Military Communications and IP Network Specialist

Deadline Date: Tuesday 8 October 2024

Requirement: Military Communications and IP Network Specialist

Location: Off-site

Note: Please refer to your Subcontract Agreement, article 6.4.1.a, which states “Off-Site Discount: 5% (this discount is applicable to all requirements, and applies when the assigned personnel are permitted to work Off-Site, such as at- home)". Please be sure to price this discount in your overall price proposal when submitting bids against off-site RFQs

Period of Performance: 2025 BASE: 01/01/2025 – 31/12/2025, with the possibility to exercise following options:

2025 option: 01/01/2025 – 31/12/2025

2026 option: 01/01/2026 – 31/12/2026

2027 option: 01/01/2027 – 31/12/2027

End Contract Date: 31 December 2024

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

Note: For all Level-of-Effort and Completion-Type requests processed outside of the IWC Value Stream, and for which the contractor will not be reimbursed directly by NCIA for travel expenses, additional travel funding shall be allocated on a Not-to-exceed basis when the yearly Option is exercised.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Joint ISR Service Centre – Operations Support Services Branch, support operation to the NATO AEW Programme, FLEP.

The NATO E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) is currently undergoing a major system modification to extend its life through the 2035 timeframe. The Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) upgrades NE-3A hardware, software, mission communications systems and Electronic Support Measures (ESM), and provides new ground systems to extend the NE-3A’s relevancy through 2035.

NCI Agency is required to provide continued support to these operational programmes through the provision of technical expertise to ensure the effective delivery of services in the operations support area of the above-mentioned programmes.

2 SCOPE OF WORK

Under the direction of the OSSB Branch Head, the incumbent will perform duties such as the following:

Provide support the NAEW&C Force Scientific and Technical Support (STS) Programme of Work (PoW) and engineering support to assist NAPMA in developing & testing a communication Ground Test System (GTS) test the upgraded FLEP array of communication equipment for the NATO E-3A. The following tasks will be performed:

- An analysis of SATCOM Capability for Airborne C2

- Plan, test and support the NCI Agency team in the acquisition of required HW.

- Develop innovative IP communication solutions that include network design, new technology for hardware/firmware, and testing.

- Provide documentation and test plans to support fielding of airborne and ground support communication systems.

- Provide updates on NATO developments and decisions relating to communication means (radios, Link architectures, cryptos) to support the Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP).

The work requires off-site support to provide assessments, reports, and support to meetings (remote or in person) in the requested areas. The work will be conducted during normal office hours as well as outside office hours and on weekends as part of an on-call schedule, if needed.

The scope is not limited to the above-mentioned tasks, and may be expanded with additional tasks on an as-needed basis.

The Contractor will be part of a team (project manager, technical lead, system administrators, etc.) and will work employing an Agile and iterative approach using multiple sprints. Each sprint is planned for a duration of 2 weeks with an average of 38 hours per week, support shall be provided on an ad-hoc basis. The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed with the project manager and the technical lead during the sprint-planning meeting.

3 DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT MILETONES

The following deliverables are expected from the work on this statement of work:

Deliverable 01: Sprints (FY 2025) Reports and presentations explaining support to NE-3A FLEP GK & PAR GTS development and fielding

Quantity: 2

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each (1) sprint

1. Produce sprint completion reports (format: e-mail update, see Section 4), which include activities performed as agreed upon with the NCIA Project Manager.

2. Participate in meetings and boards on as-needed basis, or as requested by NCI Agency.

3. Payment is upon successful acceptance following the delivery of the sprint report and the Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (Annex C) including the EBA Receipt number.

The NCIA team reserves the possibility to exercise a number of options, based on the same scrum deliverable timeframe and cost, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements.

Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (Annex C) signed by the Contractor and project authority.

2025 OPTION: 01/01/2025 to 31/12/2025

Deliverable 02: Sprints (FY 2025) Reports and presentations explaining support to NE-3A FLEP GK & PAR GTS development and fielding

Quantity: 6

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each (1) sprint

1. Produce sprint completion reports (format: e-mail update, see Section 4), which include activities performed as agreed upon with the NCIA Project Manager.

2. Participate in meetings and boards on as-needed basis, or as requested by NCI Agency.

3. Payment is upon successful acceptance following the delivery of the sprint report and the Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (Annex C) including the EBA Receipt number.

