Broad Agency Announcement for Advanced Battle Management Systems (ABMS)

Quick Summary

The Department of the Air Force (AFLCMC/C3) has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Advanced Battle Management Systems (ABMS), focusing on Joint All-Domain Command & Control (JADC2). The latest Call 005, released April 24, 2024, seeks innovative technical proposals for Operationally Focused ABMS Capabilities, specifically in Sensors & Cyber Electro Magnetic Activities (CEMA). Concept papers for Call 005 are due by March 31, 2025.

Opportunity Overview

This BAA aims to develop a cross-cutting portfolio of projects supporting JADC2 and ABMS, which is envisioned as an open architecture family of systems enabling any sensor to inform any shooter across all domains (air, land, sea, space, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum). The Air Force seeks to rapidly explore and mature innovative technologies to provide critical surveillance, tactical edge communications, processing, networking, and battle management command and control capabilities. The overall BAA (BAA-AFLCMC_CAIO-2020-0001) remains open until December 31, 2026.

Call 005: Sensors & Cyber Electro Magnetic Activities

Call 005 specifically invites proposals for solutions in:

• Modern Networking & Communications: Capabilities for resilient and efficient force employment.
• Artificial Intelligence, Data Sensing & Analysis: Intelligent information processing for operational decisions.
• Sensor Development & Integration: Maturation, integration, demonstration, and proliferation of sensor hardware and software for detecting and discriminating threats at significant ranges, with open interface compatibility.
• Cyber Electro Magnetic Activities (CEMA) Capability Development: Developing cyber and electromagnetic capabilities to deny, degrade, disrupt, or destroy enemy C5ISR, integrating into existing C2 architectures.

Contract Details

• Type: Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) utilizing a Two-Step process (concept paper followed by invited proposal).
• Instrument: The Air Force reserves the right to award FAR-based contracts (e.g., Cost Reimbursement, Fixed Price, T&M) or non-FAR-based agreements (e.g., Other Transaction for Prototype).
• NAICS: 541715 - Research and Development Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (Small Business Size Standard: 1000 employees).
• Set-Aside: No specific set-aside is designated for this BAA. However, offerors must identify if they or their proposed sub-contractors are small businesses. Foreign or foreign-owned contractors are subject to foreign disclosure review.
• Previous Calls: Calls 001 and 002 are no longer accepting new proposals. Call 003 has updated administrative details and due dates.

Submission & Evaluation

• Concept Paper Due Date (Call 005): March 31, 2025.
• Concept Paper Format: Not to exceed ten (10) pages (excluding title page and ROM cost/schedule).
• Proposal Format (if invited): Two volumes – Technical Proposal (20 pages) and Cost Proposal (no page limit).
• Evaluation Criteria (Concept Papers): Relevance to ABMS, technical merit, affordability of Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) costs, achievability of schedule, and impact of proposed restrictions on Government use of data.
• NIST SP 800-171: A Basic DoD Assessment will be required for DoD contracts.
• Pre-Proposal Communications: The government team is open to pre-proposal communications.

Contacts

• Primary Contracting POC: Mary DelRaso (mary.delraso@us.af.mil)
• Secondary Contact: Wesley Livesay (wesley.livesay@us.af.mil)