GovCon Bid and Proposal Insights
GovCon Bid and Proposal Insights
Advisory Support & Technical Requirement Administration (ASTRA)- Department of the Air Force - Air Force Materiel Command
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Ready to tap into a $477M contract opportunity with the Department of the Air Force? In this episode, we break down the ASTRA MA-IDIQ—covering systems engineering, R&D, intel analysis, and more under NAICS 541330.
Key Topics:
•Contract scope & strategic focus
•RFP timeline & June 2025 release prep
•Positioning tips for small businesses
Listen now to gain an edge in federal contracting!
Contact ProposalHelper at sales@proposalhelper.com to find similar opportunities and help you build a realistic and winning pipeline.
Understanding NASIC's Sources Sought Notice
Speaker 1You ever wonder how the Air Force keeps up with all the crazy new tech coming out in air and space.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1There's got to be a ton of information to keep track of.
Speaker 2There really is.
Speaker 1And we've got these documents here, that kind of pull back the curtain a bit on at least part of that process.
Speaker 2Yeah, you can see how they actually go about finding out what's out there Exactly.
Speaker 1Yeah, so we're talking about a sources sought notice from the United States Air Force, specifically the National Air and Space Intelligence Center.
Speaker 2NASIC.
Speaker 1NASIC down at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Speaker 2Ohio is a hub for a lot of this kind of work.
Speaker 1Yeah, and you know, at first glance you might think sources sought notice Like what is that? Sounds boring.
Speaker 2Eurocratic.
Speaker 1But it's really not. For people like us, this is like gold. Oh yeah, this is really fascinating stuff. So basically, what this is is NASIC kind of putting out a request and saying, hey, we need help understanding all this wild new tech and figuring out you know what the potential threats are out there in the air and space. It's all about finding the right expertise, the right companies. Yeah, think about it like this it's all about finding the right expertise, the right companies.
Speaker 2Yeah, think about it like this they need the best of the best to help them make sense of, you know, incredibly complex tech.
Speaker 1Right.
Speaker 2And figure out what could be a threat. You know what are other countries developing, what capabilities are out there that we need to be aware of that kind of thing.
Speaker 1Yeah, and this is really just the beginning of the process. This isn't about you know who's actually gotten a contract or anything like that. This is just about NASIC going out and saying, OK, who's out there?
Speaker 2Who can help us with this? Finding the right partners? You could say.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly so for our deep dives. Today, we're going to take a close look at what kind of support NASIC is asking for, the kinds of technologies they're interested in.
Speaker 2Which is a lot.
Speaker 1It's a big list, yeah, and what this all tells us about, you know, the future of air and space intelligence. What are they worried about? What are they keeping an eye on? That kind of thing, exactly. So this document is specifically about what they call advisory and assistant services, a and A-S. Yeah, so we're not talking about like yeah, a and A-S.
Speaker 2Yeah, so we're not talking about, like you know, not your typical contractor.
Speaker 1Right, not hiring a plumber or something.
Speaker 2Right, exactly.
Speaker 1This is about bringing in outside experts to give NASIC really solid objective.
Speaker 2Unbiased.
Speaker 1Yeah, unbiased advice on some pretty critical issues.
Speaker 2And they're really serious about that unbiased part.
Speaker 1Oh yeah, yeah, it's actually written right into the note.
Speaker 2You're not messing around.
Speaker 1Yeah, any company that wants to provide these you know advisory services.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1Can't be working on other NASIC contracts at the same time.
Speaker 2Right, no conflict of interest.
Speaker 1Yeah, because you know, if you're working on a contract for NASIC, your advice might be kind of well.
Speaker 2A little too convenient, yeah, a little slanted Right.
Speaker 1So it's really trying to avoid that and make sure that they're getting the most.
Speaker 2Objective Objective Pure analysis.
Speaker 1Yeah, analysis possible.
Speaker 2Because I mean think about the implications here. These are serious issues.
Speaker 1Oh yeah.
