Broad Agency Announcement for the Army Rapid Capabilities Office

Solicitation Number: W56JSR-18-S-0001

Agency: Department of the Army
Office: Army Contracting Command
Location: ACC - APG (W56JSR) Division E

Notice Type:  Presolicitation

Response Date:  Mar 23, 2023 11:59 pm Eastern

Set Aside:  N/A

Classification Code:  A -- Research & Development

NAICS Code:  541 -- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services/5417 -- Scientific Research and Development Services   

https://www.fbo.gov/index.php?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=70e53c44f21d5a13f293348117ae8561&_cview=1

The Army Rapid Capabilities Office has established this BAA with rolling response dates to expedite critical capabilities to the field to meet Combatant Commanders' needs.   This BAA is the start point to enable the Army to experiment, evolve, and deliver technologies in real time to address both urgent and emerging threats.

II. Focus Areas of Interests and Opportunities

 

1. Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT)

The Army is looking to provide military systems with alternative PNT solutions, and enabling capabilities, that do not rely only on Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, or solutions that rebroadcast signals from existing GPS sources it which can provide Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) to a local consumer. The Army is looking for reliable PNT solutions that are resilient to jamming and capable of supporting multiple length missions and multiple scale users (e.g., 1, 10, 100, etc.) The Army seeks solutions that are functional above ground, below ground, and in urban environments. The Army is interested in exploring any technologies that meet any or all of these criteria elements of position, navigation, and timing as well as multiple technology readiness levels (from early concepts, prototypes, to finished products).

 

2. Cyber

The Army, as a modern enterprise, is interested in software and algorithms, hardware/software systems, artificial intelligence, or other solutions, and enabling capabilities, which are proficient in identifying threats, cleaning up sorting and categorizing data in real time to provide reliable decision options to Army users, creating offensive cyber solutions, or other effects. The Army is particularly looking for novel solutions to collect and/or analyze vast amount of dynamic data, identify meaningful and bogus correlations, flag potential data gaps, identify false positives, remove human confirmation bias, and reduce the overall risk of creating damage by incorrect interpretations. The Army will also explore proof of concepts and prototype solutions to help identify the next wave of solutions and look for innovative and responsiveness approaches to defend and counter emerging cyber threats.

 

3. Electronic Warfare

The Army is looking at the commercial sector that continues to develop data analytics and machine learning techniques, and other electronic warfare capabilities. The Army is interested in taking advantage of those developments for military applications. One application of interest is using machine learning techniques on monitoring and assessing threat RF emissions, to establish normal and abnormal patterns of life, to characterize emitter types and signal structures, to assess utility of electronic attack systems, or for other tactical uses. This does not limit the Army to looking for other novel applications for providing an enhanced capability to the Warfighter.

 

4. Optical Augmentation

The Army is looking at Optical Augmentation, or Pre shot detection capabilities, to enhance preemptive engagement; Areas of interest center around Pre-shot type capabilities to identify threats prior to engagement, reducing the need for hostile fire detection responses, and identifies or disrupts acquisition of target prior to initiation of threat. Whereby, ultimately enabling Force protection and Survivability, while contributing to Lethality and Situational Awareness in increasingly lethal environments. The Army is also looking for novel applications understand the situation, and provide the ability to decide and act more rapidly than an enemy can respond.

5. Survivability

The Army is looking at providing novel platform (i.e. vehicle) protection, or other means and enabling capabilities, which, will significantly increase combat platform and formation force protection, survivability, situational awareness, and lethality.

 

6. Swarm and Anti-Swarm

The Army is looking at expendable systems that rely on large numbers, individual autonomy, and cooperation to provide an offensive or defensive capability in any area across the spectrum of Army operations (i.e., swarm). Additionally, as a defensive capability providing advancements in utilizing and defeating swarm behaviors (i.e., anti-swarm). The emerging technologies should offer advances in the ability to predict the effect of a given set of rules, and automatically derive individual rules to accomplish a desired team result. The defeat mechanisms can be either kinetic or non-kinetic, swarm or non-swarm, and offer a cost-effective solution compared to existing Army offensive and defensive systems.

 

7. Communications

The Army is looking to evaluate alternatives, or novel means, to traditional military communications. These can be outside the traditional radio frequency (RF) spectrum and traditional communication approaches. This includes, but not limited to exploring free space optical communications, sound-wave and any other non-RF communication types that can be conducted through various mediums (e.g., Air, Water, Solids). The communication solutions could be from point to point or point to multipoint, ground to ground, and ground to air.

8. Long Range Fires

The Army is looking to evaluate alternatives, and novel, means to provide long range fires solutions, and enabling capabilities. These can be outside the traditional means for providing armament and fires capabilities and will significantly increase the effectiveness and lethality against the current capabilities.

 

9. Air & Missile Defense

The Army is looking to evaluate alternatives means to provide air and missile defense, and enabling capabilities. These can be novel solutions that will significantly increase the effectiveness and lethality against the current capabilities.

10. Disruptive Technology

The Army is looking for operational breakthroughs, novel solutions, or unexpected capabilities. These capabilities can address known problems from a completely new angle by promoting revolutionary new areas of opportunity. These can qualify as "high risk/high reward" and change currently accepted approaches or capabilities.