US Army Plans To Shop For New Manpack Radios.

The US Army announced on Monday that it has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the acquisition of additional Manpack Radios under a full and open competition approach.

The draft RFP, posted April 3 to the Federal Business Opportunities website, moves the Army toward Full Rate Production (FRP) for the Manpack Radio, part of the Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) program.

The contracts will be awarded to multiple vendors, creating a "radio marketplace" where vendors will compete for delivery orders as needed, after they achieve technical and operational requirements. 

Col. James P. Ross, Project Manager for Tactical Radios said, "The radio marketplace gives all vendors the opportunity to participate, driving down costs and promoting continuous innovation."

Through FRP, the Army has been authorized to purchase up to 60,296 Manpack Radios through 2032. The Army will then conduct competitions for delivery orders among the qualified vendors. Vendors whose technologies mature after the initial competition and operational tests will also have on-ramp opportunities, as part of the Non-Developmental Item acquisition strategy.

A pre-solicitation day is planned for April 16, and a contract award is expected in Fiscal Year 2016 for radios to support laboratory and operational tests, with FRP beginning in Fiscal Year 2017. 

After the contract is awarded, each radio will undergo initial qualification testing to determine if threshold requirements have been met. Vendors that do not meet qualifications will be off-ramped. Vendors that do meet qualifications will move to the next phase, an operational test. 

The Manpack, the Army's first two-channel, software-defined radio is delivered in vehicle-mounted and dismounted configurations. It allows lower-echelon Soldiers carrying Rifleman Radios and Nett Warrior handheld devices to connect to the network backbone through the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) and Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) waveforms.

The Army's total acquisition objective for the Manpack Radio is 65,662 radios.