Speaker 2National security advanced tech. They need to know they're getting the straight story.
Speaker 1Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely Okay. So let's talk about the way this contract might be set up. So they're thinking about a multi-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract.
Speaker 2IDIQ.
Speaker 1IDIQ. Yeah, I know it's a mouthful.
Speaker 2It is a bit of a jargony term.
Speaker 1It is, but the idea is actually pretty simple.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's basically saying we're going to have a pool of qualified companies, right, and then we'll pick from that pool for specific projects as they come up. So it's efficient. You don't have to start from scratch every time.
Speaker 1Yeah, and it gives the government a lot of flexibility, right. Because they don't know exactly what they're going to need.
Speaker 2Right, things change fast, exactly.
Speaker 1So here's where it gets interesting for businesses, especially small businesses. They're actually thinking about reserving part of this work just for small businesses.
Speaker 2That's a big opportunity.
Speaker 1Yeah, or even having like separate tracks where big companies compete against each other Right. And small companies compete against each other.
Speaker 2Leveling the playing field a bit.
Speaker 1Yeah, exactly, exactly, but there's a catch, of course it's the government right Always a catch right. So there's this rule FAR 52.21914E1. Okay and it basically says that to set aside work for small businesses, at least two small businesses have to be able to do at least half the work. So you know if you're a small business out there.
Speaker 2You got to be able to show you can handle it.
Speaker 1You got to show you can handle it. Yeah, maybe you team up with another small business.
Speaker 2Partner up. Yeah, exactly, jay Gentry.
Speaker 1Exactly that kind of thing. Yeah, so, and even if they don't end up setting aside the whole thing for small businesses, there's still rules about subcontracting, right.
Speaker 2Right. So even the big companies, they still have to involve small businesses.
Speaker 1Yeah, things like FAR 52.219.
Speaker 2Right the Small Business Subcontracting Plan.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly, okay, so now let's talk about the money. The dollars and cents, the dollars and cents Right, because you know it's a business.
Speaker 2Always comes down to that, yeah.
Speaker 1Exactly so. They're thinking about using a couple of different types of sea lions.
Speaker 2Sea lions.
Speaker 1Contract line item numbers.
Speaker 2Oh, right yeah.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's just government jargon.
Speaker 2Acronyms Right Gotta love them.
Speaker 1So for the labor the people actually doing the work they're looking at either firm fixed price.
Speaker 2Where the price is set up front.
Speaker 1Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2No matter what.
Speaker 1Or cost plus fixed fee.
Speaker 2Where they reimburse costs and add a fee on top.
Speaker 1Right, right. And then for things like travel and materials and all that they're looking at, cost reimbursable CLANs.
Speaker 2Okay.
Speaker 1So you know, this is all just kind of giving companies an idea of how the financials might work.
Speaker 2Right, so they can start thinking about how to bid.
Speaker 1Exactly, and the total value of this whole contract? Get this, it could be up to $480 million.
Speaker 2Wow, that's a big chunk of change.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's over five years.
Speaker 2Still, that shows you, how seriously they're taking this. They're willing to invest to get the expertise they need.
The $480 Million Intelligence Investment
Speaker 1Absolutely, absolutely Okay. So now here's the part. I'm the tech, the tech, yeah. What are they actually looking for? What?
Speaker 2are they worried?
Speaker 1about Exactly. So they have this big list of mission sets and it's really fascinating. So they're looking at everything from electro-optical that's EO.
Speaker 2Which is basically about using light to capture images.
Speaker 1Right right.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1But it goes way beyond just taking pictures.
Speaker 2Oh yeah, it can get really sophisticated yeah like spectral analysis and all kinds of things. Yeah, you can figure out all sorts of things about an object just from the light it reflects.
Speaker 1Exactly, or emits yeah.
Speaker 2It's pretty amazing.
Speaker 1Yeah, so then they're looking at synthetic aperture radar.
Speaker 2SAR yeah, that's the one that can see through clouds and stuff. Yeah, even at night, really powerful Right right. And then multi-hyperspectral imagery M HSI.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's kind of like EO on steroids right.
