U.S. ARMY SEEKS ‘OPERATIONAL ENERGY’ SOLUTIONS FOR NIE 13.2
28 Aug 12. The Army, through the System of Systems Integration Directorate, announced Aug. 24 that it is seeking interested industry and government sources with mature solutions to support the Army’s “operational energy” capability gap and to participate in the next Network Integration Evaluation.
The next Network Integration Evaluation, or NIE, event, NIE 13.2, is scheduled May 2013 at Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The NIE is a series of semi-annual evaluations designed to further integrate and mature the Army’s tactical network, and accelerate and improve the way networked and non-networked technologies are delivered to Soldiers.
The NIE 13.2 will focus on solidifying the network baseline that will make up the foundation of “Capability Set 14,” the Army’s second integrated set of network capability, which will be fielded beginning in 2014.
The purpose of the most recent supplemental “sources sought” document for operational energy is to bring candidates against this important capability gap into the NIE as soon as possible. Operational energy is non-networked, so evaluation requirements for candidate systems are reduced, ensuring all candidates still have the opportunity to participate in NIE 13.2 with the same timeline.
The most recent “sources sought” request seeks mature capability solutions to reduce operational energy consumption for mounted and dismounted Soldiers, and to improve operational energy utilization efficiency.
“The Army recognizes the energy field as a cornerstone to our modernization,” said Brig. Gen. Dan Hughes, director, SoSI. “As the NIE expands in scale to a capabilities integration evaluation, we are evaluating capabilities on a wider scope that goes beyond simply the network and right now energy solutions are at the front of the list. NIE 13.2 is an important stepping stone on road to the CIE, and we continue to reach out to our industry partners to bring in their
best and most innovative solutions.”
The Army is seeking only those solutions that address the specific identified gap, that are at the representative model or prototype system stage and that have been tested in a relevant environment. Interested industry partners can view detailed “sources sought” information and functional requirements for the operational energy gap by accessing the Federal Business Opportunities website at https://www.fbo.gov. (Source: US Army/ASD Network)