ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (April 6, 2014) -- The U.S. Army has released a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for full and open competition to procure additional Manpack Radios.
The draft RFP, which was posted April 3 to the Federal Business Opportunities website, moves the Army toward Full Rate Production (FRP) for the Manpack Radio, part of the Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) program. The draft RFP will enable the Army to gather information from industry, which will be used to refine the final RFP.
Under the full and open competition approach, the Army will award contracts to multiple vendors, creating a "radio marketplace" where vendors will compete for delivery orders as needed, after they achieve technical and operational requirements.
"We are relying on our industry partners to help us simplify the network and make systems such as the Manpack Radio easier to use and more intuitive for Soldiers," said Col. James P. Ross, Project Manager for Tactical Radios. "The radio marketplace gives all vendors the opportunity to participate, driving down costs and promoting continuous innovation."
Through FRP, the Army has been authorized to purchase up to 60,296 Manpack Radios through 2032. The five-year base, plus a five-year option indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract will be awarded to multiple vendors who meet both the technical and service requirements to support the radio. The Army will then conduct competitions for delivery orders among the qualified vendors. Vendors whose technologies mature after the initial competition and operational tests will also have on-ramp opportunities, as part of the Non-Developmental Item acquisition strategy.
A pre-solicitation day is planned for April 16, and a contract award is expected in Fiscal Year 2016 for radios to support laboratory and operational tests, with FRP beginning in Fiscal Year 2017.
Once the contract is awarded, each radio will undergo initial qualification testing to determine if threshold requirements have been met. Vendors that do not meet qualifications will be off-ramped. Vendors that do meet qualifications will move to the next phase, an operational test.
The Manpack, the Army's first two-channel, software-defined radio capable of supporting advanced and current force waveforms, is delivered in vehicle-mounted and dismounted configurations. It allows lower-echelon Soldiers carrying Rifleman Radios and Nett Warrior handheld devices to connect to the network backbone through the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) and Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) waveforms. The Manpack can seamlessly "bridge" communications between Soldiers who are spread out and using different channels.
The Manpack Radio is a key component of the Army's network Capability Sets, which provide integrated voice and data communications across the Brigade Combat Team (BCT) formation.
Through Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), the Army has already purchased 5,326 Manpack Radios, which are being fielded to nine brigade combat teams in the 10th Mountain (Light Infantry), 101st Airborne (Air Assault) and 82nd Airborne Divisions; these Soldiers have used the radios during training missions and while deployed to Afghanistan. The radio has also been evaluated by the 2nd BCT, 1st Armored Division during several Network Integration Evaluation exercises at Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
The Army's total acquisition objective for the Manpack Radio is 65,662 radios.
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