Speaker 2It is. It's like looking at light in a whole new way.
Speaker 1Yeah, way beyond what our eyes can see.
Speaker 2Right, you can identify materials, see things that are hidden. It's really valuable for intelligence gathering.
Advanced Technologies: EO, Radar, and Cyber
Speaker 1Absolutely Okay. So then there's thermal infrared.
Speaker 2TIR. That's all about heat signatures.
Speaker 1Yeah, like those night vision goggles.
Speaker 2Exactly, you can see things in the dark based on their heat. And then there's LIDAR, which uses lasers to create those really detailed 3D maps.
Speaker 1Right, right, and that's just like the first page of the list.
Speaker 2It's incredible.
Speaker 1I know it's crazy. So then they get into radar.
Speaker 2Which is a whole world in itself.
Speaker 1Oh yeah, all kinds of radar Airborne radar, ground-based radar, which?
Speaker 2is a whole world in itself. Oh yeah, all kinds of radar Airborne radar, ground-based radar, passive coherent location PCL, PCL. Yeah, that one's really interesting you can detect things without emitting any signals yourself.
Speaker 1Yeah, so it's really stealthy.
Speaker 2Very sneaky.
Speaker 1Exactly. Then there's jammers.
Speaker 2To disrupt signals Right To create chaos.
Speaker 1And direct energy weapons.
Speaker 2D-U-W. Now we're talking serious stuff.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's like lasers and microwaves and all kinds of things.
Speaker 2Yeah, stuff that can really do some damage.
Speaker 1Right, right. So this really shows you that they're thinking about all the different ways that warfare might be conducted in the future.
Speaker 2Not just bombs and missiles anymore.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly. And then they get into cyber electronic warfare, ew.
Speaker 2EW. Yeah, that's a big one these days.
Speaker 1Oh yeah.
Speaker 2Huge Everything's connected, so electronic warfare is a major threat.
Speaker 1Yeah, and then tools and all source analysis for C4ISR. Now that's a mouse.
Speaker 2C4ISR yeah, command control communications computers intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, Exactly. So it's basically like all the different ways that the military gathers information, all the sensors, all the data.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2And they need help making sense of it all.
Speaker 1Right, because it's not just about having the data.
Speaker 2Right, you got to analyze it, put the pieces together.
Speaker 1Yeah, see the big picture.
Speaker 2Connect the dots.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly. So then there's a four material exploitation, FME.
Speaker 2FME. Yeah, that's basically like taking apart enemy weapons and figuring out how they work.
Speaker 1Right, so we can understand their strengths and weaknesses.
Speaker 2Exactly reverse engineer them.
Speaker 1Yeah, and then persistent infrared PIR.
Speaker 2PIR, that's about keeping a constant watch from above.
Speaker 1Using satellites and stuff.
Speaker 2Right Really important for early warning.
Speaker 1Yeah, something's coming at us we want to know about it Exactly. Okay, so then there's data fusion.
Speaker 2Taking data from different sources and combining it to get a more complete picture.
Speaker 1Right, because one sensor might not tell you everything. Exactly, so you need to put it all together, and then projectory reconstruction for air and missile systems.
Speaker 2That's like figuring out where something's been and where it's going.
Speaker 1Yeah, like if a missile is launched, they want to know where it came from.
Speaker 2Right and where it might be headed.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly. Then there's visualization.
Speaker 2Making the data understandable.
Speaker 1Right, because you could have all the data in the world, but if you can't make sense of it, it's useless. It's useless, so they need people who can turn data into something that you know analysts can understand.
Speaker 2Right Charts, graphs, maps, that kind of thing.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly, okay. So then there's ground-based and airborne EO again. So they're really interested in EO. Huh yeah, it seems like a really important area for them.
Speaker 2Makes sense. It's a fundamental technology.
Speaker 1Yeah, and then mission planning for radar for SNTI.
Speaker 2SNTI.
