This is a Request for Information (RFI) only, which as part of market research, is being issued in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 15.201(e). This is not a solicitation/Request for Proposal, a Request for Quotation, an Invitation for Bids, or a solicitation and no contract shall be resultant from this synopsis. Global Air Traffic Systems (GATS) will not pay respondents for information provided in response to this RFI. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's (AFLCMC) Electronic Systems Directorate, Aerospace Management Systems Division (HBA), Air Traffic System Branch (HBAA), Air Traffic Control (ATC) Future Technology (AFT) Program Management Office (PMO), located at Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB), Massachusetts is requesting information from industry to assist in the planning for the future acquisition of a Multi-Band Multifunction Tactical Radar System (MB-MTRS).
Phase 1 of the Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) for MB-MTRS, which was awarded on 23 February 2024, was completed during February 2025 and the Government is now initiating Phase 2. This RFI is to continue our on-going market research to understand and keep in touch with our industry base. In addition, this RFI is updating the mission functions from the original OTA. The Government has determined that the Precision Approach Radar (PAR) mission is no longer being planned for MB-MTRS and has been removed from all documents. MB-MTRS is being developed to execute four missions, which are: ATC surveillance, Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2), Counter small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) and Weather Sensing.
The Government is looking for responses to the below questions for potential complete or partial system solutions or enabling technologies. Please respond to the best of your ability to as many questions as possible. Solutions should be actionable within the next 1-2 years.
DESCRIPTION: The Department of Defense (DoD) transformation vision relies heavily on more expeditionary and agile joint forces which in turn places increased emphasis on aviation assets for deployment, employment, sustainment, and redeployment. To support this vision, the Air Force requires the ability to launch and recover sorties from an agile network of airbases with varied capabilities in all weather conditions while also providing localized situational awareness for the protection of those airbases. Future ATC systems adaptability is critical to meet short and enduring missions. The MB-MTRS shall detect airborne targets and produce data for varied systems to enable timely and relevant BMC2 actions (Air Traffic and Airspace Control) and defensive decisions against threats. The MB-MTRS shall provide real-time Doppler weather information including Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) Level II base products (reflectivity, mean radial velocity, and spectrum width) that are crucial for meteorological analysis and weather forecasting. The MB-MTRS sensors shall support all four mission functions individually and simultaneously. The MB-MTRS shall provide the scalable sensor coverage for rapid decision-making and improve situational awareness needed to support Adaptive Operations in Contested Environments (AOiCE). To support the emerging AOiCE Concept of Operations (CONOPs), the MB-MTRS shall be capable of withstanding world-wide deployable environmental conditions and the unique rigors of repeated world-wide deployable cycles in a reliable and sustainable manner.
EXPECTED MINIMUM PERFORMANCE: The Air Force requires the ability to launch and recover sorties from an agile network of airbases with varied capabilities in all weather conditions while also providing localized situational awareness for the protection of those airbases. In order to execute the scheme of maneuver inherent with Agile Combat Employment (ACE) while contributing to the theater sensing grid in support of Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), lightweight multifunctional sensors are required. These sensors must enable effective terminal ATC, airspace warning, weather processing, BMC2 and response to threats operations while supporting the maneuverability and survivability required. As a multifunction platform, the MB-MTRS is intended to reduce the volume of logistical support for inter/intra theater airlift, supply chains, and support personnel and result in a reduction of electromagnetic interference from disconnected/independent systems trying to work simultaneously.
The MB-MTRS must be highly configurable and capable of performing the defined mission functions simultaneously to the greatest extent:
- ATC surveillance enabling aircraft identification, separation, and sequencing in a terminal environment in both instrument flight and visual flight rule (IFR/VFR) operations
- BMC2 surveillance enabling the detection, identification, classification, and tracking of hostile undeclared manned and unmanned aircraft
- Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) surveillance enabling the detection of Group 1 (0-20 lbs.), Group 2 (21-55 lbs.) and Group 3 (<1,320 lbs.)
- Weather sensing providing real time Doppler weather information including reflectivity, radial velocity, and spectrum width
- Key Radar Performance Requirements: PLEASE SEE ATTACHMENT FOR TABLES Definitions:
- Elevation Coverage requirements shall be referenced to the horizontal plane of the radar site horizon.
- Target RCS defines the smallest target size that the MB-MTRS system is required to detect and report. Additionally, the MB-MTRS system shall have the capability to detect and report on larger targets (i.e., aircraft or UAS) as required for each mission.
- Regarding Target Capacity , the MB-MTRS system should be capable of detecting and reporting target or track reports consisting of real target returns, uniformly or non-uniformly distributed, per scan, while operating in clear or elevated clutter environments.
- Accuracy performance (range, azimuth, and elevation angle) shall be based on measured position data (i.e., extracted from a target report) not track updates (i.e., smoothed track position).
- Latency is defined as the time from when target reply signals were present at the radar antenna to the time the target report is available for transmission on the external interface.
