A -- DYNAMIC TACTICAL TARGETING

Notice Date

September 7, 2001

Contracting Office

Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax D rive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714

ZIP Code

22203-1714

Solicitation Number

BAA01-43

Response Due

October 29, 2001

Point of Contact

Otto Kessler, Program Manager, DARPA Tactical Technology Office (TTO), Phone none, Fax 703-696-2204, Email okessler @darpa.mil -- Algeria Tate, Contracting Officer, DARPA Contracts Management Office (CMO), Phone None, Fax (703) 696-2208, Ema il None

Description

Technical POC: Otto Kessler, Program Manager, DARPA Tactical Technology Office (TTO), 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arling ton, Virginia 22203-1714, Facsimile: (703) 696-2204, Electronic Mail: okessler@darpa.mil (E-mail contact is preferred). C ontractual POC: DARPA Contracts Management Office (CMO), ATTN: Ms. Algeria Tate, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22 203-1714. DARPA is soliciting proposals (technical and cost) from research teams for research and new technology related to the development of the Dynamic Tactical Targeting program. The current operational targeting process is unable to recogniz e the presence of time critical targets (TCTs) amidst a background of changing military and/or civilian activity. "Stovepip ed" management, processing, and delivery of intelligence/targeting information makes time critical targeting very difficult in a combat environment. The current process is not geared to find, identify and prosecute TCT's when the available time wi ndow is very short. Latencies in sensor tasking and processing results in missed opportunities to maintain tracks, classify targets and execute targeting strategies. Likewise, ad hoc collection with otherwise robust sensing systems is unable to s atisfy information needs with sufficient confidence to meet tactical targeting requirements. The result, is the failure to provide critical data to decision makers in time to prosecute TCT's. The goal of the Dynamic Tactical Targeting (DTT) progr am is to develop a dynamic that deals with the front-end stages of targeting -- detect, locate, identify, track in appropriat e environmental contexts (e.g. information that enables recognition / assessment / sorting of military targets). The proces s should incorporate new sensor control paradigms, and fusion technologies that will enable tactically responsive courses of action to be managed by warfighters. The DTT program will design, build, and demonstrate a system that will: a.) Leverage existing National/Theater intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) processes for timely extraction of critical da ta, b.) Fuse in-situ sensor data with ISR data from all sources to enable multi-scale estimation of target location, identit y and activity, c.) Dynamically task in-situ sensor systems to fill ISR coverage gaps and provide relevant sensor observatio n in areas of tactical interest, and d.) Process, and manage the large volume of data produced by all these sensors in time to provide needed information to support the targeting process. In-situ sensors to be employed may include unmanned air veh icles (UAV) with video or other sensors, unattended ground sensors (UGS) that can include acoustic, seismic, magnetic or oth er sensing, and other organic sources such as HUMINT, MASINT, or those carried on tactical platforms. One of the important products at the end of the DTT program will be a testbed capable of demonstrating real time targeting of mobile TCTs in a fi eld environment. Notionally the system could operate from the Joint Force Service Component Commander (e.g. JFACC, JFLCC, J FMCC) level through to the tactical combat level providing targeting data for weapon systems to prosecute fixed or mobile gr ound objects. DTT will provide enabling technologies and methodology to leverage existing infrastructure; control tacticall y responsive in-situ (organic) sensors with proactive tasking, collection, and extraction of critical data; fuse sensor data to maintain wide area coverage while locating and identifying regions / targets of interest, and with multi-scale focus of attention, maintain track of critical targets for extended periods. The following four technology categories will be addres sed as 'mainstream developments' under this BAA: Information Architecture System Engineering, Automated Precision 4D Multi-s ensor Registration, Fusion of In-situ Data with ISR Data, and Dynamic Sensor Management. Offerors may propose to undertake the full scope of research and development implied by one or more of these categories (mainstream developers), or may propos e focused research on issues within these technology categories which offer the potential for novel enabling capability or s ignificant performance improvement (niche developers). Full technical and cost proposals in response to this BAA shall be s ubmitted to the Technical POC listed above by 29 October 2001, 1000 hours Eastern Standard Time. Upon completion of the sou rce selection process, it is anticipated DARPA will initiate the process to award contracts with a start date about the seco nd quarter of government fiscal year 2002. Exact formats and procedures for the proposal submission are included in the Prop oser's Information Package (PIP). On 2 October 2001, from 0900 to approximately 1600, an unclassified informational briefin g to industry covering this BAA will be held at a location yet TBD in Northern Virginia. Please go to the following web pag e for location information, agenda and to register for the briefing: http://www.dsic-web.net/meetings/dtt_bidders2001/index. html. Pre-registration is required for industry briefing attendance. A Proposers Information Package (PIP) has been prepar ed for this BAA. The PIP provides important information on the following subject areas: program technical rationale and pro gram goals for each subject area, program schedule and estimated costs for each subject area, proposal preparation and submi ssion, award criteria, the submission of questions via electronic mail, and other important information. Technical and cont ractual questions should be directed to BAA 01-43@darpa.mil and will be answered through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ ) file. Offerors should request or obtain a PIP in one of the following ways (electronic retrieval is encouraged): (a) Docu ments will be available at the DARPA World Wide Web Site: http://www.darpa.mil/baa/, in the Tactical Technology Office sect ion, one working day after the CBD publication; (b) Electronic mail: The electronic mail auto-responder is case sensitive. Use lower case only. Send an electronic mail to baa-info@DARPA.mil with no subject. Within the BODY of the message, enter: info BAA 01-43 (carriage return). Detailed