FIGHT TONIGHT
Overview
Buyer
Place of Performance
NAICS
PSC
Set Aside
Original Source
Timeline
Qualification Details
Fit reasons
- NAICS alignment with historical contract wins in similar service areas.
- Scope strongly matches core technical capabilities and delivery model.
Risks
- Past performance thresholds may require one additional teaming partner.
- Potential clarification needed on staffing minimums before bid/no-bid.
Next steps
Validate eligibility requirements, assign capture owner, and schedule partner outreach to confirm teaming strategy before submission planning.
Quick Summary
The Department of the Air Force, AFRL - Rome Research Site, has issued Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) FA8750-22-S-7001, "Fight Tonight," seeking innovative research to revolutionize air operations planning using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and interactive gaming. The goal is to significantly reduce the Air Tasking Order planning cycle. While Phase I for Technical Areas 1 and 2 is closed, Phase II is now open for submissions.
Purpose & Scope
This five-year BAA aims to rapidly prototype solutions for urgent military problems by integrating AI-driven planning with interactive gaming. The program focuses on human-guided AI to generate and evaluate combat plans within a gaming environment. The initial focus areas were:
- Technical Area 1 (TA1): Interactive Plan Refinement
- Technical Area 2 (TA2): Plan Gaming and Outcome Analysis
Phase II Requirements
Phase II is structured as a two-step closed BAA, anticipating a single award. The objective is to demonstrate "Fight Tonight's" capability to support air operations planning in a major Air Force evaluation context, including planning for thousands of missions and Joint Designated Points of Impacts (JDPIs) within 4 hours. This involves integrating a Human-centered AI Master Air Attack Plan (MAAP) generation, gaming, and analysis capability into the Air Operations Center (AOC) Weapons System by September 2027. The period of performance for Phase II is 27 months.
Funding & Award Information
The total estimated funding for this BAA is approximately $99 million. Individual awards are anticipated to range from $3 million to $40 million. Awards may be procurement contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or Other Transactions (OT), with potential for follow-on production contracts.
Submission & Eligibility
The Government is no longer accepting white papers for TA1 and TA2 Phase I. For Phase II, white papers are due by December 16, 2024, and proposals (by invitation only) are due by January 23, 2025. Offerors for grants, cooperative agreements, and other non-procurement transactions must submit specific information for all key personnel and a certification regarding funding sources. A Security Program Questionnaire and Privacy Act Statement are required for S&T Protection review. This BAA is generally closed to foreign participation, with exceptions for fundamental research. Offerors must be registered in SAM and comply with Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act (FASCSA) orders for FAR-based awards.
Evaluation
Evaluation criteria include Scientific and Technical Merit, Related Experience, Openness/Maturity of Solution, and Reasonableness/Realism of Costs. Phase II evaluation will also consider usability, responsiveness, scalability, operational transition potential, system design, integration, risk mitigation plans, and prototype performance.
Key Dates
- Phase II White Papers Due: December 16, 2024
- Phase II Proposals Due (by invitation): January 23, 2025
- BAA Open Until: November 30, 2026 (for future technical areas)
Contacts
- Technical Point of Contact: Lt Col Sean Carlson (sean.carlson.1@us.af.mil, 315-330-2936)
- Contracting Officer: Amber Buckley (Amber.Buckley@us.af.mil, 315-330-3605)