CITY OF FORT WORTH - PURCHASING DIVISION

SPECIFICATIONS

RFI Ref. #: 26-0323 Doc. Ref#: RFI-03 Page 1 of 12 RFI Title: Drone as First Responder Program

1.0 PURPOSE

The City of Fort Worth (City) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) as a Sources Sought and market research effort to identify qualified firms and currently available solutions capable of supporting a citywide Drone as First Responder (DFR) program.

The City seeks information regarding available technologies, operational models, implementation approaches, regulatory requirements, system integrations, infrastructure requirements, and estimated costs that may assist the City in developing requirements for a potential future procurement.

2.0 BACKGROUND

Fort Worth is a large and geographically diverse city with dense urban areas, high-rise structures, residential neighborhoods, industrial corridors, major roadways, special-event venues, airports, and other operationally complex environments. FWPD is evaluating how a DFR program could provide remotely deployed aerial situational awareness to assist emergency response and law-enforcement operations across the city.

The City’s long-term objective is to evaluate the feasibility of full-city coverage, potentially implemented over approximately a three-year period.

The contemplated solution may include docked aircraft, command-and-control software, remote operations, network and site infrastructure, system integrations, flight and records management, training, maintenance, regulatory support, patrol-deployed aircraft interoperability, and coordination with other law-enforcement manned and unmanned aircraft.

3.0 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Acronym Definition AGL Above Ground Level API Application Programming Interface ATC Air Traffic Control BVLOS Beyond Visual Line of Sight CAD Computer-Aided Dispatch CFR Code of Federal Regulations

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Acronym Definition CJIS Criminal Justice Information Services COA Certificate of Waiver or Authorization ConOps Concept of Operations DFR Drone as First Responder DIU Defense Innovation Unit FAA Federal Aviation Administration FCC Federal Communications Commission FWPD Fort Worth Police Department GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System MFA Multi-Factor Authentication NDAA National Defense Authorization Act RFI Request for Information RMS Records Management System RTCC Real-Time Crime Center SSO Single Sign-On UAS Unmanned Aircraft System VPN Virtual Private Network

4.0 KEY OPERATIONAL NEED

The City is seeking industry information regarding solutions capable of supporting rapid deployment of unmanned aircraft in response to calls for service and improving situational awareness for responding personnel.

The City is currently evaluating an average response-time objective of approximately 90 seconds within proposed service areas. Respondents should describe whether this objective is reasonably achievable based on currently available technology and identify the infrastructure, aircraft performance, site placement, regulatory approvals, staffing, communications, weather, airspace, and other factors that may affect response time.

The City has not predetermined the number, placement, or configuration of deployment sites and seeks industry recommendations supported by coverage

RFI Ref. #: 26-0323 Doc. Ref#: RFI-03 Page 3 of 12 and performance modeling.

5.0 DESIRED SOLUTION CAPABILITIES

Respondents should describe available DFR solutions and capabilities, including, at a minimum, the following areas.

5.1 Operational Performance and Coverage

5.1.1 Automated or remotely piloted dispatch and flight in dense urban environments, including high-rise areas;

5.1.2 Recommended approach for achieving full-city coverage and the City’s approximately 90-second response-time objective;

5.1.3 Coverage modeling, site-selection methodology, assumptions, exclusions, and performance validation;

5.1.4 Aircraft operating radius, endurance, speed, payload

performance, turnaround time, environmental limits, and operational availability;

5.1.5 Concurrent mission capability, aircraft-to-pilot ratios, pilot handoff, and transfers between operational areas; and

5.1.6 Interoperability and deconfliction with FWPD or partner-agency manned aircraft, other DFR aircraft, patrol-deployed UAS, and mutual-aid operations.

5.2 Aircraft, Dock, Payload, and Safety Systems

5.2.1 Aircraft and dock make/model, dimensions, weight, environmental ratings, operating limitations, and cybersecurity-related hardware features;

5.2.2 Camera and payload capabilities, including optical zoom, thermal imaging, low-light performance, stabilization, recording, and live streaming;

5.2.3 Parachute and other safety systems, obstacle detection and avoidance, dynamic routing, geofencing, contingency landing, and return-to-home/return-to-dock capabilities;

5.2.4 Battery charging or swapping method, recharge time, battery health monitoring, lifecycle expectations, fire safety, and replacement practices;

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5.2.5 Aircraft tracking, recovery, tamper detection, remote

disablement, and post-incident data preservation;

5.2.6 Dock security, backup power, local storage, and recovery after power or network interruption; and

5.2.7 NDAA compliance and/or DIU Blue UAS status, country of

origin, and supporting documentation for material hardware components.