The NCIA team reserves the possibility to exercise a number of options, based on the same scrum deliverable timeframe and cost, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements.

Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (Annex C) signed by the Contractor and project authority.

2026 OPTION: 01/01/2026 to 31/12/2026

Deliverable 03: Sprints (FY 2026) Reports and presentations explaining support to NE-3A FLEP GK & PAR GTS development and fielding

Quantity: 8

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each (1) sprint

1. Produce sprint completion reports (format: e-mail update, see Section 4), which include activities performed as agreed upon with the NCIA Project Manager.

2. Participate in meetings and boards on as-needed basis, or as requested by NCI Agency.

3. Payment is upon successful acceptance following the delivery of the sprint report and the Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (Annex C) including the EBA Receipt number.

The NCIA team reserves the possibility to exercise a number of options, based on the same scrum deliverable timeframe and cost, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements.

Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (Annex C) signed by the Contractor and project authority.

2027 OPTION: 01/01/2027 to 31/12/2027

Deliverable 04: Sprints (FY 2027) Reports and presentations explaining support to NE-3A FLEP GK & PAR GTS development and fielding

Quantity: 8

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each (1) sprint

1. Produce sprint completion reports (format: e-mail update, see Section 4), which include activities performed as agreed upon with the NCIA Project Manager.

2. Participate in meetings and boards on as-needed basis, or as requested by NCI Agency.

3. Payment is upon successful acceptance following the delivery of the sprint report and the Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (Annex C) including the EBA Receipt number.

The NCIA team reserves the possibility to exercise a number of options, based on the same scrum deliverable timeframe and cost, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements.

Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (Annex C) signed by the Contractor and project authority.

4 COORDINATION AND REPORTING

The Contractor shall work off-site.

The Contractor shall participate in status update meetings and other meetings when required, physically in the office, or in person via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities, according to service delivery manager’s instructions.

For each sprint to be considered as complete and payable, the contractor must report the outcome of his/her work during the sprint, first verbally during the retrospective meeting and then in writing within three (3) days after the sprint’s end date. A report in the format of a short email shall be sent to the project manager mentioning briefly the work held and the development achievements during the sprint.

5 SCHEDULE

This task order will be active immediately after signing of the contract by both parties.

The BASE period of performance is 01/01/2025 – 31/12/2025.

If the 2025 option or a follow-on optional year is exercised (e.g. 2026, 2027) the period of performance shall be from 1 st January through 31 December of that specific year.

6 SECURITY

The duties described in this SOW require a valid NATO SECRET security clearance prior to the start of the engagement.

7 CONSTRAINTS

All the documentation provided under this statement of work will be based on NCI Agency templates and/or agreed with the NCIA service delivery point of contact.

All support, maintenance, documentation and required code will be stored under configuration management and/or in the provided NCI Agency tools.

8 PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

The contractor is expected to work off-site. Work on-site can also be arranged with the project manager.

There may be required to travel to other sites within NATO for completing these tasks. Travel expenses will be reimbursed to the individual directly (outside this contract) under NATO rules.

ONE contractor must accomplish this work. In the event the contractor leaves during the contract period, a new contractor who has the proven required qualifications and is evaluated qualified and suitable shall replace them. All normal NCI Agency Terms and Conditions apply.

NCIA furnished equipment:

REACH laptop (NR AIS) with external voice call capability and access to NCI Agency’s internal portals.

9 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

[See Requirements]

10 REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

[See Requirements]

Requirements

6 SECURITY

• The duties described in this SOW require a valid NATO SECRET security clearance prior to the start of the engagement.

9 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

This post requires an individual who has:

• In depth experience of working on HF/VHF/UHF radio systems and satellite radio systems, specifically but not limited to, Iridium, Inmarsat and MILSATCOM.
• In depth experience and knowledge of NATO E-3A requirements, operations, systems characteristics and testing, specifically on IP communication systems over narrowband channels, i.e. HF radios, INMARSAT and Iridium.
• In depth knowledge on communication means (radios, Link architectures), JISR, Crypto, Command & Control and NATO STANAGs that are relevant to the NATO Airborne Early Warning, NE-3A IP comms/AIS and the NATO E-3A Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP).
• Experience in interoperability issues with communication systems within the NATO context, specifically for the tactical environments.

10 REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The following qualifications are required:

• Holds a nationally recognized/certified Bachelor Degree in a science-based subject, including mathematics.
• Holds a nationally recognized/certified training qualification