After this summer’s successfully conducted first-ever Network Integration Evaluation (NIE), the Army on Sept. 8 plans an Industry Day in El Paso, Texas.
The event is for those interested industry partners who would like to participate in the NIE process. It is not mandatory for industry representatives to attend if they want to be part of the NIE process, the service said in a statement. The Industry Day is intended as an optional informational meeting.
The Army expects the meeting to: familiarize industry with the NIE process; introduce the major organizations involved in the NIE process and their missions; show how the evaluation brigade, (2/1 Armor Div.) is structured and what equipment it has; and to offer a first-hand look at the test and evaluation ranges and environmental conditions at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
Those who should attend are industry sources with mature networked technology solutions that have responded to recently issued NIE sources sought notifications or may potentially respond to future notifications, the service statement said.
The Industry Day is set up to allow industry representatives to ask questions of senior Army NIE leaders and managers about the NIE process and to see, through a comprehensive Army-provided tour, the equipment the systems would be integrating with and the test ranges and conditions the systems will be asked to perform within.
NIEs are planned to be a series of semi-annual evaluations designed to integrate and mature the Army’s tactical network.
The Army’s recently issued sources sought notifications are seeking solutions that “address specific network capabilities that are at the representative model or prototype system stage and have been tested in a relevant environment,” the service said. If such solutions meet certain entrance criteria, they will be selected to participate in coming NIE events at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. This will allow soldiers to use the systems and provide operationally relevant feedback on systems’ usability and performance.
Interested industry partners that would like to participate in the Industry Day can access the FedBizOps.gov registration page through the Army Website: http://www.bctmod.army.mil/development_focus/index.html.