I.   INTRODUCTION

The Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity, is issuing this Sources Sought Notice as a means of conducting market research to identify responsible, qualified entities having an interest in, and the resources to support, this requirement. MCTSSA’s preference for this requirement is for a Certified 8(a) Firm or Alaska Native Corporation (ANC). However, the Government is also interested in receiving information from all interested, responsible and qualified businesses.

The anticipated acquisition strategy for the MCTSSA Test and Engineering Services requirement is to issue a Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC). The anticipated contract will have a one-year base plus four one‑year options. Some of the requirements are currently being performed under task order M68909-17-F-7600, awarded to Client/Server Software Solutions, Inc. DBA Constellations West. The period of performance end date for the current task order is on 16 February 2020.

1.1              Program Description

MCTSSA provides test and engineering support services for the Marine Corps Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (C4) systems throughout their acquisition lifecycle.  Through its Tactical Artificial Intelligence Cell, it also provides artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) support to Fleet Marine Force customers and portfolio and program managers.

1.2              Requirements

The engineering, testing, AI/ML, and other technical support requirements apply to the USMC’s portfolio of C4 systems and mission areas, which include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

·         Radar (i.e., TPS-80, TPS-59)

·         Communications Security Devices (i.e., KG-175/250/350)

·         Satellite Communications (i.e., Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT))

·         Radio Communications (e.g., AN/PRC-117)

·         Common Operational Picture (e.g., Joint Tactical Common Operational Picture Workstation (JTCW)-Command and Control Personal Computer (C2PC), Blue Force Tracker (BFT))

·         Fires (i.e., Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS))

·         Garrison and Tactical Networking (e.g., Data Distribution System – Modular (DDS-M))

·         MAGTF Command and Control (e.g., Combat Operations Center (COC), Networking On-the-Move (NOTM), Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S))

·         Surveillance Systems (e.g., Ground Based Operational Surveillance System (GBOSS))

·         Remote Sensors (e.g., Tactical Remote Sensor System (TRSS))

2           Engineering Requirements

The following list identifies a sampling of the engineering services that a contractor will be expected to provide, respective to a specific system or mission area:

·         Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) Evaluation

·         System Administration

·         System Analysis

·         Network Analysis

·         Root Cause Determination

·         Technical, Policy, Process, Guidance Documentation Development, Evaluation, and Maintenance

·         Requirements Assessment, Analysis, and Correlation

·         Operational Mission area Subject Matter Expert (SME) (e.g., Fires, Maneuver, Air/Ground Command Control (C2))

·         Software Development

·         System Integration

·         SME use of Radio Frequency (RF) Tools (e.g., Spectrum, Signal, and Vector Network Analyzers; Oscilloscope)

·         Information Assurance/Cybersecurity SME

·         Operations and Maintenance of C4 systems identified above

3           Testing Requirements

The following list identifies a sampling of the testing services that a contractor will be expected to provide, respective to a specific system or mission area:

·         Test Planning

·         Test Case and Procedure Development

·         Data Management Planning

·         Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting

·         Cyber Penetration Testing

·         Technical, Policy, Process, Guidance Documentation Development, Evaluation, and Maintenance

·         Test Automation

·         Test Tool Development

·         Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques (STAT)/Design of Experiments (DOE) SME

·         Operational Mission area SME (e.g., Fires, Maneuver, Air/Ground C2)

·         Requirements Traceability

·         Navy Network (L-Class Ships) SME (e.g., Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES), Automated Digital Network System (ADNS))

·         Tactical Data Link Analysis

·         Network Data Analysis

·         Simulation/Stimulation SME

·         Virtualization SME

·         Analytics and Statistical Analysis of Data

4           Artificial intelligence and machine learning requirements

The following list identifies a sampling of the AI/ML services that a contractor will be expected to provide, respective to a specific system or mission area:

·         Validate artificially intelligent commercial vendor products

·         Develop deep learning models

·         Translate operational needs into machine learning requirements

·         Independently evaluate and assess machine learning model performance

·         Identify and assess bias in externally developed models

·         Conduct statistical data analysis

·         Develop user interfaces to deploy machine learning models

·         Develop and deploy machine learning models leveraging cloud infrastructure

5           Additional Technical Support Requirements

5.1              Configuration Management

·         Event Baseline Management

·         Library Management

·         Program Baseline SME (e.g., Physical Configuration Audit (PCA), Functional Configuration Audit (FCA))

·         Configuration Status Accounting

5.2              Lab Management

·         Architecture Development

·         Access Control/Security

·         Oral Presentations/Briefings

·         System Configuration

·         System Administration

·         Lab Requirements Identification

·         Event Support

Security Requirement: Secret

Pursuant to FAR Part 10 the results of the Government’s market research will be used to determine whether qualified sources exist to meet the requirement.

This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for informational and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Quotations (RFQ), Request for Proposals (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ or RFP in the future. It is not a notice of solicitation issuance. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract, and do not otherwise commit the Government to a contract for any supply or service whatsoever. At this time, the Government is not seeking quotations or proposals and will not accept unsolicited quotations or proposals in response to this Sources Sought Notice. Submission of any information in response to this Sources Sought Notice is purely voluntary and the Government assumes NO responsibility for any costs incurred by contractor’s in responding. Businesses that are Certified 8(a) Firms or Alaska Native Corporations (ANC) under the listed NAICS code, with the capabilities to deliver the requirements stated within, are encouraged to reply to this Sources Sought Notice. A decision to refrain from responding to this Sources Sought Notice will not preclude a party from participating in response to any future RFQ or RFP, if any is issued. Telephone inquiries will not be permitted, entertained, accepted, or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluation will be provided to companies regarding their capability submissions.

If your organization has the capability to perform these contract services as identified in this Sources Sought Notice, please provide the following: (1) a description of the contractor's specific experience/capability in relation to the requirements; (2) a reference list of similar contracts performed within the past 3 years, to include the contract number, dollar value, and a brief description of the services; (3) a statement which confirms that the contractor will pay no more than 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance to subcontractors that are not also similarly situated entities. (Any work that a similarly situated entity further subcontracts will count toward the 50 percent subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded); and (4) contractor’s name, point of contact, e-mail address, telephone number, type of business and size - i.e.; Small, SBA Section 8(a), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone), Women Owned, and/or Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVO); DUNS number, CAGE Code and a list of any current Government Wide Agency Contracts.

Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above mentioned services are invited to submit their responses to this Sources Sought Notice via email to [email protected] by 10 October 2019. The Government will review all capability statements and determine at its sole discretion which entities are technically capable of providing the services required. Entities may be invited to participate in a follow-on meeting with the Government for a question/answer session to further assist in the overall market research for this requirement.