Air Force works on draft statement on ‘Office in the Sky’ contract

The Air Force released a draft work statement to get feedback on its “Office in the Sky” contract requirements.

The Air Force’s Senior Leader Command Control Communications System – Airborne (SLC3S-A) Broadband Aero Mobile Satellite Service (AMSS) II will give officials uninterruptible and seamless connectivity to networks, voice, video, and data, and capabilities available in their office environments—while travelling via aircraft.

The contract is expected to be a single seven-year indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract.

Air Force officials want industry’s input to better understand what companies can offer to further enhance the department’s ability to get satellite services, particularly as technology and dynamics change in industry.

Among general support, the companies must provide:

• Access to IP-based satellite communications services using service subscription plans. The service include space segment, teleport, television, network management, and network monitoring services.
• Equipment and integration support. The Air Force plans to equip all aircraft with open architecture antennas based on a variant of iDirect Inc.’s Open Antenna Modem Interface Protocol (AMIP) interface.
• A training curriculum to ensure personnel are qualified to operate the company’s modem on the provided service and utilize the network monitoring tools.
• Host nation regulatory licensing for use of the system when traveling over their airspace.
• Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI)/Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) Identification, Characterization, and Geo-location.
• Fault management, which includes monitor and test transponder, earth terminal, and associated terrestrial interconnection resources to maintain positive control of the services.
• Interruption and restoration services.

The Air Force released its draft performance work statement June 24. Responses are due by July 10.