5.3 Communication, Command, and Control, and Resilience

5.3.1 Primary and redundant command-and-control, telemetry, and video communications pathways;

5.3.2 Supported cellular carriers, private networks, radio frequencies, bandwidth, latency, coverage requirements, and communications failover;

5.3.3 Lost-link, navigation-degradation, GNSS-denied/degraded, alternate landing, and emergency procedures;

5.3.4 System behavior during cloud, CAD, internet, cellular, local network, electrical, or dock failures; and

5.3.5 Health monitoring, alerting, uptime measurement, service availability, disaster recovery, and supervisory controls.

6.0 FAA AND AIRSPACE REQUIREMENTS

The City seeks industry recommendations concerning the legal and regulatory operating pathway for a citywide DFR program. Respondents should clearly distinguish approvals currently held by the respondent from approvals that would need to be obtained and maintained by the City.

6.1 Recommended operating pathway, which may include 14 CFR Part

107, public aircraft operations under a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA), or another lawful pathway;

6.2 Support for routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, controlled-airspace authorizations, operations over people and moving vehicles, night operations, and multiple-UAS operations;

6.3 Development of a Concept of Operations (ConOps), safety case, standard operating procedures, risk assessments, site documentation, RFI Ref. #: 26-0323 Doc. Ref#: RFI-03 Page 5 of 12 training materials, and FAA application materials;

6.4 Anticipated waivers, COA provisions, authorizations, exemptions, certifications, dependencies, estimated timelines, and City responsibilities;

6.5 Detect-and-avoid strategy for cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft, including sensor performance, coverage, spectrum/FCC considerations, alerting, procedures, and limitations;

6.6 Airspace management, ATC coordination, airports, heliports, temporary flight restrictions, and special events; and

6.7 Ongoing regulatory-compliance, amendment, reporting, and flight-review support.

If routine operations above 400 feet AGL are recommended, respondents should explain the operational need, applicable authority, safety justification, equipment, procedures, and comparable approvals.

7.0 SYSTEM INTEGRATION, RECORDS, AND DATA

Respondents should describe currently available integration, records-management, and data capabilities relevant to the City’s public-safety environment.

7.1 System Integrations

7.1.1 Native or supported integration with CentralSquare CAD, including dispatch initiation, call data, unit/location data, mission updates, and disposition information;

7.1.2 Native or supported integration with Axon Evidence.com for evidentiary video and metadata transfer, retention, categorization, chain of custody, and access control;

7.1.3 Available APIs and existing integrations with CAD, RMS, RTCC platforms, evidence systems, mapping, identity/access management, and video-management systems; and

7.1.4 API documentation, licensing, rate limits, webhooks, data portability, integration ownership, testing environments, implementation requirements, and related costs.

7.2 Records and Information Management

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7.2.1 Flight logging, pilot qualification/currency, maintenance, battery, incident, and regulatory-compliance records;

7.2.2 Live-video sharing, authorized partner access, permissions, expiration, watermarking, redaction, and auditability;

7.2.3 Data ownership, retention, deletion, legal hold, e-discovery, public-information support, export, and transition/exit capabilities; and

7.2.4 Ownership and portability of operational, video, metadata, maintenance, configuration, pilot, and compliance records upon termination.

8.0 CYBERSECURITY, PRIVACY, AND DATA GOVERNANCE

Respondents should describe security, privacy, and data-governance controls applicable to the proposed platform, including:

8.1 Hosting locations and cloud architecture, including U.S. storage and processing of criminal-justice data;

8.2 CJIS Security Policy alignment and applicable independent security attestations or certifications;

8.3 Encryption in transit and at rest, tenant isolation, key management, vulnerability management, penetration testing, secure development, and software supply-chain controls;

8.4 Role-based access control, least privilege, multifactor authentication, single sign-on, identity-provider integration, and privileged-access management;

8.5 Tamper-evident audit logging for access, viewing, sharing, export, deletion, administrative changes, mission initiation, and aircraft control;

8.6 Security-incident notification, investigation support, breach response, recovery objectives, and vulnerability disclosure practices;

8.7 Any use of City data for analytics, product improvement, artificial-intelligence training, or other secondary purposes; and

8.8 Privacy controls supporting mission-based activation, retention, RFI Ref. #: 26-0323 Doc. Ref#: RFI-03 Page 7 of 12 masking/redaction, policy enforcement, and public transparency.