2. Transport: The MB-MTRS, when configured for transport shall be capable of being transported via military cargo aircraft, ground transport by semi-trailer flatbed trucks, military trailers and trucks, railcar, military sea-going vessels and sling load transport via military helicopters, MV-22, CH-47, UH-60.
MB-MTRS is expected to be transported via helicopter sling load, fixed-wing aircraft, ocean-going ship, rail and ground vehicle(s) and shall withstand these transports without damage. Some of these transport conditions include:
a. Rapid decompression (altitude change from 8,000 ft to 45,900 ft in less than 15 seconds)
b. Military transport shock and vibration, including Type IV Road mobility per SAE AS8090 and rail impact
c. Sea level to 45,900-foot altitude
d. Single Apex Lift
e. Helicopter Sling Load
f. Low Velocity Air Drop (LVAD) (Objective)
3. The MB-MTRS, when configured for transport shall be capable of roll-on/roll off (RO/RO) of a single C-130J aircraft and Large Medium Speed Roll-on/roll-off (LMSR) ships. The system shall be capable of Single Apex top lift for crane loading. The system shall tolerate vibration and shock induced loading during transport defined in SAE AS8090 for Type IV ground mobility.
The overall transport weight, including the weight of four personnel and their associated gear (total of 1,400 lbs), shall not exceed the C-130 tactical load of 24,000 lbs. The system's footprint, including generator sets and all other needed ancillary equipment, shall be no larger than six 463L pallet positions (Threshold) and three pallet positions (Objective).
4. Setup and Configuration: Setup time for MB-MTRS using four technicians shall take no more than four hours once the equipment is emplaced.
5. Power: The MB-MTRS shall operate using external power including power transmitted at nominal frequencies of 50 and 60 Hz and at voltages throughout the nominal ranges of 100 to 130 VAC and 200 to 260 VAC.
6. Environmental Conditions: The MB-MTRS shall be operable in all parts of the world and in most environmental conditions. Some of the more extreme operating conditions include:
- Temperature Range: -54 C to +71 C
- 5 to 100% humidity
- Solar radiation effects
- Blowing sand and dust
- Salt atmosphere
- Rain/snow/ice
- Fungus
- Sea level to 13,100-foot altitude
- 50 mile per hour winds with 71 mile per hour gust (with and without 1 2-in ice)
7. Operational Reliability and Maintainability: The MB-MTRS shall provide the following Reliability and Maintainability performance:
a. Mean-Time-To-Repair (MTTR): 30 minutes or less
b. Maximum Time to Repair (MaxTTR): 1.5 hours
c. Mean-Time-Between Critical Failure (MTBCF): 3000 hours
REQUEST: Request vendors provide potential MB-MTRS solutions which vendors believe fit the above criteria. The government would prefer a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solution. However, market research to date has shown that some level of development may be required.
Please provide responses to as many of the tasks listed below as possible. Address your capabilities to accomplish part or all the below tasks and provide highlights of successful past experience on similar government contracts within the past five (5) years.
- Provide a BRIEF description of your company's expertise involving mobile or deployable radar systems.
- Describe your capability to provide a MB-MTRS that meets the expected minimum performance described above.
- Provide a description of your existing systems or equipment that can be used to provide the capabilities described above.
a. What, if any, modifications of your existing equipment (including software) will be necessary to meet MB-MTRS performance requirements. If development is required, please provide a description of the level of developmental effort, including technical description for each major subcomponent as well as risks and ways to mitigate the risks. Pictures and illustrations of the proposed MB-MTRS and its major subcomponents would be appreciated.
b. Provide your assessment of the current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) of the MB-MTRS your company would provide per the DoD TRL and MRL Deskbook, including substantiation of the levels chosen with specifics regarding supporting information such as test reports.
c. Explain any limitations and challenges for meeting the MB-MTRS requirements. Provide details regarding any expected minimum performance that your recommended MB-MTRS solution cannot meet. Identify any MB-MTRS requirements that appear to be unachievable or likely cost drivers. Present details on trade space issues and opportunities.
d. Describe your system's surveillance capability to detect and report airborne objects throughout the coverage volumes (range, azimuth, elevation, and altitude) defined for each mission (ATC, BMC2, C-sUAS, and Weather Sensing) simultaneously to the greatest extent.
e. Describe the maximum number of targets that your system can simultaneously detect and any throughput limitations.
f. Describe the minimum and maximum aircraft velocities that your system can detect. Describe the challenges to detect the slowest and fastest aircraft velocities, and other limitations.
g. Explain your system's clutter processing capabilities in worldwide operating environments such as Anomalous Propagation (AP), ducting, weather, angel clutter (i.e., birds), wind turbine clutter.
h. Describe your system's capability to detect, locate, and mitigate electronic interference.
i. Describe your systems available data products, formats and interfaces as related to DoD interoperability expectations and architectures. Identify the key interfaces to your system. Are Interface Control Documents (ICD), or other applicable documentation, available for these interfaces?
j. Describe your system's capability to provide plot and track reports at the external interface to support integration into the respective Command and Control (C2) systems and operational requirements of the applicable mission functions.
