Active

Contract Opportunity

Request for Information (RFI) -

Short Endurance – Small Unmanned Surface Vessels

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division

110 Vernon Avenue

Panama City Beach, Florida 32407

ADDITIONAL GENERAL INFORMATION

This is a Request for Information (RFI) as defined in FAR 15.201(e) to obtain information about pricing, delivery, and other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals; therefore, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Companies that respond will not be paid for the information submitted. The Government will be utilizing Government personnel only under this RFI. The role of these Government personnel is to function as reviewers. These personnel will have access to the information submitted in response to the RFI, and will provide technical expertise and/or advice as required. All personnel have Non-Disclosure Agreements on file with the Government.

NOTE: Responses to this RFI are due no later than 30 days from the RFI publish date. If late information is received, it may be considered by the Government Evaluation Team, depending on agency time constraints.

PSC – 1940

NAICS – 336612, 1,000 Employees

GENERAL INTENT

DESCRIPTION

The Navy provides this RFI inviting industry to provide information on technologies related to short endurance, unmanned surface vessels. Industry responses to the RFI will be assessed and may assist in identifying potential future actions.

Note: There is no guarantee that any submitted topic will be funded, and responders to this RFI will have no competitive advantage in receiving awards related to the submitted topic area. The information submitted in all responses may be utilized to help the Government further define its requirements. If the Government develops a project that addresses any submitted or similar topic, the resulting procurement will address technology and business specific requirements as defined by the Government to achieve project objectives.

BACKGROUND

The Government is seeking unmanned surface vessel technologies that will meet some or all of the performance requirements below. Meeting all requirements of this RFI is not mandatory. The Government wants to understand the market space and potentially work with vendors to close identified gaps for a rapid fielding Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA)

This RFI is released to support PMS 340’s need for small unmanned surface vessels (USVs). The requirements below are specific to “short endurance” USVs. Small unmanned surface vessels are defined as less than 14ft in length with a 4ft beam or less and less than 1000 lbs. There is a possibility of two variants, a short variant less than 6 feet and larger variant with a maximum length of 14 feet. Mono hulls are preferred but all will be considered.

Basic Goals/Requirements

The following is a list of basic goals/requirements for the USV. Again, responses encouraged even if all cannot be met.

Transportability

USV-001

The USV shall be transportable to and from an operational area by an unmodified Combat Craft Medium (CCM) Mark 1.

USV-002

The USV shall be transportable to and from an operational area by an unmodified Combatant Craft Assault (CCA). Towing the USV from a CCA is acceptable if towable at operationally relevant speeds.

USV-003

Handling to launch and recover the USV requires less than five personnel.

USV-004

The USV shall be towable by host platform

Performance

Operational duration of 4 hours

USV-005

Conditions

• Sea state two


• 10 lbs of interchangeable payload with an average power draw of 10 watts for 4 hours.

USV-006

Speed

• 15 knot “sprint” for two minutes


• Maintain 4 knots for two hours


• Remaining time can be in loiter

USV-007

Maneuverability/Stability

• The USV shall have the ability to hold station plus or minus 15 meters in sea state two with 15 knot winds.

USV-008

Autonomy

• The USV shall have some level of autonomy to execute a preplanned mission and make changes based on the input it is given by integrated sensors.

Payload

USV-009

Ability to power and provide data to and from vehicle and payload.

USV-010

The USV shall be compatible with the USSOCOM Modular Payload A-Kit.

USV-011

In less than 90 minutes, a team of two trained operators shall be capable of changing payloads without altering other subsystems or power supplies, execute a payload built-in-test, and return the vehicle to mission ready status.

Communication

USV-012

USV shall have the ability to receive and transmit C2 and payload data via line of sight links.

USV-013

USV shall have the ability to receive and transmit C2 and payload data (dependent on size) over the horizon.

Energy

USV-014

The energy sources for the USV should be something that can be produced, refueled, or recharged in an austere environment, and is suitable for use on Naval surface ships.

USV-015

Lithium Ion batteries are acceptable but additional information on the batteries used is requested.

Ease of use

USV-0016

With trained personnel, the USV shall require a maximum of 60 minutes to set-up, calibrate, and field test (pre-mission checklist).

Environmental

USV-017

All system equipment directly exposed to the environment during maritime operations shall be designed to resist corrosion from salt spray/fog.