Speaker 1Science and technology. Okay, yeah, so this is about planning how to use radar for research and development.
Speaker 2Not just for operations, but for pushing the boundaries of what's possible.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly. And then they get into all these different types of radar, over-the-horizon radar.
Speaker 2OT, OT. That's the one that can see really far away.
Speaker 1Yeah, by bouncing signals off the atmosphere.
Speaker 2Crazy stuff.
Speaker 1Then there's line-of-sight radar LOS.
Speaker 2LOS, the more traditional kind of radar Right then non-cooperative target identification radar NCTI. Ncti. That's about figuring out what something is without it telling you.
Speaker 1Yeah, and then bi-static radar, which is kind of complicated.
Speaker 2Yeah, that one uses separate transmitters and receivers.
Data Science, AI, and Future Technologies
Speaker 1Right, right. So they're really looking at the whole spectrum of radar technology, all the different ways to use it. Exactly.
Speaker 2Very comprehensive.
Speaker 1And then there's laser technology.
Speaker 2Lasers Always cool.
Speaker 1And radio frequency RF data sources.
Speaker 2RF yeah, that's a big one.
Speaker 1Yeah, all kinds of signals out there.
Speaker 2And then airborne EO again.
Speaker 1Yeah, so they're really interested in EO.
Speaker 2I'm sensing a pattern here.
Speaker 1And then threat weapon systems technical intelligence.
Speaker 2That's about understanding how the other guy's weapons work.
Speaker 1Yeah, so we can figure out how to counter them.
Speaker 2Exactly.
Speaker 1And then technical reverse design and modeling.
Speaker 2Taking things apart and figuring out how to build them ourselves.
Speaker 1Basically.
Speaker 2Or at least understand how they work.
Speaker 1Right, right and then even weapon systems operations.
Speaker 2So they're not just interested in the tech itself.
Speaker 1Right.
Speaker 2But also how it's used.
Speaker 1Exactly exactly. Okay, so then they get into IT, information technology.
Speaker 2IT yeah, the backbone of everything these days.
Speaker 1Oh yeah, and cloud computing and cloud development, the cloud got to have the cloud. Right, and then data science and data engineering.
Speaker 2Making sense of all that data.
Speaker 1Yeah, because they're collecting a ton of data.
Speaker 2Petabytes probably Probably yeah.
Speaker 1And then they're looking at ways to update their old systems. Legacy architectures yeah and integrate all these new technologies Like high-performance computing, hpc, hpc, yeah, and even quantum computing.
Speaker 2Quantum computing that's the future.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's still early days, but it has huge potential. Definitely so they're really thinking ahead.
Speaker 2Long-term vision.
Speaker 1Exactly exactly. And then, of course, data management and governance.
Speaker 2Got to keep all that data safe and organized, Absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1Yeah, okay. So then there's artificial intelligence and machine learning, aml.
Speaker 2AML yeah, that's a big one for automating analysis.
Speaker 1Yeah, because there's just so much data that humans can't keep up.
Speaker 2Right, you need machines to help you sift through it all.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly, and then, finally, they have this catch-all category.
Speaker 2Other related technologies.
Speaker 1Yeah, basically, yeah, basically anything else that might be relevant.
Speaker 2Because who knows what the future holds right.
Speaker 1Exactly, technology is always changing.
Speaker 2Always evolving.
Speaker 1So they want to be prepared for anything.
Speaker 2Makes sense.
Speaker 1Okay, so beyond just the technical stuff, they're also looking for some other important skills.
Speaker 2Like what.
Speaker 1Well, things like program management.
Speaker 2Got to keep these projects on track.
Speaker 1Yeah, because these are big, complex projects, lots of moving parts, and they need people who understand the intelligence community.
Speaker 2Right all the different agencies and how they work together.
Security Requirements and Response Instructions
Speaker 1And they need AML expertise and software development skills.
Speaker 2To build the tools they need.
Speaker 1Exactly exactly. And, of course, security is a huge concern.