- Plot Report: A plot is a single observation from a detected target. It may consist of a few detections in neighboring ranges. However, through processes of clustering and centroiding, one single observation is associated with the neighboring detections. This process is called Plot Extraction. Plot reports may be referred to as target reports and uncorrelated target reports.
- Track report: A track is a series of plots belonging to one (moving) target which are observed and formed in consecutive radar scans. Track reports may be referred to as correlated target reports. Note: Estimated track updates (i.e., coasted track reports) shall not be available at the external interface unless those messages are identified as unassociated track messages.
The plot or track reports available at the external interface originate from associated target reports and contain the associated position information.
Plot and/or track reports availability at the external interface selectable by mission function.
k. Describe your systems ability to meet the ATC azimuth accuracy requirements (Threshold) designed to enable terminal approach control radar separation services of 3-NM when inside of 40-NM from the antenna and 5-NM when greater than 40-NM from the antenna as defined in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Order JO 7110.65, ICAO Doc 9924, and EUROCONTROL Specification for ATM Surveillance System Performance (Vol 2).
l. Describe the transportable design of your proposed MB-MTRS solution. Discuss any limitations (e.g., ACE deployment).
m. Discuss the scalability of your existing equipment to deliver a sensor that supports an alternative acquisition strategy. Considering the evolving operational environment, the government may require a sensor that supports a subset of the MB-MTRS mission functions such as an ATC and C-sUAS only sensor. Provide an overview of the expected design, fabrication, schedule, and cost factors, along with potential challenges, to accommodate an alternative acquisition strategy.
n. BMC2 and C-sUAS Target Identification: Responder shall describe their target classifier implementation approach and expected precision (e.g., probability of correct classification) as well as recommended training and validation strategies.
4. Explain if there are any other advantages or disadvantages to your recommended MB-MTRS solution with an emphasis in the following areas:
a. Operating in a contested environment (electronic protection, degraded GPS, etc.)
b. Agile deployment worldwide complemented with self-optimization and adaptive operations
c. AI/ML applications to enhance surveillance capabilities.
5. Has your system been verified to meet an open architecture framework? If your solution is compliant to an open architecture framework, please describe the standard and the certification process as applicable.
6. What hardware and software open standards does your system use or comply with? Please describe any verification activities that may have been completed for proposed components.
7. Provide rough order magnitude (ROM) cost and schedule for the following as the ROM will be used as a part of a feasibility analysis to determine whether future efforts can be performed within the program budget using the table below:
Rough Order Magnitude Cost Estimate: PLEASE SEE ATTACHMENT FOR TABLE
8. Provide any additional information you consider relevant to providing a MB-MTRS solution.
9. Please provide your capability statement and include your NAICS and Small Business Certifications. Additionally, include if you are a Non-Traditional Contractor, and if you are on any Multiple Award IDIQ contracts or part of any OT Consortium.
Submissions should be delivered via DoD's Safe Access File Exchange (SAFE) website at https://safe.apps.mil/. Since unauthenticated users (Non-DoD Personal Identity Verification (PIV) certificates) must receive a drop-off request from a DoD user, please notify the Contracting Officer/Agreements Officer Ms. Tiffany N. Hinson (tiffany.hinson.1@us.af.mil) of your company's intent to deliver a response. You will be provided with a Drop-off Request which you will use to submit your files. The Drop-Off Request will be valid for 14 days. For additional guidance, please see the SAFE website at https://safe.apps.mil/.
Responses to this RFI are requested by close of business on 1 May 2025. All responses shall be unclassified and reviewed to ensure consideration of operational sensitivities. To the maximum extent possible, please submit nonproprietary information. Any proprietary information submitted should be identified as such and will be handled accordingly and protected from disclosure. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. The Government shall not be liable for damages related to proprietary information that is not properly identified. Any submissions in response to this RFI constitutes consent for that submission to be reviewed by Government personnel, Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) Contractor employees, and Advisory & Assistance Services (A&AS) Contractor employees supporting the Air Force AFLCMC/HBA who have signed Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) unless the respondent clearly objects in writing to the release of this information to FFRDC and/or A&AS Contractor employees in a cover letter accompanying the respondent's submission. All Government and DoD contractor personnel reviewing RFI responses understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information. All correspondence related to this matter should be e-mailed to:
Contracting Office Address:
AFLCMC/HBAK
75 Vandenberg Drive
Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB), MA 01731-2103
United States
Primary Contracting Point of Contact:
Tiffany Hinson
Contracting Officer
tiffany.hinson.1@us.af.mil
Phone: 1 380-456-6643 (TEAMS)
Secondary Contracting Point of Contact
Robert Sullivan
Contract Specialist
Robert.Sullivan.39@us.af.mil
Primary PM Point of Contact:
Mike Robblee
Program Manager
Michael.robblee.3@us.af.mil
Phone: 1-380-456-4925 (TEAMS)
