NETWORKING THE FIGHT

Amendment / Modification

This document is Amendment 5 to Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) FA8750-24-S-7002, "Networking the Fight." It serves to republish the original announcement with all previous amendments incorporated.

Key changes include:

• Updated language regarding the types of instruments that may be awarded.
• Updated the BAA Program Manager (PM).
• Updated the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) reference to Assistance Listing number.
• Updated language in Section III.2.b.2 regarding FOCI.
• Updated Information Protection contact info in Section IV.3.a.
• Updated provision date in Section IV.4.b.
• Updated CFR hyperlink in Section IV.4.c.
• Added language in Section IV.4.e.
• Updated language related to S&T review in Section V.2.c.
• Updated proposal formatting language in Section VI.1.
• Updated debriefing language in Section VI.3.
• Updated provisions in Section VI.7.
• Added paragraphs 10 (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) Compliance) and 11 (Financial Resources) to Section VI.
• Updated the PM in Section VII (Agency Contacts).
• Updated the Ombudsman contact information in Section VII.

Parts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII of the original announcement have been affected by these updates.

No changes to proposal deadlines or submission requirements are explicitly stated beyond the incorporation of previous amendments. Offerors should refer to the original solicitation for specific submission details and deadlines. The BAA remains open until February 14, 2029, with recommended white paper submission dates for Technical Areas 1, 2, and 3 on February 28, 2024.

Amendment / Modification

This amendment updates the solicitation FA8750-24-S-7002 by modifying specific sections related to Science and Technology (S&T) Protection.

• Section III, Paragraph 5 (S&T Protection): Updates include clarifications on the Security Risk Review process for proposals. This review assesses potential vectors of undue foreign influence and is applied to federally funded research. It involves reviewing information from questionnaires, publicly available data, and internal government databases. Nationality or citizenship is not a determining factor.

• Section III, Paragraph 5.I.(a) & (b): Clarifies that the Security Risk Review applies to all proposed Senior/Key personnel and "Covered Individuals," using information from the Research and Related Senior and Key Person Profile and Security Questionnaire.

• Section III, Paragraph 5.I.(c): Details the holistic decision-making process for security reviews, considering technical and security factors to determine the appropriate Risk Acceptance Level (RAL).

• Section III, Paragraph 5.II.(a): Specifies required documentation for proposal submissions based on instrument type (Grant/Cooperative Agreement vs. Contract/OTA), including the Senior/Key Person Profile, Security Program Questionnaire, and Privacy Act Statement for Covered Individuals. Appendices for these forms are available at a provided link.

• Section III, Paragraph 5.II.(a)(3): States that if a security risk is identified and exceeds the acceptable threshold, the applicant will be notified of the award declination with a general statement of reasoning due to OPSEC measures.

• Section III, Paragraph 5.II.(a)(4): Outlines applicant/recipient agreements upon submission, including awareness of disclosure requirements, prosecution for false representations, establishing internal processes for foreign talent programs and research integrity, and due diligence for identifying Foreign Components or participation in Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs.

• Section III, Paragraph 5.III.: Defines "Covered Individual" and reiterates the federal requirement for disclosure of all current and pending research support for these individuals at proposal submission.

• Section V, Paragraph 2.e: Updates language regarding the S&T review, confirming that in parallel with technical evaluation, the SF424, Senior and Key Person Profile Worksheet, Security Program Questionnaire, and Privacy Act Statement will be reviewed to satisfy S&T Protection requirements. If a security risk exceeding the acceptable threshold is identified, the Offeror will be notified of the declination of award.

• Section III, Paragraph 5 (S&T Protection)

• Section V, Paragraph 2.e (S&T Review)

No changes to proposal deadlines or submission instructions are indicated. However, bidders must ensure all required S&T Protection documentation (Senior/Key Person Profile, Security Questionnaire, Privacy Act Statement) is accurately completed and submitted for all relevant personnel, as failure to do so or identified security risks may lead to award declination.

Amendment / Modification

This modification updates the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) FA8750-24-S-7002 by revising the BAA Program Manager contact information throughout the document. The updated contact details are:

• BAA Program Manager: Lt. Tyler Horn
• Office: AFRL/RIGD
• Address: 525 Brooks Rd, Rome, NY 13441-4505
• Telephone: (315)330-2438
• Email: tyler.horn.4@us.af.mil

• Part I Overview Information
• Part II, Section VII Agency Contacts

No changes are made to submission deadlines, requirements, or evaluation factors. This amendment solely updates contact information for the BAA Program Manager.

Amendment / Modification

This amendment to BAA FA8750-24-S-7002 provides an anticipated funding breakdown for each Technical Area (TA) per Fiscal Year (FY).

• Part II, Section I, paragraph 3, "Program Phased Effort", has been updated.
• The anticipated funding breakdown table has been added/updated.

No changes to proposal deadlines or submission requirements are indicated. Bidders should note the updated funding breakdown for planning purposes.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) from the Department of the Air Force, AFRL, seeks innovative research proposals for the "Networking the Fight" (NtF) program. The goal is to enhance information sharing flexibility at the tactical edge, enabling secure movement of information across security domains and heterogeneous networks, spanning air, space, and ground. The program aims to develop capabilities for seamless information transmission and management in tactical environments to improve mission success and support Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2).

The research is divided into three Technical Areas (TAs):

• TA 1: Next Generation Cross Domain Solution Broker: Develop a discoverable, reconfigurable broker service to enhance existing Cross Domain Solutions (CDSs), focusing on discoverability and reconfigurability for tactical deployment.
• TA 2: Highly Dynamic Red/Black Networking: Develop resilient forwarding capabilities over Red/Black network boundaries, enabling dynamic routing, metadata passing, and optimized data flow management.
• TA 3: Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis (MS&A): Develop and integrate MS&A tools to assess the viability of TA 1 and TA 2 artifacts, creating a testbed for performance evaluation.

Deliverables include reference hardware and software implementations, MS&A products, digital models, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), and Interoperability Test Plans.

• BAA Type: Open, 2-Step BAA with a partial Closed-Staggered component for TA 1, TA 2, and TA 3.

• Period of Performance: Effective until February 14, 2029. The program is structured in three phases over approximately three years (Phase 0: 9 months, Phase 1: 12 months, Phase 2: 15 months).

• Estimated Funding: Approximately $70M total. Individual awards typically range from $1M to $24M, not normally exceeding 36 months.

• Anticipated Awards: Multiple awards are anticipated. Specifically, three awards for TA 1, three for TA 2, and one for TA 3 for the closed-staggered portion.

• Award Instruments: Procurement contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or Other Transactions (OTs).

• Submission: White papers are the initial submission. Formal proposals will be by invitation only.

• White Paper Due Date: February 28, 2024, 11:59 PM EST (though later submissions will be accepted with reduced likelihood of funding).

• Proposal Due Date (if invited): April 8, 2024, 11:59 PM EST.

• Evaluation: Based on Scientific and Technical Merit, Related Experience, Openness/Maturity/Assurance of Solution, and Reasonableness/Realism of Costs.

• Open to all qualified offerors.

• Closed to foreign participation, with specific exceptions for fundamental research and FOCI mitigation.

• FFRDCs and Government entities must demonstrate unique eligibility.

• Offerors should monitor SAM.gov for amendments.

• Dialogue between offerors and the Government is encouraged.

• Strict adherence to submission instructions is required.