USSOCOM Tactical Biometrics Event 2023 Request for Information

1. General: This Request for Information (RFI) is not a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, quotations, or obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services, but for planning purposes only. This RFI is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and to explore industry capabilities. Your response to this RFI will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission to this announcement or the Government use of such information. The information provided may be used by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in development of its acquisition strategy, statement of work/statement of objectives, and performance specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marked proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this request for information or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI. 2. Purpose: a. The USSOCOM, Special Operations Forces-Acquisition Technology and Logistics (SOF AT&L), Program Executive Office-Special Reconnaissance (PEO SR), Program Management Office-Sensitive Site Exploitation (PMO-SSE) seeks information on specific technology areas to gain knowledge of, explore, and identify potential methodologies and available capabilities in the examination of next generation capabilities for multi-modal hybrid biometrics collection devices (MHBCD). b. Next generation MHBCD should be a system capable of collecting, storing, and matching biometric data of four modalities; facial image, iris, contactless fingerprint capture, and contact fingerprint capture. The MHBCD should include the potential for the transmission of the information in a Department of Defense (DoD) Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) file format to an onboard or national database and receive a “match or no match” response. It is imperative that the MHBCD be a system whose collection of contactless fingerprint are comparable to legacy contact fingerprint capture. c. All hardware/equipment submitted for the evaluation shall be production models and capable of performing specific core mission sets conducted by Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE) operators either on the objective or on a forward operating base-like environment for biometric collection and identification of personnel. d. While un-released commercial devices that meet most of the capabilities are allowed, the expectation is that all devices will be final product versions and meet the capabilities detailed in the scenarios that align with approved mission profiles and establish statistical confidence in the results. e. Mission profile evaluation may consist of two independently conducted events: (1) Technical Evaluation to confirm the quality and accuracy of device performance and output; (2) Operational Test and Evaluation to evaluate training, determine usability and suitability for SOF operators in a realistic environment. f. Responses to this RFI may be used by USSOCOM, SOF AT&L, PEO-SR, and PMO-SSE to identify potential hardware and equipment solutions for participation in the further evaluation of market information and/or ascertain potential market capacity to provide services consistent in scope and scale with those described in this notice. 3. Timeline: The Tactical Biometric Event-2023 (TBE-23) is scheduled from October 2022 thru June 2023 in the greater Tampa, Florida area. The preliminary schedule of events (subject to change) is as follows: a. NLT 28 October 2022 – RFI Response. Interested Manufacturers/Vendors respond to this RFI. Responses should be submitted directly through the USSOCOM eSOF portal and must include a detailed three (3) to five (5) page UNCLASSIFIED capability paper and technical description of the proposed current capabilities as described at Section 2. Additionally, identification of the offeror’s primary point(s) of contact with phone and electronic mail information shall also be included. Files shall be submitted to the Government in .docx, .pdf, .xlslx or .pptx format. All responses shall be submitted directly through the USSOCOM Engage SOF (eSOF) portal (https://www.engagesof.com/submit). Please contact the eSOF Office through the eSOF Portal to coordinate information submittal. All other documents provided by the offeror shall be retained by the Government, but not reviewed. Subject to change based upon agency need. b. 7 thru 8 December 2022 – eSOF Presentations. Manufacturers/Vendors present their proposed white papers, equipment and demonstrate the equipment’s capabilities of interest. eSOF presentations will be conducted at 1925 East 2nd Avenue, Suite 102, Tampa, Florida 33605. Specific coordination information will be provided if eSOF when briefing dates and times are scheduled. Proceeding to the next portion is based solely upon best agency need and requirements. Subject to change based upon agency need. c. 3 February 2023 – Technical Evaluation Invitations. Invitations will be sent to select Manufacturers/Vendors to participate in the Technical Evaluation event. While HQ USSOCOM will provide feedback to all Manufacturers/Vendors who participated in the eSOF presentations, only those devices that USSOCOM judges to have the best potential to meet the mission profile evaluation will be invited to participate in the Technical Evaluation event. Subject to change based upon agency need. d. 10 February 2023 - Manufacturers/Vendors Accept Invitations. Deadline for Manufacturers/Vendors to notify USSOCOM SOF AT&L PEO-SRSE-PM-SSE of their intent to participate in the Technical Evaluation and return the completed Vendor Loan Agreements for their devices and any associated items. Subject to change based upon agency need. e. 6 March 2023 – Device Delivery to USSOCOM. Manufacturers/Vendors deliver (on-loan) fully functional devices and associated items for technical assessment. Manufacturers/Vendors also provide necessary technical information to support USSOCOM’s safety review process. Subject to change based upon agency need. f. 7 thru 8 March 2023 – Technical Evaluation Training. Manufacturers/Vendors train USSOCOM testers and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) on the use of their device(s) to support technical evaluation of their device(s). Training will be limited to eight hours per device and must include proper use of the device and troubleshooting. Vendors will be expected to train the USSOCOM evaluators and SMEs to the point where the evaluators and SME can confirm expected levels of performance. Manufacturers/Vendors will be offered the opportunity to conduct the same training for operators participating in the Operational Test and Evaluation portion of TBE-23. Subject to change based upon agency need. g. 9 March thru 9 April 2023 – Technical Evaluation. USSOCOM Evaluators will conduct a technical evaluation of the Manufacturers/Vendors devices to ensure they perform to the standards and levels as presented. Manufacturers/Vendors may be asked to provide reach back support during technical evaluations. Proceeding to the next portion is based solely upon best agency need and requirements. Subject to change based upon agency need. h. 5 thru 16 June 2023 - Operational Test and Evaluation. USSOCOM evaluators and SMEs conduct the Operational Test and Evaluation with the participation of SOF operational personnel. Vendors will be asked to conduct training of their devices during the first week but will not participate in the actual operator driven events conducted jointly by USSOCOM and the Joint Interoperability Test Command. Subject to change based upon agency need. i. NLT 1 July 2023 – Device Return. All Manufacturers/Vendors equipment returned. Subject to change based upon agency need. 4. Disclaimers: THERE IS NO SOLICITATION PLANNED AT THIS TIME. This request for information does not constitute a request for proposals; submission of any information in response to this market research is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred; and the Government will not provide responses to any questions. 5. Points of Contact: Any questions under this RFI must be emailed to [email protected].