NGA enlisting help for a classified spectral library effort
The agency is looking to fulfill a small business set aside for a database of the surface reflection measurements for certain materials.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is looking for a small business to assist in the development of a classified signature library data system—potentially providing analysts a means to quickly identify different types of material.
In a Request for Proposal released yesterday, NGA has announced that the agency is expecting to award a small business contract for its Nonconventional Exploitation Factors Data System program.
NEFDS is a database of surface reflection parameters, and contains measurements for over 400 materials that can be used to identify objects ranging from camouflage to paint, according to the National Institute for Standards and Technology.
The database has a selection of materials that fall into 12 categories: asphalt, brick, camouflage, composite, concrete, fabric, water, metal, paint, rubber, soil and wood. Additional measurements of other materials can be determined and used with the database.
For NGA, the detailed information that NEFDS can provide is a necessary component of certain intelligence activities such as imagery exploitation, modeling and simulation for sensor and exploitation tools development, and feature extraction and attribution.
The program is different from other spectral libraries in that it can characterize reflectivity, emissivity and radiance estimates as a function of arbitrary source, sensor and target geometry, NGA said. That information can then be used for quantitative analysis, material identification, and improving scenarios, sensors and geometries for collection.
NEFDS directly addresses an important analytic capability—creating automated observations by building, maintaining and deploying signature libraries. It is a critical component of NGA’s requirement to provide exploitation capabilities to the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence and to the Allied System for GEOINT, according to the solicitation.
The contract period is expected to be a base year with four one-year option periods.
The solicitation is classified and proposers are required to have a Top Secret Facility Clearance. Final RFP documents can be found on the Classified Intelligence Community Acquisition Research Center website.