OPTIONAL

USV-018

Transit a minimum 50 nm

USV-019

Low signature and survivability capabilities that minimize detection during field operation

USV-020

Cyber hardening capabilities for data-at-rest (DAR) and data-in-transit (DIT) including zeroing data through scuttle and hard drive removal

USV-021

Hybrid Power Train

REQUIRED RESPONSES

Limit RFI responses to 5 pages. Responses containing Contractor proprietary information must be marked and transmitted in accordance with Contractor company requirements. Proprietary information can be submitted by either encrypted email or CD/DVD digital media. CLASSIFIED SUBMISSIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED. Note: See Format and Page Limitations and Submission of Documentation paragraphs for additional instructions. Responses are preferred in the following format:

TITLE: Descriptive title for technology solution

SUBMITTER INFORMATION: Responses should include the company name, location of company, and the title, telephone number, and both mail and e-mail addresses of a point of contact (POC) having authority and knowledge to discuss the submission and the potential for procurement to support rapid fielding

GOVERNMENT CUSTOMERS/INTERESTED ORGANIZATIONS: Identify Government customer organizations cognizant of the technology and challenges in utilizing the technology. These should be the organizations/agencies that have interest in the technology and have the technical or programmatic expertise for assessing the values of the technology to potential Government customers. Identify any relevant related Government programs (and/or point of contact), including organization, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and FAX numbers. Points of contact that can provide additional information useful to the technology review should be included in an Appendix. (Pages in the Appendix do not count in the page limitation.)

Letters from current or potential Government customers expressing an interest in the technology solution and in addressing the challenges are encouraged. Such letters may be included in the Appendix, again without impacting the page limitation.

TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION/ SOLUTION IMPACT: This section provides essential background information on the technology. This section should include at least the following:

1. Technology Description. The technology/approach and its current and future uses.


2. Benefits. The potential advantages of the offered technology over alternative technologies in terms of cost, performance, maturity, and other factors.


3. Operational Description. General description of command and control. Information on operational intent (ie in protected waters, sea state less than X etc.)


4. Technical Readiness Level. Provide the estimated technical readiness level (TRL) of the platform and a short justification of this level. Rapid fielding requires commercial of the shelf (COTS) or minimum Technology Readiness Level of 7.

INDUSTRY CAPABILITIES: This section describes industry’s current and expected capability to produce and/or integrate the technology.

CRITERIA: Please succinctly address how the technology offered will comply with one or more of the basic requirements/goals listed above.

COST/FUNDING ESTIMATES: High-level cost estimates of implementing the offered technology development. Contract vehicles must be pre-established to provide the option of procurement for rapid fielding.

FORMAT & PAGE LIMITATION

Submittals should be provided on standard letter size 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper, limited to a maximum of 5 single sided, 1.5-spaced pages. Cover sheet not included in page limit. The font for text should be Times New Roman 12-point or larger. The Responder may use oversize pages (including “foldouts”) where appropriate to contain graphic presentations. Oversize pages do not count as extra pages within the page limitations. Submitted responses should be in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format. Existing commercial documentation and product literature can also be submitted and is not subject to a page limitation.

SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTATION

Unclassified documentation shall be emailed to the primary Contracting Office POC and copied to the Principal Investigators as follows:

Contracting Office:

Nitaya Prater

NSWC PCD, Code 023

110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, FL 32407

nitaya.prater.civ@us.navy.mil

Principle Investigator:

Erica Davis

NSWC PCD, Code E11

110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, FL 32407

(850) 235-5795

erica.c.davis8.civ@us.navy.mil

Co-Principle Investigator:

Holli Van Camp

NSWC PCD, Code E11

110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, FL 32407

(850) 624-8535

holli.g.vancamp.civ@us.navy.mil

INFORMATION APPROACH

The Program may or may not select or recommend any of the submitted information for use to develop a project plan. Projects developed from this information would be competed in a full and open competition. The Navy, as the DoD Executive Agent for the Program, is not required to provide feedback to responders.

NSWC-PCD utilizes the RFI process to help identify/develop potential programs and to determine if there is an industrial base to address Government needs. Upon receipt of RFI responses, NSWC-PCD reviews the submissions to determine the utility of the information and the merit of the proposed technical solution.

If an RFI response does identify a potential program that meets the criteria stated in the NSWC-PCD BAA and is appropriate, dialogue may ensue between NSWC-PCD and appropriate Government agencies to determine if a funding source can be established. If the preceding considerations are met, NSWC-PCD may pursue a program.

In the pursuit of a program, the Government may communicate with the initiator of the RFI response. A definitive timeframe cannot be determined because the process is contingent upon a number of different variables. If feedback is not provided for an RFI response within 45 days, it is likely that the Government is not pursuing the information/solution further.

DISCLAIMER

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only, as defined in FAR 15.201 (e), to obtain information about pricing, delivery, and other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals; therefore, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Companies that respond will not be paid for the information submitted.

No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. There is no bid package or solicitation at this time.

All information received shall be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All responsible sources may submit information in response to this RFI that shall be considered by the agency. Responses to this RFI are due no later than 30 days from the publish date of the RFI. If late information is received, it may be considered by the Government Evaluation Team, depending on agency time constraints. All routine communications regarding this announcement should be directed to the designated Contracting Office POC, nitaya.prater.civ@us.navy.mil. Please note: the Government is not required to provide feedback to RFI responders.

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