OpportunityTitle: EXPEDITIONARY WARFARE C4 TECHNOLOGIES
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: All responsible sources from academia and industry may submit proposals under this BAA.  Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals.  However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation.    Federally Funded Research &amp; Development Centers (FFRDCs), including Department of Energy National Laboratories, are not eligible to receive awards under this BAA.  However, teaming arrangements between FFRDCs and eligible principal bidders are allowed so long as they are permitted under the sponsoring agreement between the Government and the specific FFRDC.    Navy laboratories and warfare centers as well as other Department of Defense and civilian agency laboratories are also not eligible to receive awards under this BAA and should not directly submit either white papers or full proposals in response to this BAA.  If any such organization is interested in one or more of the programs described herein, the organization should contact an appropriate ONR POC to discuss its area of interest.  The various scientific divisions of ONR are identified at http://www.onr.navy.mil/.  As with FFRDCs, these types of federal organizations may team with other responsible sources from academia and industry that are submitting proposals under this BAA.    University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) are eligible to submit proposals under this BAA unless precluded from doing so by their Department of Defense UARC contracts.    Teams are also encouraged and may submit proposals in any and all areas.  However, Offerors must be willing to cooperate and exchange software, data and other information in an integrated program with other contractors, as well as with system integrators, selected by ONR.    Some topics cover export controlled technologies.  Research in these areas is limited to &#147;U.S. persons&#148; as defined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) &#150; 22 CFR &#167; 1201.1 et seq.
Description: The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving proposals for innovative Command, Control, Computers and Communication technologies that will enhance the warfighting capabilities of Naval Expeditionary forces. These technology areas include: Basic Research (phenomenology: TRL 1-2)Mathematical Trust Models:Certificate-based, especially centrally-managed, authentication of mobile users is often not practical in tactical networks when through put is at a premium, central authentication authorities are not reachable, and security sessions time out because of poor link conditions. We desire to explore fundamental and generally applicable mathematical representations of trust that could ultimately be applied to wireless network user authentication with little to no prior knowledge of the user&#146;s desire to join the network. Recent research in attribute&#150;based encryption and in other areas, may offer promise when applied to the decentralized, efficient authentication problem. Generalizable and provable methods are plusses, as specific future applications may not be discernible and the need to satisfy accreditation authorities will be paramount. Applied Research (proof of concept: TRL 2-4)HF Antennas:Electrically small HF (2-30 MHz) antennas continue to be a daunting research challenge for both vehicular and small unit technologies. HF antennas must be able to support future waveforms that extend the instantaneous bandwidth from 3 kHz to 24 kHz or be able to support noncontiguous channels. Furthermore, antennas are needed that are dual-polarized to support NVIS, skywave, and ground wave or antennas that can steer their beam and point to the direction of propagation. HF antenna designs and feeding schemes that show promises are sought for either/both vehicular or man-pack applications. Vehicular antennas must be able to handle 400 Watts, and man-pack antennas must be able to handle 20 Watts. Possible enabling technologies include but are not limited to slow wave miniaturization, electromagnetic band gap or high impedance surfaces, and material loading.Advanced Technology Development (military utility demonstration and prototyping: TRL 4-6)Broadband Amplifiers:Hand-held devices are power hungry and are limited by the efficiency of their power amplifiers. Likewise, modern communications require complex waveforms with both envelope and phase modulation. Therefore, broadband, linear, efficient 5 Watt power amplifiers that cover 225-5000 MHz are sought for handheld devices. Enabling technologies include but are not limited to tunable power amplifiers, wide band gap semi-conductor devices, LINC (linear amplification using non-linear techniques), and class J amplifiers. Adaptable Antennas:Adaptable antennas that show promise in either reducing the footprint (inter-element spacing of ~lambda/10 at low frequency), or reduction in electrical height are sought that seek to cover the frequency range of 225-5000 MHz. The ability for the antennas to adapt to the RF environment to achieve high directionality and to be on a reasonable path toward low cost for handheld applications are a plus. Performance improvement due to adaptability of antenna should be demonstrated. Enabling technologies include but are not limited to reconfigurable antennas, tunable antennas, and electronically steerable parasitic antennas radiators.**************************************************************************************************The FULL ANNOUNCEMENT is available on the Grants.gov website by scrolling to the top of the synopsis page and clicking on the &quot;FULL ANNOUNCEMENT&quot; box surrounded by the dotted line at the top of the page.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Grants.gov Questions
GrantorContactText: PETER DONAGHUE &lt;br/&gt;CONTRACT SPECIALIST &lt;br/&gt;OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH &lt;br/&gt;DESMOND.DONAGHUE@NAVY.MIL &lt;br/&gt;703-696-0694 &lt;br/&gt;