01.19.2023_UAS_RFI-2_Rev.0.pdf

Request for Information Number: Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Notice Type: Request for Information (RFI)

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) NOTICE RELEASED PURSUANT

TO FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 10: MARKET

RESEARCH. This RFI is issued solely for informational, market research, and planning purposes only. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) is not at this time seeking proposals, and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised that the United States (U.S.) Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding party's expense. Please be advised that all material submissions and responses to the RFI will not be returned. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the

U.S. Government to form a binding contract. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this RFI.

SCOPE:

The USCG is conducting additional market research on Group II and Group III

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) capabilities, sensors, and payloads. The goal of this market research (RFI 2) is to provide vendors an opportunity to respond to the August

2022 RFI (RFI 1) and to provide amplifying information on sensor technology, payload capabilities, and system performance characteristics.

The state of the UAS commercial marketplace is rapidly changing, and the USCG is combating new challenges and threats daily. It is critical to have a comprehensive understanding of the UAS commercial marketplace, to include its most recent advancements pertaining to system and service commerciality, performance, and sensor capabilities.

If you responded to RFI 1 under Notice ID 70Z02322RFI931301 in August 2022, please only provide responses to the additional questions listed here (RFI 2) under Notice ID

70Z02323RFI931302. If you did not respond to RFI 1 under Notice ID

70Z02322RFI931301 in August 2022, please provide responses to the questions listed in both RFI 1 (Notice ID 70Z02322RFI931301) and RFI 2 (Notice ID

70Z02323RFI931302).

Please provide your response to the Section 1 Commerciality question in RFI 2 (Notice

Commandant

United States Coast Guard 2100 Second Street, S.W.

Washington, DC 20593-0001

Staff Symbol: CG-9127

Phone: 202-475-3198 Email: Barbara.A.Reithmaier@uscg.mil

ID 70Z02323RFI931302) no later than 1:00 PM EST, February 3, 2023. Please provide your response to RFI 1 (ID 70Z02322RFI931301) and the remainder of RFI 2

(Notice ID 70Z02323RFI931302), as applicable, no later than 1:00 PM EST, February 21, 2023. All RFI responses should be submitted to

Barbara.A.Reithmaier@uscg.mil as a Windows 10/11 Microsoft compatible zip file if over 1MB in size. Please reference Notice ID 70Z02323RFI931302 for all RFI responses.

If you have any questions about how to properly respond to this RFI please contact

Barbara.A.Reithmaier@uscg.mil.

Please provide responses to the following questions pertaining to the UAS system and service commerciality, performance, and sensor capability:

1. If your contractor owned and contractor operated (COCO) UAS system is available as a commercial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) service application in use by another user, to include, but not limited to, a research agency, academic institution or other commercial entity, then please provide the following:

a. Customer information with detailed information about the nature, location, and duration of their COCO UAS services usage.

b. Copies of contracts and/or purchase orders with customers in the commercial marketplace for COCO UAS services.

c. Catalog, list, or schedule either published or available to customers.

d. A Department of Defense (DoD) Commercial Item Determination (CID) for

COCO UAS services.

2. Please provide amplifying information on all sensor capabilities available for

Government use. Specifically, does your system have the sensors listed below

(specify day, night, day-into-night, and IR capabilities)? If so, please elaborate on their performance characteristics.

a. EO/IR target detection?

b. Surface search radar?

c. Sub-surface target detection?

d. High resolution bioluminescence detection?

e. Maritime Wide-Area Search (MWAS) radar?

f. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)?

g. Light and or Visual Detection and Ranging?

h. Chemical, Biological, and Radiological (CBR) sensors or other sensors to detect hazardous materials and/or toxic industrial chemicals?

i. Radio Frequency and Radio direction finding (covering at least 406 MHz

EPIRB and marine band VHF-FM frequencies)?

i. An ability to relay audio communications to the host cutter?

j. Does your system utilize lasers?

i. If so, what is the classification of the laser (Class 1, 2, 3A/R, 3B, or 4)?

ii. Does the laser meet the performance requirements of Title 21 CFR

§1040.10, Performance Standards for Light Emitting Products also mailto:Barbara.A.Reithmaier@uscg.mil mailto:Barbara.A.Reithmaier@uscg.mil known as the Federal Laser Product Performance Standard

(FLPPS)?

iii. What is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accession number for the laser system?

iv. If your laser cannot fully comply with the FLPPS, have you sought a variance through the FDA?

k. A sensor to detect lasers pointed at the UAS?

l. A multi-spectral or hyper-spectral sensor?

m. An automated object alerting and detection capability?

n. Any other sensor that would be relevant and beneficial to the USCG’s ability to conduct its statutory missions?

o. What are the standards for the sensors listed above? Please list what they are based on (Example: Joint Interface Control Document (JICD), Institute of

Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and Intelligence Community

Directive (ICD)).

p. What are the data formats of each sensor listed above?

