SOURCES SOUGHT
16 -- Acoustic Hostile Fire Indicator (A-HFI)
- Notice Date
- 10/20/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- US Army, Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions and Lethality (JM&L) Contracting Center, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey 07806-5000
- ZIP Code
- 07806-5000
- Solicitation Number
- W15QKN-10-X-0514
- Response Due
- 11/19/2010
- Archive Date
- 12/19/2010
- Point of Contact
- Sean McAvoy, Contract Specialist, (973)724-8463
- E-Mail Address
-
Sean McAvoy
(sean.mcavoy1@us.army.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION The U.S. Army, Contracting Command, JM&L Contracting Center is soliciting information from industry concerning the availability and development status of an acoustic technology capable of providing Hostile Fire Indication (HFI) for use on rotary wing aircraft. Hostile fire is defined as small caliber (assault rifle) ammunition up through and including large caliber anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fires, unguided rockets, and rocket propelled grenades (RPG). The technology is intended to provide real time hostile fire detection, identification, and angle of arrival information. By providing threat location, HFI will allow the aircrew to perform evasive and counter-fire actions significantly increasing the probability of survival. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to determine the technical, manufacturing, and integration maturity of the technology required to meet the need for an Acoustic Hostile Fire Indicator (A-HFI) system. Determine the effort required to mature current technology to a Technical Readiness Level (TRL) of 8, Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) of 8, and platform based Integration Readiness Level (IRL) of 8. The intent is to use this data to aid in preparing a Market Analysis, defining an acquisition strategy, and assessing risks involved in implementing an A-HFI capability on rotary wing aircraft. Rotary wing aircraft lack an A-HFI system for operating within the current threat environment. Currently, aircrews are the sole source of hostile fire identification. The inability to accurately and timely identify enemy weapon system engagements decreases the overall survivability of the aircraft, the ability to redirect fire against enemy targets, and overall mission success. Therefore, there is a need for an A-HFI that detects, identifies, and locates threat systems in real time.The fundamental purpose of the A-HFI is to notify aircrews that they are being engaged by threat weapon systems. The A-HFI will detect, identify, and alert on hostile fire threats, thereby providing enhanced Situational Awareness (SA) to the air crew. Once hostile fire is detected and declared, the A-HFI will send threat messages to the onboard Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE) suite controller. The A-HFI will assist in geolocation and determining range to the shooter. The onboard ASE suite controller will provide warning to the aircrew through bearing, elevation, and range to the enemy weapon system. The A-HFI will have an open system architecture and sufficient growth potential to include emerging threats. The A-HFI technology will be designed for modularity, reprogramability, reliability, and maintainability. The required performance characteristics of the A-HFI are as follows: The system shall detect small caliber ammunition up through and including large caliber anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fires. Hostile fire also includes unguided rockets such as rocket propelled grenades (RPG) and similar type projectiles. The system shall provide detection in a wide variety of high noise environments and operate at platform speeds including cruising, hovering, and tactical flights without performance degradation. The system shall provide on-the-move capability and continuous updates of the potential threat location. The system shall function in all terrains, adverse weather and all environmental conditions in which the aircraft is operated during night and day operations. Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper. Written responses to the RFI shall be no greater than 20 pages in length, describing the concept, capabilities, and limitations. Submission of proprietary and other sensitive information shall be clearly marked and identified with disposition instructions. The white paper must be single-sided with double-spaced text, page size no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, font size no smaller than 12 point, one-inch margins on left, right, and bottom sides, 1.25 inch top margins on all pages. Submitted material will not be returned. Multiple RFI responses may be submitted for different technology solutions to the A-HFI concept. Responses may be up to the classification level of unclassified. The responses shall include but not be limited to a summary of the companys experience with A-HFI technology solutions and capabilities in research and development, testing, and manufacturing, description of the candidate A-HFI technological solution that can satisfy the A-HFI concept and how it may be integrated into rotary wing aircraft. A description of the developmental effort required to produce an A-HFI prototype; top-level schedule to develop, build, or modify test articles and test a solution the effort required to mature the hardware and software technology to a TRL of 8, an MRL of 8, and an IRL of 8, and the amount of time required to mature the technology. Identify any Government Furnished Material or information required for the A-HFI development. Response should identify their current business structures: company name and address to include contact persons name, telephone numbers (voice and fax) and E-mail address. Test data available to support both hardware and software claims of TRL, MRL and IRL levels is required. Responses to this RFI shall be submitted within 30 calendar days from the date of this publication to: 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 U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Army 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 and all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested partys expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement. Contracting Office Address:US Army, Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions and Lethality (JM&L)Contracting Center, Att: Patricia Kleiman Building 322Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey 07806-5000 Email: patricia.a.kleiman@us.army.milTelephone: 973-724-9591
- Web Link
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FBO.gov Permalink
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- Record
- SN02314099-W 20101022/101020234148-a13437a06df68e9433db147891d9bd95 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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