Speaker 2Of course, with this kind of sensitive information.
Speaker 1Yeah, so they need companies that can handle top secret SEI level facilities.
Speaker 2SEIs.
Speaker 1SEIs, yeah, and they need people with really high level clearances.
Speaker 2SAP cap clearances CI polygraphs.
Speaker 1Yeah, all that stuff, because they're dealing with some really sensitive information.
Speaker 2The highest levels of secrecy.
Speaker 1Yeah, and they need access to other secure facilities too.
Speaker 2Not just their own.
Speaker 1Right, right and maybe most importantly, they need companies that can attract and keep really talented people.
Speaker 2That's always a challenge.
Speaker 1Oh yeah, Especially in these fields. It's competitive, very competitive, yeah, okay, so now let's talk about some of the contracting stuff, the business side of things. Right, right, so they're looking for companies that have experience with different pricing models, like firm fixed price and cost plus fixed fee.
Speaker 2Yeah, exactly, and they prefer companies that have worked with the government before, at least in a similar industry, right, right.
Speaker 1And they want companies that either already have a SEIF that's close to NASIC within 25 miles yeah, or they can get one bill quickly six months yeah, six months after they get the contract yeah so they're really looking for companies that can hit the ground running.
Speaker 2They need help now.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly so. This whole sources sought notice is basically a call for companies to come forward.
Speaker 2Show them what you got.
Speaker 1Yeah, and tell NASIC what they can do.
Speaker 2And be specific.
Speaker 1Oh yeah, they want details.
Speaker 2No, vague generalities no, they want details no.
Speaker 1Vague generalities no. They want to see proof.
Speaker 2Experience capabilities, all laid out clearly.
Speaker 1Exactly, exactly, and even if a company doesn't have experience in every single area, they can still respond.
Speaker 2Yeah, but they got to explain how they'll fill those gaps.
Speaker 1Right, maybe they can team up with another company.
Speaker 2Partnerships are key.
Speaker 1Exactly so if you're out there and you think your company might be a good fit.
Speaker 2Here's what you do.
Speaker 1Here's what you do you email Meredith Budding at usafmil.
Speaker 2And Margaret Lennon at usafmil.
Speaker 1Exactly.
Speaker 2Those are the folks in charge.
Speaker 1Yeah, and you have until 2.0000 pm Eastern Time on November 29th 2024.
Speaker 2Mark your calendars.
Speaker 1And one really important thing your response has to be unclassified. No classified info no classified info. Yeah, they're very specific about that.
Speaker 2Makes sense.
Speaker 1So just to kind of sum up what we've learned today Right, nasic is looking for a really wide range of expertise in air and space technologies.
Speaker 2Yeah, from the very basic to the super cutting edge.
Speaker 1Exactly, and they're looking at the long game.
Speaker 2This isn't a one-time thing.
Speaker 1No, they need ongoing support.
Speaker 2For years to come.
Speaker 1Exactly, and this document gives us a really good look at what they're focused on.
Speaker 2Yeah, what they see as the biggest threats.
Speaker 1Right and the kind of skills they're going to need to stay ahead of the curve.
The Future of Air and Space Intelligence
Speaker 2It's a glimpse into the future of air and space intelligence.
Speaker 1It really is.
Speaker 2Fascinating stuff.
Speaker 1So it makes you think right.
Speaker 2It does? What kind of analytical capabilities?
Speaker 1are we going to need in the future Beyond what they've listed here? Yeah, because technology is always moving forward.
Speaker 2What's next?
Speaker 1Yeah, what's coming that we haven't even thought of yet?
Speaker 2That's the question, isn't it?
Speaker 1It is.
Speaker 2And that's what makes this field so exciting.
Speaker 1Absolutely, absolutely Well, that's all the time we have for today.
Speaker 2It's been a pleasure. Yeah, thanks for joining me. Always a good time.
Speaker 1And we'll see you all next time for another deep dive. Dive deep, dive, deep, that's right. Stay curious, stay curious.