instructions on obtaining the PIP and other files related to BAA 01-43 will be a utomatically mailed back to you. For mainstream developers, the anticipated period of performance in all areas is estimated at 12 months with two one-year options, starting on or about the 2nd quarter of government fiscal year 2002. Multiple awar ds are anticipated as a result of this BAA. The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an evaluation o f an offeror's response (both technical and cost aspects) to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to this announcement. A down selection to single performers in each category will be made 12 months after award, after review of p erformance and progress including results of analyses and laboratory test / demonstrations as appropriate. For niche develo pers the anticipated period of performance is estimated at 12 months or less. Options may be proposed, but decision to foll ow-on will depend on the assessment of research performance and relevance to mainstream efforts and overall program goals. A decision to continue exceptional efforts and/or couple the results to augment mainstream developments will be made 12 mont hs after award. Multiple awards are anticipated as a result of this BAA. The selection of one or more sources for award wi ll be based on an evaluation of an offeror's response, with emphasis on technical innovation, to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to this announcement. All proposed mainstream development should address one or more of the fo llowing categories: Information Architecture System Engineering, Automated precision 4D Multi-Sensor Registration, Fusion of In-situ with ISR Sensors, and Dynamic Sensor Management. In addition to the mainstream developments, a limited set of nich e developments focusing on supportive research and technology will be procured under this BAA. Innovative and mathematicall y founded approaches are desired for the niche efforts in support of relevant aspects of DTT technology development. All pr oposed approaches should include a description of the proposed technique, an assessment of the current state of the art in t he proposed area, and plans to design, build and evaluate the proposed approach. All proposed developments must include met ric evaluations to measure system and subsystem performance against explicitly stated goals. Selection criteria are as foll ows: 1. The quality of offeror's technical solution, shall be evaluated based on the following sub-criteria (listed in prior ity order): a. Overall scientific and technical merit of the proposal must be clearly identifiable; b. Extent to which new a nd innovative concepts are explored and explained; c. Extent which current state-of-the-art technology is expanded; d. How c oncepts will be demonstrated relevant to the program requirements. 2. The qualifications of the offeror to perform the work shall be evaluated based on the following criteria (which are of equal priority): a. Offeror's capabilities, related experi ence, facilities, techniques or unique combinations thereof that are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives; b. Capability to conceptualize, develop theories, identify concept deficiencies, analyze, experiment, and develop mature co ncepts for rapid application/demonstration; c. Experience with multi source fusion, resource management and related technolo gies. 3. Contribution and relevance to the program objectives shall be evaluated based on the following criteria (which are of equal priority): a. How the proposed effort will meet the goals of the DTT undertaking and complement related DTT techni cal development; b. Quality and clarity of the offeror's Statement of Work (SOW) and program plan; c. Understanding of the e volving C4ISR as it impacts military or civilian operations; d. Strategies for transitioning technology within the DOD or th rough commercialization. 4. Overall Estimated Cost shall be evaluated based on the following criteria: a. Extent to which t he proposed management plan will effectively allocate and provide accounting of funds, equipment and personnel, select subpr ojects, monitor and evaluate the program to achieve the proposed objectives and respond to contingencies created by unantici pated technical barriers or breakthroughs. For mainstream efforts, the priority of these criteria, in order, is: 1, 2, 3, 4 . For niche efforts, the priority of these criteria, in order, is: 1, 3, 2, 4. DARPA reserves the right to select for awar d of a contract or grant any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. Award of a grant, in lieu of a contract, to uni versities and nonprofit institutions will be considered and will be subject to the decision of the contracting officer. Awa rds made under this BAA are subject to the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 9.5, Organizationa l Conflict of Interest. All offerors and proposed subcontractors must affirmatively state whether they are supporting any D ARPA technical office(s) through an active contract or subcontract. All affirmations must state which office(s) the offeror supports and identify the prime contract number. Affirmations must be furnished at the time of the proposal submission, an d the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest, as that term is defined in FAR 9.501, must b e disclosed. This disclosure shall include a description of the action the offeror has taken, or proposes to take, to avoid , neutralize or mitigate such conflict. If the offeror believes that no such conflict exists, then the offeror shall so sta te in the affirmation. The Government shall not be liable for cost of proposal preparation and submission. This is an unre stricted announcement. Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement and the PIP. There will be no oth er solicitation issued in regard to this requirement. Offerors should be alert for any BAA amendments that may be published . No portion of the BAA will be set aside for Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) or Minority Institution (MI ) participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of research for exclusive competition amo ng the entities. HBCU's and MI's are encouraged to submit proposals or team with other proposers. Protection of Informatio n: It is the policy of DARPA to treat all proposals as competitive information and to disclose the contents only for the pu rposes of evaluation. The Government may use selected support contractor personnel to assist in administrative functions on ly. Administrative support personnel and technical advisors who have signed non-disclosure agreements may handle proposals.

Web Link

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Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010911/ASOL002.HTM (A-250 SN50X135)