Army posts support to Joint Improvised-Threat Agency RFI

On October 5, the U.S. Army posted the following request for information (RFI) to assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method for the rapid execution of Joint Improvised Threat Agency-Initiatives. All written responses must be received by November 5, 2015 at 3:00 PM EST.

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Battle Management Directorate, Force Protection Division, Counter Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) Section and Army Contracting Command- Aberdeen Proving Ground- Natick Contracting Division supports the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA) (formerly JIEDDO) in their mission to counter improvised threats with tactical responsiveness and anticipatory acquisition in support of Combatant Commanders’ efforts to prepare for, and react to, battlefield surprise in support of counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, and other related mission areas including Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED). JIDA develops and delivers capabilities within three to 24 months.

JIDA currently has three primary Lines of Operations (LOOs): Attack the Network, Defeat the Device, and Train the Force. The Attack the Network line of operation enables offensive operations against complex networks of financiers, improvised explosive device makers, trainers and their supporting infrastructure by providing intelligence surveillance, reconnaissance, information operations, counter-bomber targeting, biometrics and weapons technical intelligence capabilities.
Historically, the C-IED Section has been assigned execution authority over the following technology areas in support of the Attack the Network LOO:
• Small Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) Synthetic Aperture Radars
• Small SWaP Multi and Hyper Spectral Near Visible Infrared (VISNIR), Short Wave Infrared (SWIR), and Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) sensors
• Integration of sensors on small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs)

Future initiatives expected in this area also include electromagnetic signal interception and biometrics.

The JIDA requirements process timeline which approves initiatives is normally 30 days. The acquisition community is then directed to obligate the funds and begin executing a solution within 60 days. Most often, the final solution to an initiative is required in less than 12 months. In some situations, a suitable technology or group of technologies is already in development through existing Department of Defense contracts. In these scenarios, the acquisition community is able to rapidly obligate and execute JIDA initiatives without additional programmatic risk to their schedules. However, in other situations an existing contract vehicle with appropriate scope does not exist, which introduces an unacceptable level of risk to initiative schedules.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this RFI is to gather information that will assist in the determination of a suitable acquisition solution for a Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) to begin initiative execution within the JIDA driven 60 day requirement where an appropriate contracting alternative does not already exist. Equally important is the need to ensure rapid delivery of effective initiative solutions. The QRC must also be affordable; thereby ensuring the initiative funding is applied to the technical solutions to the greatest extent possible.

Initiatives can include feasibility studies; Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) activities; prototyping, Commercial-Off the Shelf (COTS) procurement, modification of COTS technology, integration, and operational assessment.
Initiative areas in the Attack the Network LOO are expected to include:
• monitoring wide areas for threat activity from small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
• detecting subterranean voids in a non-permissive environment
• stand-off detection of HME, IED production, IEDs, and related human activities
• detecting and tracking targets of interest in varied environments including urban, mountainous, and dense foliage
• improvements to and miniaturization of existing capabilities
• development and integration of a suite of sensors on small UAVs to exploit all of the observables associated with IEDs

Full information is available here.

Source: FedBizOpps