Posted: April 26, 2022, 12:08 p.m. EDT
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION #3
FOR
JOINT NAVIGATIONAL WARFARE CENTER (JNWC)
Original Date: 14 APRIL 2022
Revision #1: to include Q&A from 18-20 April 2022 Industry Day.
Procurement Office: Space Acquisition Management Delta (SAM-D)
This Request for Information shall act as a Research and Development Sources Sought per FAR 5.205(a) and is issued in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 35 Research and Development, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This will be the only announcement; responses are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.
The name of the individuals to contact for information regarding this notice:
Ms. Marie Kuhn: Marie.Kuhn@spaceforce.mil
Ms. Rebecca Graham: Rebecca.Graham.5@spaceforce.mi
I. Joint Navigation Warfare Center Specifics
A. JNWC Background:
JNWC is the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) center of excellence for Navigation Warfare (NAVWAR). The mission of the JNWC is to provide NAVWAR support to the warfighter through high level, state of the art, quick-turn solutions using non-military standard equipment. Additionally, JNWC enables and conduct assessments of mission-level operations in theater that use positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) information and Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) in threat-representative environments; conduct NAVWAR engineering, testing and analysis at mission, system and platform level; formulate NAVWAR policy and requirements; and collect and retain NAVWAR information. The mission of the JNWC is to enable PNT superiority for the U.S. DoD, interagency partners, and the coalition.
The JNWC executes three lines of effort to accomplish its mission. The first line is to create NAVWAR knowledge for PNT superiority, operationalize PNT superiority and institutionalize PNT superiority. The second is to create NAVWAR knowledge for PNT superiority by conducting: operational field research, testing and assessments; participation in Command Post and exercises conducted by other commands; participating in field events or observing field events conducted by other commences; performing engineering studies and analysis; analyzing data provided by other personnel; assessing and disseminating intelligence; maintaining an online Armory of NAVWAR information and tools at various levels of classification and maintaining a central repository of DoD NAVWAR data; conducting test and evaluation and development for Global Positioning System (GPS)/NAVWAR capabilities in the bench, lab and field testing environments; developing and enhancing NAVWAR capabilities as emerging threats present; researching existing abilities to enhance state of the art NAVWAR technologies; NAVWAR includes cyber warfare and electronic warfare. The third effort is to operationalize PNT superiority consisting of providing NAVWAR planning and theater operations subject to expertise provided to Combatant Commanders (CCMD), Services, interagency and coalition partners (as needed) to achieve PNT superiority.
On behalf of U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM), the JNWC provides direct NAVWAR support to the warfighter; conducts field assessments of warfighter systems to exploit the potential of scientific discoveries or improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices, or techniques using equipment and operations; engineers standards for NAVWAR analytical tools and state of the art NAVWAR methods; and integrates NAVWAR information, expertise, and analysis through design engineering, prototyping, and engineering testing across the assigned customer base. The JNWC Director reports to the Commander, Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC), and serves as the Commander's principal advisor and subject matter expert on NAVWAR.
The JNWC conducts basic and applied research in GPS PNT under various simulated conditions in order to assess the impact of these conditions on GPS PNT and develop TTPs to mitigate impacts of the adversary and to advance scientific and technical knowledge. Using the results of applied research, basic research and exploratory development further assess the feasibility and practicality of proposed solutions to the identified vulnerabilities. Some management and support effort is required to support the basic research and the research and exploratory development efforts of the JNWC.
B. JNWC Requirements:
Institutionalizing positioning, navigation and timing superiority consists of researching, testing and developing DoD-wide activities to fully integrate NAVWAR into military policy, doctrine and operations and the future force structure in order to achieve PNT superiority. The JNWC is a joint DoD organization within USSPACECOM and as such, operates using established joint DoD processes. Contractors are needed to support JNWC in their performance of all three of the aforementioned lines of effort and to provide enhanced mission testing and development services to the organization. The JNWC customer base includes joint and coalition operators and warfighters, deliberate and crisis action planners, mission planners, tactics developers, systems developers, policy makers, trainers, testers, model/simulation users and developers, leadership personnel and interagency partners responsible for U.S. national Critical Infrastructure/Key Resources (CI/KR).
The primary goal of the JNWC contract is to obtain technical improvements; conduct engineering design and testing; exploit scientific discoveries; and provide professional support to the JNWC mission. In addition to the Applied Research and Systematic Development requirements conducted by the contractor, the JNWC also requires minimum levels of integrated professional service support for administrative, security, engineering, operations research and analysis, modeling and simulation, warfighter operations, training, exercises, war-games, intelligence analysis, data management, information technology, logistics, and equipment and facilities management to enhance the research mission of the JNWC.
