ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial announcement

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: BAA-RIK-12-01

CFDA Number: 12.800

THIS WILL BE A TWO-STEP SOLICITATION:

First Step: WHITE PAPER DUE DATE AND TIME: White Papers will be accepted on or before 4 PM Eastern Standard Time, 23 NOV 2011. Late white paper submissions will not be accepted after this due date. See Section IV for additional information.

Only white papers are due at this time. Full proposals will be requested by the Government from those Offerors selected in the white paper evaluation process.

Second Step: PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: Proposals will be accepted on or before 4 PM Eastern Standard Time, 23 DEC 2011 . This BAA will be closed at 4 PM Eastern Standard Time on 23 DEC 2011. PROPOSALS ARE NOT BEING REQUESTED AT THIS TIME.

NOTE: White Paper/Proposal receipt after the due date and time shall be governed by the provisions of FAR 52.215-1(c)(3). It should be noted that this installation observes strict security procedures to enter the facility. These security procedures are NOT considered an interruption of normal Government processes, and white paper/proposals received after the above stated date and time as a result of security delays will be considered ""late."" Furthermore, note that if offerors utilize commercial carriers for delivery of white papers/proposals, they may not honor time-of-day delivery guarantees on military installations. Early white paper submission is encouraged.

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION:

1. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Information Directorate, is soliciting white papers on the following research effort:

The area of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) exploitation and analysis for signals intelligence (SIGINT) possesses identified deficiencies with regards to cycle time and personnel requirements for the analysis of large data sets. As intelligence operators today are required to make critical decisions from analyzing large amounts of data acquired from multiple operational missions, semi-automated and automated technology capabilities are required to greatly enhance the analyst's abilities to identify any items of interest, and assist them with the prevalent data saturation issues they are currently experiencing.

The aim of this BAA is to develop leading edge techniques and technologies that will provide near real-time and post-mission SIGINT analysis and exploitation capabilities. Technology areas under this announcement include, but are not limited to: effective and efficient data storage and dissemination capabilities; advanced data-mining techniques to process the vast amounts of data acquired from multiple missions; and automation or semi-automation of appropriate data analysis and exploitation techniques.

2. Data Rights Desired:

a. Technical Data: Unlimited Rights
b. Non-Commercial Software (NCS): Unlimited Rights
c. NCS Documentation: Unlimited Rights
d. Commercial Computer Software Rights: Customary License

e. The Air Force Research Laboratory is engaged in the discovery, development, and integration of warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace forces. As such, rights in technical data and NCS developed or delivered under this contract are of significant concern to the Government. The Government will therefore carefully consider any restrictions on the use of technical data, NCS, and NCS documentation which could result in transition difficulty or less-than full and open competition for subsequent development of this technology.