Tactical Local Area Network (TACLAN) and Satellite Deployable Node (SDN) "King for a Day" Request for Information (RFI)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Future Special Operations Forces Deployable Communication Infrastructure

United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is conducting market research in accordance with FAR 15.201. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP).

The government is still in the early acquisition planning stage and all activities currently are considered market research. THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. As stipulated in FAR 15.201, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. This Request for Information Notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response. Respondents will not be notified of the results of any Government assessment. The information received will be utilized to assist in formulating the acquisition strategy. No classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. Responders are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this announcement and information submitted in response to this Request for Information will not be returned. The information obtained through this Request for Information is to obtain market information and capabilities. Responses will assist the Government in identifying potential responsible sources and to determine appropriate strategies to meet the Agency’s requirements.

1.0 Purpose and Objective

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit innovative concepts and capability statements from industry to inform the modernization of tactical Command and Control (C2) networks, specifically addressing the capability gaps of legacy Tactical Local Area Network (TACLAN) and Satellite Deployable Node (SDN) systems.

The "King for a Day" Challenge:

We are asking industry partners to adopt a "King for a Day" perspective. If you were unconstrained by legacy programmatic baggage, existing hardware mandates, and traditional acquisition silos, how would your organization architect a holistic, capability-driven C2 solution to solve our operational problems? We are seeking modular, Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) based architectures that prioritize survivability, agility, low probability of intercept/detection (LPI/LPD), and user simplicity for Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO).

Responses received under this Request for Information will assist the Government in refining and shaping the acquisition strategy. Upon completion and approval of the finalized strategy, the Government anticipates issuing a competitive solicitation to industry for future acquisition opportunities.

2.0 The Vision: Required Capabilities

The enterprise envisions a transition to a unified, modular ecosystem. Capabilities must include:

• Modular "Warehouse" Architecture: A standardized, lightweight, "blade and card" chassis where components can be hot-swapped to tailor kits for specific echelons (Team, Company, Battalion, JSOTF) without requiring entirely distinct programmatic systems.
• Transport Agnosticism & Automated SD-WAN: The core kit must seamlessly route traffic across any available transport prioritizing Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (pLEO/Starshield), LTE/5G, local ISP, and SD-WAN mesh networking—with automated failover and minimal user intervention.
• Tactical Edge Compute & Organic CDS: Organic, localized processing, virtualization, and services (e.g., TAK, RoIP, PXE boot, local Exchange) that allow units to operate effectively in Disconnected, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) environments. This must include an integrated Cross-Domain Solution (CDS) to push intelligence securely across enclaves at the edge.
• Signature Management & EW Resilience: Low-profile antennas with rapid acquisition times (under 60 seconds), built-in spectrum analysis capabilities, and automated dynamic routing to evade detection and maintain connectivity under EW attack.

3.0 Information Requested

Based on your capabilities, please provide a white paper detailing how you would solve these problems. Responses should specifically address the following "King for a Day" prompts:

1. Architecture, SWaP, & Power: How would you design a scalable, COTS-based hardware ecosystem that condenses WAN, LAN, server compute, and Radio integration into a TSA checked-baggage compliant (<70 lbs per case) form factor? Include considerations for extreme environmental hardening and battery/power management.
2. Automated Orchestration: How would your solution eliminate tedious manual configurations, resolve the "tombstoning" domain drop issue, and provide reliable over-the-air updates? Describe your approach to "plug-and-play" deployment that allows non-communicators to establish a secure network in minutes.
3. High-Throughput Security & CDS: How would your architecture overcome current encryption bottlenecks (the 100mbps limit) to support high-bandwidth applications securely? Detail how you would integrate Cross-Domain Solutions natively to support multi-enclave data flow (Black, Red, Green, Grey) at the tactical edge.
4. Transport, Edge Compute & DDIL: Describe how your solution achieves true "transport agnosticism" via SD-WAN. Crucially, detail how your edge compute solution ensures operators maintain robust localized services (e.g., intra-site chat, email, imaging) when entirely disconnected from the enterprise cloud.
5. Signature Management & Spectrum Awareness: How does your solution minimize physical and electromagnetic signatures to increase survivability in LSCO? Detail how you would provide operators with organic spectrum analysis to counter EW threats.
6. Policy & Integration: Assuming a policy shift (Risk Management Framework evolution) that allows rapid adoption of NIAP/APL-approved COTS hardware, how would you ensure your solution remains continuously modernized, interoperable with allied/NATO networks (e.g., FMN standards), and secure?

5.0 Submission Guidelines

Submitted responses shall not exceed twenty (20) pages in length, single-sided, single-spaced pages in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format. This will not include the cover sheet, table of contents, or acronym list.

Responses must be unclassified and any proprietary information provided must be marked accordingly. To protect such data, each line or paragraph on the pages containing such data must be specifically identified and marked with a legend like the following:

“The following contains proprietary information that [name of responder] requests are not released to persons outside the Government, except for the purposes of review and evaluation.”

Responses should be submitted to Chad.Skiendziel@SOCOM.mil  no later than noon EST on 26 June 2026.

6.0 Government Feedback

The Government appreciates industry’s interest in responding to this Request for Information (RFI). All submissions will be reviewed to assess the relevance, maturity, and potential applicability of proposed capabilities. Following completion of the review, the Government may elect to schedule individual follow on meetings with responding companies to obtain clarification, discuss technical details, or further explore concepts of interest. Any such engagement will be conducted in accordance with applicable acquisition regulations and will not constitute a commitment by the Government to pursue a contractual action. Respondents will be contacted directly should the Government determine that additional discussion is beneficial.