Primary JNWC location: Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
Required Technical Capabilities:
1. Knowledge of NAVWAR vulnerabilities, capabilities and system operations
The Contractor will work directly with the Warfighters at multiple US and Allied commands and organizations, such as: US Department of Defense (US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, US Space Force, and US Marine Corps, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Ground Intelligence Center, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Office of Naval Intelligence, all Combatant Commands, etc.), other US Government Agencies and Organizations (Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, National Reconnaissance Office, etc.), and Allied Nations.
The Contractor will be required to provide operationally-relevant orientation, training, analysis of current events, response to questions, requests for information, academics, event pre-planning, full-cycle exercise planning, review and updating of Operational Plans, review and updating of Contingency Plans, review and updating of Base Plans, writing of Functional Staff Estimates and Plan-specific Annexes, Service-specific doctrine and tactics development and documentation, and other support as required.
The Contractor will be required to be deployable worldwide for academics, training, and exercise support, or for real-world support for contingency operations, on short-notice for up to two months from date of arrival at the assigned location. The Contractor will be required to ensure that all Contractor personnel have, and maintain, the necessary items to support international travel (passports, visas, work permits, insurance, payment methods, etc.).
The Contractor will be required to provide customized, tailored, and operationally-relevant academic, orientation, fundamentals, and event-specific to all levels of paygrades, to military, civilian, and contractor personnel, associated with multiple US, Allied, and other International commands and organizations both domestically and internationally in both academic, classroom, training, and operational environments.
The Contractor will be required to provide operationally-relevant support for all stages of the Joint Exercise Life Cycle process, for US, Allied, and International training and exercise events, to include, but not limited to, Senior Leader Seminars, Concept Development Conferences, Initial Planning Conferences, Mid-Planning Conferences, Master Scenario Event Development Conferences, Final Planning Conferences, Master Scenario Event Synchronization Conferences, Site-Surveys to domestic and international locations, scenario event inject development, scenario event inject coordination and synchronization, and other required and necessary event planning processes.
The Contractor will be required to provide on-demand training and operational, and operationally-relevant, reachback support to enable 24/7 support to multiple concurrent US, Allied, and International partner training exercises and events and real-world operations through participation in audio and video conferences, product development and updating, product dissemination, and other required support for up to one month from the date of commencing the dedicated reachback support.
The Contractor will be required to receive, analyze, research, formulate responses, and review multiple concurrent Tasks, Requests for Information, Space Support Requests, and other requests from US and Allied commands, personnel and organizations.
The Contractor will be required to develop, tailor, customize, and ensure proper classification and releasability of training, briefing, orientation, and operationally-relevant material to support multiple concurrent US and Allied commands, personnel, and organizations.
The Contractor will be required to be knowledgeable of multiple US, Allied, and other International air, ground, maritime, and other systems, tactics, policies, and procedures, and be able to describe, document, develop products, and present responses regarding the effects of opposition Navigation Warfare on US, Allied, and other International equipment, personnel, tactics, techniques, procedures, training, and operations, and the multiple methods of mitigations available to ensure the availability of maneuver and operational options to ensure the US, Allies, and International partners are able to maintain and conduct training, exercise and operational movement and processes as and when required.
The Contractor will be required to complete a task-specific qualification process for the different roles within the different areas of the Warfighter Support Division, which includes, but is not limited to, attending on-site in-person academics, performing On-the-Job Training, demonstrating knowledge-level and proficiency through written and/or oral exams which may include conducting academic, operational, or technical briefings to small and medium-sized groups of peers, seniors, and/or other Subject Matter Experts.
2. Expertise in providing NAVWAR training to warfighters and other personnel
The Contractor will often work directly with the Warfighters at multiple US and Allied commands and organizations, such as: US Department of Defense (US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, US Space Force, and US Marine Corps, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Ground Intelligence Center, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Office of Naval Intelligence, all Combatant Commands, etc.), other US Government Agencies and Organizations (Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, National Reconnaissance Office, etc.), and Allied Nations.
The Contractor will be required to provide fully-qualified two-person support 24/7/365, across multiple system classification levels, to the Joint Navigation Warfare Operations Center, through real-time monitoring and analysis of ongoing operations, training events, field events, and/or other operational support requirements.
The Contractor personnel assigned to the Joint Navigation Warfare Operations Center will be required to respond to Requests for Information and Space Support Requests, acknowledge receipt of queries and information, conduct initial research and analysis for queries and requests for information, formulate responses to queries and information requests, relay data and information to appropriate personnel, maintain data and information logs and records, produce daily Situational Reports, attend and participate in audio and video conferences, and perform other standard operations center and watchfloor tasks and requirements.
The Contractor personnel will be required to be familiar with, or be familiar with within the initial qualification timeline, multiple US Department of Defense standardized Intelligence Community software programs, US Department of Defense operational and planning tools (Collaboration-at-Sea, Joint Training Management Information System, Joint Spectrum Interference Report Online, Space Desk, etc.), and specialized Navigation Warfare software programs (Global Navigation Satellite System Interference Analysis Tool, Global Navigation Satellite System Operational Awareness Tool, Jammer-to-Signal Tool, etc.).
