDAnet program office. The radar interfaces with MD mission C2 circuits through a dedicated communications server rack installed in 2001. COBRA DANE receives prime power and potable water from EAS utilities and distribution systems. Any further modernization or upgrades must interoperate with these interfaces because they are outside of LEO/MEO Sensing responsibility.
Over the last 7+ years, the LEO/MEO Sensing Program Office and industry partners completed or will imminently complete numerous projects to modernize the high-power RF, data processing, timing distribution, and thermal management subsystems:
- Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) redesign (Stellant Part # L4218)
- Radio Frequency (RF) Amplifier (TWT enclosure) replacement
- RF Level Sensor replacement
- Transmitter Group (TWT power supply) replacement
- Transmitter Control Console replacement
- Mission Computer replacement and software rehost
- Time Standard Unit replacement
- Time Delay Unit replacement
- Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling (HVAC) upgrades
- Facilities management system modernization
EAS is managed by the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) with administration by Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Anchorage, AK. COBRA DANE facilities and real property maintenance is performed under a Base Operations Support contract with Artic Slope Regional Corporation. Routine transportation is limited with a Gulfstream IV passenger flight 2-3 times per week, a L100 cargo flight every two weeks, and 1 cargo barge per year. Additional flights and barges can be arranged with JBER or subcontracted directly with approved vendors. Beyond space available military lodging and food services, no other services are provided at EAS.
3.0 REQUESTED INFORMATION
Solutions must leverage Commercial-Off-The-Shelf components, standardized or common industry interfaces, and modular and open architectures to lower sustainment costs. Solutions, once implemented, shall not degrade COBRA DANE's existing SDA and MD capabilities. Improvements or growth margin to improve those capabilities is highly desired. Solutions and capabilities that minimize disruption to COBRA DANE mission operations during development, installation, integration, and test are highly desired. The ability to rapidly form a team, develop solutions, and rapidly field capabilities is highly desired.
Request that experienced and capable companies provide responses to one or more of the following objectives:
3.1 Objective 1: Modernize the remaining backend' of the COBRA DANE Radar
- Modernize, replace, and ensure resilience of 1970s-era beam steering/beam forming functions and 1990s-era signal processor, radar controller, and receiver/exciter
- Integrate with the Mission Computer and Time Standard Unit replacements; modernize user interfaces and displays to improve operator awareness and efficiency
- Digitize capabilities to optimally and flexibly employ radar resources and rapidly deploy new capabilities to meet evolving SDA and MD mission requirements.
- Increase sustainability through industry standard and common Ground Based Radar solutions
- Replace/refactor legacy Ada-coded mission software to enable rapid deployment of new capabilities and fixes using modern coding practices and languages
- Develop a computing environment that is resilient and facilitates mission operations, testing, training, and simulation simultaneously with the least downtime
- Develop a computing environment and supporting network infrastructure that is cyber-hardened and conforms to zero trust principles
- Develop robust, secure (minimum SECRET with potential for TOP SECRET), and collaborative software development/integration environments that facilitate rapid prototyping, experimentation, and validation of new capabilities for the US Space Force and the Missile Defense Agency.
3.2 Objective 2: Add power conditioning and resiliency to mission systems
- Provide power conditioning and uninterruptable, continuous full-power backup to COBRA DANE separate from the existing EAS power plant to protect mission systems and enable continuous operation regardless of power plant status
3.3 Objective 3A: Qualify second vendor' designs for COBRA DANE TWT (L-Band)
- Qualify design for COBRA DANE TWT (L-Band) interoperable with current transmitter groups and Stellant Part # L4218 TWT to increase production and quality
OR
3.3 Objective 3B: Convert COBRA DANE to Solid State Transmit/Receive Modules
- Modify the existing radar front end' and install solid state modules OR construct a stand-alone array face in conjunction with the backend' modernization.
4.0 ADDITIONAL REQUESTED ADDITIONAL
In addition to addressing the objectives and questions outlined in Sections above, please provide information on the following:
4.1 Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM). Provide a ROM for this effort, clearly delineating costs associated with each Objective (3.1 - 3.3).
4.2 Experience with COBRA DANE. Please detail any experience your firm has with Ground Based Radars, COBRA DANE, L-Band TWTs, related technologies, and/or stakeholders.
4.3 Leveraging Existing Infrastructure. If applicable, describe how your firm could leverage existing infrastructure to reduce costs and accelerate implementation.
4.4 Rapid Development/Deployment. Describe any ability(ies) to provide rapid development and deployment of solutions.
4.5 Maturity. Provide a description of the technical and manufacturing readiness of your approaches and whether they, in part or whole, are in production for or fielded in current systems.
4.6 Frequency band. Describe the feasibility and implications (i.e. capability, cost, supply chain, sustainment, downtime) of converting COBRA DANE to a different band (i.e. S-band or other) while achieving Objective 3B.
4.7 Contract Strategies. Describe the desired contracting strategy and fee structure for the scope of this effort. Include any teaming applications or expected relationships.
5.0 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
DEADLINE. Responses are due no later than Tuesday, 30 September 2025, 2:00pm (EST).
SUBMIT TO. Responses shall be submitted via e-mail to tracy.anderson.4@spaceforce.mil. Submissions containing CUI may be sent via DoD SAFE. Requests for DoD SAFE Drop-offs should be requested from tracy.anderson.4@spaceforce.mil no later than Monday, 29 September 2025, 7:00pm (MST).
SUBJECT LINE. FA872326RB001 CD RFI Response
FORMAT. Responses shall not exceed 10-pages. For responses addressing more than one objective, responses shall be limited to a total of 20 pages. This page count does not include cover/title page, table of contents, and/or acronym definition page.
6.0 QUESTIONS
Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted no later than 12 September 2025, 7:00pm (EST), in writing, via e-mail to tracy.anderson.4@spaceforce.mil.
Questions and answers will be posted as an attachment to this RFI. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. Submitting inquirier or other identifying information denoting origin of question will be redacted.
The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 12 September 2025, 7:00pm (EST) will be answered.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (Added 17 Sep 2025)
RFI Attachment 1 (Industry Questions and Government Responses) has been published.
The intent of the COBRA DANE MODERNIAZATION RFI is to provide the largest boundary for mission system replacement with fewest internal interfaces/constraints to provide the vendor maximum flexibility within the boundary for efficient and effective solutions. A minimum, threshold requirement will be to modernize the backend of the radar with the option to reuse solutions from the Mission Computer Replacement program.
The Government desires use of the common UEWR digital receiver unless it significantly conflicts with a proposed solution. This minimum requirement would require interfacing with upgraded transmitter group hardware including redesigned traveling wave tubes. In addition to the interface constraints, traveling wave tubes have additional technology and production limitations. Therefore, another source of production is needed to overcome production constraints if this solution is chosen. Ideally, the replacement program would overcome traveling wave tube limitations by providing an integrated, sustainable solid-state array (S-band) with the backend replacement.
The RFI responses will inform the Government: 1) if solid-state array solutions can be fielded with limited impact to mission operations and 2) if proven solid state array solutions are within the budget. High confidence with both factors will be required to include a solid-state array replacement with program requirements. As the COBRA DANE radar is entirely dependent on the Shemya Island Powerplant (JP-8), there is a need for power backup and conditioning to avoid damage to new solutions and provide continuous power during powerplant outages.
The Government is looking for industry partners that can rapidly field proven solutions while providing effective management and cost controls. Market intelligence and RFI submissions will be utilized in determining the acquisition strategy. Should a solicitation be released, the Government will provide a Bidder's Library.
