USAF F-16 Next-Generation Mission Compute (NGMC) Upgrade for Combat…

SOURCES SOUGHT / CAPABILITIES REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (CRFI) Name/Subject : USAF F-16 Next-Generation Mission Compute (NGMC) Upgrade for Combat Capabilities for F-16, Blocks 40/42/50/52 Notice ID, Unique identifier: FA8615-26-RFI-F16UPGRADE Contract Opportunity Type/Notice Type: Sources Sought NAICS Code : 334511 – Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing Product Service Code (PSC): 1680 – Miscellaneous Accessories and Components Place of Performance : Hill AFB, UT, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, and/or Contractor Facilities. Response Date: 30 days from publication Point of Contact (POC) : Contracting Officer: Jason Brown, jason.brown.148@us.af.mil Contract Specialist: Zaria Gray-Goodnight, zaria.gray-goodnight@us.af.mil 1.0 INTRODUCTION & PURPOSE This is a Request for Information (RFI) / Sources Sought notice issued by the Department of War, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Fighters and Advanced Aircraft (WA), F-16 Program Office (DEPT OF WAR / DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE / AFMC / AFLCMC / WAM (F-16 Division). This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this CRFI is to conduct market research to identify potential sources (including small businesses, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, and WOSB) with the capabilities and manufacturing maturity to design, develop, manufacture, and integrate a Next-Generation Mission Compute (NGMC) upgrade for combat capabilities for USAF F-16 Blocks 40/42/50/52. The NGMC program aims to deliver a significant increase in reliability and processing performance while maintaining compatibility with the existing F-16 infrastructure. This upgrade is critical for addressing current capability gaps and enabling future modernization efforts. 2.0 BACKGROUND / REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION 2.1 Program Overview: The USAF F-16 NGMC subsystem is intended to be a replacement for the F-16 Post-Block Modular Mission Computer (MMC) for both USAF and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Partners. The NGMC will support the current F-16 functional requirements, rehost, and execute the legacy MMC Operational Flight Program (OFP). The NGMC must be a form, fit, and function (FFF) replacement for the legacy MMC, utilizing the same physical space and existing aircraft wiring where possible. The solution must be designed for efficient, cost-effective installation and a two-level maintenance concept. The NGMC will be a strategic pivot from the current, monolithic avionics architecture to a modern, software-defined architecture and provide an efficient path for increased reliability and performance far beyond the current F-16 MMC. It must provide flexibility to accommodate significant growth by quickly integrating new and updated Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) compliant hardware modules. The NGMC will be a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) based solution. HW will conform to DoD-mandated SOSA standards. This modular HW approach will allow flexibility to best fit both USAF and an exportable configuration for FMS Partners with the expectation that the chassis, power system, Input/Output (I/O), and safety critical processing modules would be common. The Agile Mission Suite (AMS) Government Reference Architecture (GRA) will be used for the software (SW) framework where applicable. This architecture, coupled with a robust DevSecOps pipeline, will enable the continuous delivery of SW-defined capabilities, ensuring the platform is positioned to rapidly adapt and win for years to come. A key enabler of the new MOSA architecture is to break vendor lock for HW upgrades. The intent of the Government is to have maximum flexibility and agility to upgrade with modular open standards based HW from a large and robust industrial base. To best support this mindset and approach the Government prefers COTS or modified COTS over custom HW modules/cards. In cases where modified COTS or custom modules are proposed, vendors should be prepared to present the technical and business case justifying the choice. The degree to which the system is open and the ease it can be adapted to future needs will be a key part of the grading criteria. A primary goal of this effort is to establish physical separation of the safety-critical (real-time DAL C) and mission-critical (non-real-time DAL E) compute resources. Any deviation from physical separation must be rigorously justified based on a trade-off analysis that includes the full lifecycle cost of certifying and maintaining a mixed-criticality system. Part of the solution will be an Open Missions Systems (OMS) isolator service (gateway or boundary protection) between the safety-critical and mission-critical that exposes an AMS GRA compliant interface. Another goal of the effort is to establish a common, automated development ecosystem. The Government plans to continue working with the 309 Software Engineering Group (SWEG) as the main SW prov