3. Expertise in providing NAVWAR engineering, operations research, and modeling/simulation
The Contractor will work directly with customers at multiple testing locations, to include U.S. Major Range and Test Facility Bases such as: White Sands Missile Range, Yuma Testing Grounds, Pacific Test and Training Range, Utah Test and Training Range, Nellis Test and Training Range, Edwards Air Force Base, as well as outside CONUS locations as required.
The Contractor will be required to provide analytic material relevant to testing outcomes to include test methodology, analysis of collected data/events, response to test deviations, requests for information, academics prior to event, event pre-planning, full-cycle event planning, writing of products from Executive Summaries, Quicklooks to in-depth analytic reports.
The Contractor will be required to be knowledgeable of state-of-the-art Radio Frequency (RF) engineering techniques, state-of-the-world NAVWAR technology standards, multiple US, Allied, and other International air, ground, maritime, and other systems, tactics, policies, and procedures, and be able to describe, document, develop products, and present responses regarding the effects of opposition Navigation Warfare on US, Allied, and other International equipment, personnel, tactics, techniques, procedures, training, and operations, and the multiple methods of mitigations available to conduct threat relevant events when required.
II. Acquisition
A. Regulation:
The Government intends to distribute offers from those determined by the JNWC Technical Team to the most technically competent capabilities (IAW FAR 35.007). The responses received resulting from this RFI will be utilized to establish the candidates with the most scientific and technical sources from whom to solicit.
B. Business Size Determination:
A Small Business set aside has not been established. Responses from this notice will be utilized to identify the most scientific and technical sources (IAW FAR 19.502) and a business determination will be established thereafter. IAW FAR 19.502-2(b)(2), this acquisition will be set-aside for Small Business if, as a result of this RFI, the Contractor Officer determines that there will be a reasonable expectation of obtaining from small businesses the best scientific and technological sources consistent with the demands of the proposed acquisition for the best mix of cost, performances, and schedules
NAICS Code541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology
PSC: AC13 National Defense R&D Services; Department of Defense - Military; Experimental Development
Small Business Size Standard: 1,000 employees
Statement regarding the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program, if applicable: N/A
C. Response Requirement:
As a response to this RFI, interested parties shall thoroughly document their unique abilities/solutions/capabilities to the three, aforementioned Required Technical Capabilities (1)Knowledge of NAVWAR vulnerabilities, capabilities and system operations; 2) Expertise in providing NAVWAR training to warfighters and other personnel; and 3) Expertise in providing NAVWAR engineering, operations research, and modeling/simulation).
Do not submit extranious information, pictures, past performance and/or pricing. Be concise and specific while addressing these Required Technical Capabilities. Respondents are advised to clearly and evidently detail all capabilities, do not assume or infer anything about the Government Technical Evaluators. If documentation regarding capabilities is not readily available, Government Technical Evaluators will not search for information.
Responses shall be provided in a Word or PDF document not to exceed 10 pages, 12 point font. If necessary to improve the demonstration of interested parties' capabilities then sparsely worded images, diagrams and/or graphs may be provided and will not be included in the page count. Additionally, a cover sheet may be included and will not be included in the page count.
Please identify contractor /team (Prime. Subs, joint venture team-members, etc.) in the coversheet of RFI #3. No logos or company references in pages 1-10. Utilize generic phrases such as our company/ our team in lieu of direct references to your company's name. All direct references to specific company/team names in pages 1-10 will be redacted for our evaluation. On the cover sheet, SMALL BUSINESSES shall identify the specific percentages of work and applicable paragraphs of RFI response identifying specific capabilities. This is vital in establishing small business technical capabilities which impact any potential small business set aside requirements.
1. Responses are due before Noon Mountain Time on Monday 9 May 2022
2. Responses shall be emailed to the following Contracting Officers:
Marie Kuhn at Marie.Kuhn@spaceforce.mil
Rebecca Graham at Rebecca.Graham.5@spaceforce.mil
D. Attachments:
1. DRAFT Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Work Statement (WS) for informational purposes only, no direct references to this WS is required in the aforementioned submission.
2. DRAFT Task Order 1 Performance Work Statement (PWS) for informational purposes only, no direct references to this PWS is required in the aforementioned submission.
3. RFI No_3 attachment 3 Industry Day QA v03
4. RFI No_3 attachment 4 Industry Day Participants
E. Additional Information:
Be advised that all interested parties must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) Database in order to receive an award. If you are not registered you may make a request through the SAM website at http://www.sam.gov.
Be advised that all interested small businesses must be registered as a small business in the Small Business Administration (SBA) Dynamic Business Search Database under the proper NAICS Code in order to receive an award. If you are not registered, you may self-certify through the SBA website at http://dsbs.sba.gov/dsbs/search/dsp_dsbs.cfm.