9.0 IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRAM SUPPORT

The City seeks information regarding typical or recommended implementation requirements and timelines, including:

9.1 Implementation and Infrastructure

9.1.1 Coverage analysis and recommended number and general

distribution of deployment sites;

9.1.2 Site survey, design, permitting, installation, integration, training, FAA approval, testing, and go-live sequence;

9.1.3 Roof, tower, pole, ground, or other mounting options and structural/site requirements;

9.1.4 Electrical service, backup power, surge protection, internet, cellular, radio, bandwidth, firewall/VPN, cabling, and network-monitoring requirements;

9.1.5 Ability to provide or manage qualified contractors to extend power and data to dock locations;

9.1.6 Typical implementation timeline from project initiation through initial and full operating capability, including major dependencies and critical-path activities; and

9.1.7 Industry-standard or recommended acceptance-testing practices for aircraft, docks, communications, integrations, cybersecurity, safety, system performance, and operational readiness.

9.2 Training, Maintenance, Warranty, and Lifecycle

9.2.1 Initial and recurrent training for remote pilots, supervisors, administrators, maintainers, dispatchers, RTCC personnel, patrol users, and system integrators;

9.2.2 Part 107 preparation or other certification support, scenario-based training, emergency procedures, and train-the-trainer options;

9.2.3 Simulated or virtual flight-training capabilities;

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9.2.4 Preventive and corrective maintenance responsibilities, inspection intervals, turnaround times, field/depot service, spares, loaners, and records;

9.2.5 Warranty coverage, exclusions, duration, repair/replacement practices, accidental-damage options, and available service levels; and

9.2.6 Equipment refresh/upgrade policy, end-of-life/end-of-support notification, backward compatibility, migration, and continued-operability practices.

10.0 PRICING AND COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE

Pricing information requested through this RFI is for budgetary and planning purposes only, is nonbinding, does not constitute an offer, and will not be used as the basis for an award. Respondents should identify assumptions, quantities, term commitments, escalation factors, discounts, exclusions, and other factors that materially affect estimated costs.

Respondents should provide budgetary information addressing, as applicable:

10.1 Recommended quantities and estimated costs associated with major solution components, such as docks/pods, aircraft and payloads, spares and batteries, operator stations, detect-and-avoid equipment, network components, and software/licenses;;

10.2 Estimated one-time implementation costs, which may include program design/project management, site surveys and engineering, permitting, electrical/network construction, equipment, installation, system integrations, FAA/COA/waiver support, initial training, testing, and implementation support;;

10.3 Estimated annual recurring costs, which may include software/platform licensing, communications/data plans, cloud/video/evidence storage, maintenance and field service, recurring training, support, regulatory support, integrations, and other recurring services;

10.4 Estimated costs for a phased implementation over approximately three years, including any assumptions regarding the anticipated deployment sequence;

10.5 Estimated unit or incremental costs for adding sites, docks/pods, RFI Ref. #: 26-0323 Doc. Ref#: RFI-03 Page 9 of 12 aircraft, payloads, users/operators, integrations, storage, or support services;

10.6 Identification of optional, third-party, or other costs that may not be included in the respondent's primary solution but that the City should consider when developing a future solicitation; and

10.7 Estimated five-year and ten-year total cost of ownership, including major assumptions related to equipment replacement/refresh, batteries, licensing, maintenance, support, communications, storage, integrations, and other lifecycle costs.

11.0 REQUESTED INFORMATION FROM RESPONDENTS

Interested firms are requested to submit a concise response addressing the following:

11.1 Company overview and experience implementing Drone as First

Responder (DFR), docked UAS, or comparable public-safety aviation programs. Identify the number and type of active public-safety deployments using substantially similar technology.

11.2 Identify the currently available aircraft, dock/pod, payload, command-and-control software, communications, detect-and-avoid, and support technologies recommended for a citywide DFR program. Clearly distinguish standard, optional, third-party, custom, developmental, and roadmap capabilities.