3. Please address the following data management questions:

a. What is the minimum bandwidth required for each payload?

b. What type of radio frequency links (frequency bands) are available between the air vehicle (AV) and the Ground Control Station (GCS)?

c. What edge processing capability is used within the sensors and for data transmission?

d. Can Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) technology be integrated into the system?

4. What type of technology does your system have for:

a. Airborne collision avoidance?

b. An ability to operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS)?

c. An ability to receive Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to operate within the National Airspace?

5. If you currently do not have a detect and avoid capability, when do you anticipate fielding this technology?

6. Does your system have:

a. Defense capabilities? If so, please describe.

b. Anti-jamming? If so, please describe.

c. An alternative navigation system to supplement and/or back-up the primary navigation system in the event of equipment failure or outage?

d. Counter-UAS technology? If so, please describe. What spectrum is required to operate the system?

7. Does your GCS have:

a. A periodic upgrade schedule? If so, how often are new capabilities and integration of sensors introduced for operational use?

b. An ability to operate multiple air vehicles simultaneously through a single GCS?

c. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) proprietary software?

d. Interconnection requirements?

e. Restrictions or limitations to GCS configuration/operation?

f. A full motion video Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, and

Dissemination (TCPED) capability? If so, based on what standards? (Example:

IEEE, JICD, ICD)

g. Human-machine teaming capabilities to reduce and improve operator fatigue?

h. An existing Authority To Operate (ATO) on any Government network? If so, can you please share references.

8. Please provide a system reliability rating for operations in the maritime environment.

Are there long lead times for repair parts?

9. Please describe methods used to track data and analytics for your system? What data products are available to the customer to make informed, data driven decisions?

10. Does your system have:

a. A modular AV design to accommodate rapid repair and replacement of AV components under operational conditions?

b. Modular, non-proprietary, ethernet-based payload interface and infrastructure that supports user configurable payloads and the ability to quickly swap between them?

c. System design and infrastructure that supports C2 and data link encryption?

d. “Open Architecture” control and payload software that allows modification by the

Government?

11. Are you Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) certified? If so, to what level?

a. What is your engineering drawing management and part number process?

b. What is your qualification method for re-identifying parts when changes are made?

c. How do you relate part number changes to the serial numbers of the deliverable item?

d. How do you manage item modifications?

e. How do you inform your own personnel and customers of changes to your product?

f. If a component that is supplied to the customer as a spare part is being changed, how and when is the customer notified?

g. Do you employ a formal change review process?

h. Do you operate a change control board or a Material Review Board?

i. Do you actively manage diminishing manufacturing sources (DMS) and obsolescence of critical components on your system, and how?

j. How do you assure the currency, integrity, and consistency of:

i. Material Specifications?

ii. Drawings?

iii. Indentured Lists?

iv. Parts Lists?

v. Service Manuals?

vi. Operating Manuals?

i. What is your release procedure for documentation?

j. Do you apply serial numbers and/or lot numbers to your products? How are they assigned and marked?

k. Do you ever install refurbished components in your products?

i. If so, from where are refurbished components sourced?

ii. How are they certified?

l. If a product line is dropped, when is a customer notified? What options are offered to the customer?

12. Is your system cyber-hardened? If so, does it:

a. Have the ability to meet all USCG/Department of Homeland Security

(DHS)/Department of Defense (DOD)/Intelligence Community cybersecurity requirements (system, components, software, etc.)?

b. Have a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) certification? If so, what level?

c. Cyber-hardened, protected command and control (C2) links? If so, what technology is used?

d. Have a GCS with secure Cloud capabilities? If so, please elaborate (Example:

Amazon Web Services, Azure, Oracle, Google).

e. Have an Impact Level (IL) certification? If so, what level?

f. Have a cybersecurity Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)? If so, please describe.

g. Receive Penetration Testing? If so, has it been conducted by a DOD or DHS agency?

h. Receive periodic security patches and software upgrades? If so, what is the periodicity of the security patches and software updates?

i. Follow Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) practices? If so, are they applied to chipsets in the system?

13. Please provide a description of your system, including:

a. The elements of your system, including number of aircraft, all launch and recovery equipment available with your system, special test and maintenance equipment, cutter-based antennas, control stations, and other essential items or assemblies.

b. If the UAS is Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) capable, are pods or another adapter used to assist with the launch and recovery? If battery power is used, how many waive off attempts are available?

c. How many personnel will be required to support your system onboard a host cutter for a 90-day maritime deployment operating at 12 continuous flight hours per day?

d. Whether your system has an ability to operate in icing conditions? If so, what are your anti-icing capabilities?

e. What shipboard vibrations requirements does your system meet?

14. Please briefly address the following human systems integration/human factors:

a. What types of training systems (e.g., instructors, curriculum, manuals, desktop trainers, interactive courseware, and maintenance mock-ups) are available to support your system?

b. Have you validated the proposed training with user testing? If so, please describe.