On July 1, the Air Force Research Laboratory posted a request for
information for Non- Satellite Communication (SATCOM) Beyond Line of Sight
(BLOS) Communications. RFI abstracts are due by July 29.
The RFI seeks to obtain information on the current state-of-the-art and
the future development potential for non-SATCOM BLOS technologies (e.g.
troposcatter, HF, UAV relays, passive reflector systems, etc.). Further,
it seeks to obtain information about current and planned development
initiatives, technology maturity, fabrication methods, availability, schedule
and cost of such materials for potential use in anticipated military
applications.
This announcement is not a request for proposals; therefore,
responses to the RFI are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the
Government to form a binding contract. The information submitted will be part of
a collaborative approach and peer review across other services, agencies and
federal departments and coalition government partners to ensure appropriate
coordination and understanding of interdependencies with relevant defense,
homeland security, and intelligence authorities. It will also draw upon the
deep knowledge, experience, and capabilities within global industrial and
academic centers of gravity.
Technical Requirements
The focus of this RFI is on the identification of existing technologies and the near to long-term development potential for the next generation of non- Satellite Communication (SATCOM) Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) communication systems. Non-SATCOM BLOS communication systems that exist today include tropospheric scatter and high frequency systems as well as various tethered and untethered unmanned aerial vehicles that act as relays. We are interested in systems that would provide the best redundancy to SATCOM systems in terms of performance characteristics. These systems may include the above mentioned systems as well as less known systems such as passive scatter systems, e.g. aircraft and meteor burst scatter, or an entirely novel idea of achieving BLOS communications. The response should address aspects such as operating distance of each technology, reliability, throughput, latency, time of day and weather dependence, etc.
Information incorporating quantifiable justifications are desired. For example, what are the projected timelines to achieve the proposed BLOS communication methods with the identified technologies?
Full information is available here.
Source: FedBizOpps
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