Army posts Guardrail ELINT RFI

On April 3, the U.S. Army posted a request for information for the Guardrail ELINT program (Solicitation Number: W56KGY18RBBBB). Responses are due by 12:00 p.m. Eastern on April 11.

This request is for planning purposes, and does not constitute an invitation for bids, request for proposals, quotes, or an indication that the Government will contract for the items contained in this notice. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with the submission of the information being requested, or reimburse expenses incurred to the interested parties for responses. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to allow sufficient planning time for the government to conduct market research to support this new acquisition.

On behalf of Project Manager (PM) Sensors Aerial Intelligence (SAI), Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) is submitting this request for information. The information for the effort is provided via the attached draft PWS.  Please review the PWS and provide a response to both the primary and secondary POCs identified in the RFI posting. As part of the submission, please provide a recommendation on Contract Type along with a rationale for selecting that Contract Type. The recommendation will be utilized in selecting the best Contract Type for the effort.

The scope for this effort is to address the obsolecense and maintainability issues on the current GRCS ELINT and CHALS-C payloads. The effort will require hardware (HW) and software (SW) design, development, integration, testing, and fielding of the ELINT and CHALS-C solutions. This Performance Work Statement (PWS) appendix details the Contractor’s requirements to provide all support required to maintain the readiness and operational capability of the GRCS ELINT and CHALS-C systems, and components.

Background

The GRCS is the Army’s airborne Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) location and dissemination system. GRCS provides near real-time SIGINT and targeting information to tactical commanders supporting a full spectrum of operations.  Tactical Common Data Links (TCDLs) provide connectivity between the aircraft and the GRCS Mission Operations Facility (MOF). The MOF provides a common operational environment for all GRCS systems and utilizes Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A) hardware and software to enhance interoperability.  GRCS key capabilities include: integrated signals exploitation, Communications Intelligence (COMINT) and Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) reporting, enhanced signal classification and recognition, fast Direction Finding (DF) precision emitter location and advanced integrated avionics.  Interoperability features include operation with National sensors, a reach back capability, and robust communications.  Ongoing Guardrail Modernization efforts include:  computer assisted online sensor management, improving deployability, exploiting a wider range of signals and establishing a common configuration.

GRCS provides ground Combatant Commanders with emitter mapping of the battle space, precision geo-location of Signals Intelligence targets, and enemy COMINT that are gained through intercept and processor assisted analysis.  GRCS collects selected low, mid and high band radio signals, identifies/classifies them, determines locations of their sources, and provides near-real-time reporting to tactical commanders.

Full information is available here.

Source: FedBizOpps