11.3 Recommend the number and general distribution of dock/pod sites and aircraft that may be required to support full-city coverage. Describe the coverage-modeling and site-selection methodology, major assumptions, exclusions, and factors that materially affect coverage.

11.4 Assess whether the City’s average response-time objective of approximately 90 seconds is reasonably achievable. Define how response time should be measured and identify assumptions involving dispatch-to-launch, launch-to-arrival, aircraft performance, site placement, weather, airspace, battery reserves, or other constraints.

11.5 Describe operational capacity, including simultaneous missions, aircraft-to-pilot ratios, multi-aircraft supervision, pilot handoffs, cross-zone operations, and interoperability/deconfliction with FWPD manned

RFI Ref. #: 26-0323 Doc. Ref#: RFI-03 Page 10 of 12 aviation, patrol-deployed UAS, partner agencies, and special-event operations.

11.6 Describe key aircraft, dock, payload, and safety capabilities, including flight time, speed, operating radius, cameras/thermal imaging, environmental limitations, battery management, obstacle avoidance, contingency landing, return-to-home/return-to-dock, aircraft recovery, dock resilience, and parachute or comparable safety systems.

11.7 Identify the NDAA compliance and/or DIU Blue UAS status of material hardware components and describe country-of-origin considerations that the City should evaluate when developing a future solicitation.

11.8 Describe primary and redundant command-and-control, telemetry, and video communications pathways; carrier/network diversity; latency;

failover; lost-link procedures; GNSS degradation procedures; and system behavior during cloud, CAD, internet, cellular, network, electrical, or dock failures.

11.9 Recommend the legal and regulatory operating pathway for a citywide DFR program. Identify anticipated FAA waivers, COA provisions, airspace authorizations, exemptions, certifications, or other approvals associated with BVLOS, controlled airspace, operations over people or moving vehicles, night operations, multiple UAS, or other recommended operations.

11.10 Describe the respondent’s typical role in developing the Concept of Operations (ConOps), safety case, risk assessments, standard operating procedures, training documentation, site information, and FAA submissions. Identify typical City responsibilities, dependencies, and approval timelines.

11.11 Describe the recommended detect-and-avoid and airspace-management approach for cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft, including sensors, coverage, spectrum/FCC considerations, alerting, human roles, ATC coordination, limitations, and any comparable public-safety approvals.

11.12 Describe currently available integration with CentralSquare CAD and

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Axon Evidence.com, including data exchanged, workflow, implementation responsibility, testing, licensing, chain of custody, retention, transfer, and comparable production deployments. Also identify other available public-safety integrations and APIs.

11.13 Describe records, live-video sharing, data ownership, retention, legal hold, public-information support, export, auditability, and transition/exit capabilities. Identify any secondary use of City data, including analytics, product improvement, artificial-intelligence training, model improvement, sale, sharing, or cross-customer aggregation.

11.14 Describe cybersecurity and privacy capabilities, including U.S. data residency, CJIS alignment, security attestations/certifications, encryption, MFA/SSO, role-based access, privileged administration, audit logging, vulnerability management, incident response, and software supply-chain controls.

11.15 Describe typical site and infrastructure requirements, including mounting options, structural considerations, power, backup power, network/cellular connectivity, bandwidth, physical security, permitting, inspections, and the ability to furnish or manage qualified contractors for site installation.

11.16 Provide a typical or recommended implementation approach for both full-city and phased implementation over approximately three years.

Include major activities, dependencies, estimated timelines, training, testing, initial operating capability, full operating capability, and recommended acceptance-testing practices.

11.17 Describe initial and recurrent training, maintenance, warranty, support, spares/loaners, equipment refresh, end-of-life/end-of-support, and lifecycle practices the City should consider when developing a future solicitation.

11.18 Provide the budgetary cost information requested in Section 9.0, including applicable assumptions, exclusions, limitations, and cost drivers. Respondents should also identify emerging technologies or commercial approaches that may improve competition, scalability, performance, or total cost of ownership.

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12.0 DISCLAIMER

This RFI/Sources Sought notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation, contract, or commitment by the City of Fort Worth to issue a future procurement.

The City reserves the right to use information obtained through this process in the development of future solicitations.