CBP AMO Airborne Radar and EIOR RFI_2025-04-21.docx

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

AIRBORNE SURVEILLANCE RADARS AND ELECTRO-OPTICAL INFRARED SENSORS

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

AIRBORNE RADAR AND ELECTRO-OPTICAL INFRARED SENSORS

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This is an RFI released pursuant to FAR 15.201(e). This RFI is issued solely for information, planning purposes and market research; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue a RFP or Broad Area Announcement (BAA). This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. CBP is not at this time seeking proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP or BAA. If a solicitation is released, it will be via the SAM.gov website (www.sam.gov). It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this website for any information that may pertain to this RFI. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government and will not be returned.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Air and Marine Operations’ (AMO) mission is to serve and protect the American people. The organization applies advanced aeronautical and maritime capability and employs its unique skill sets to support the overarching Department of Homeland Security (DHS) strategic goals. AMO's Vision and Strategy 2030 supports the DHS and CBP strategic guidance. This enables AMO to maintain functional alignment with other DHS component partners and stakeholders while providing pertinent and complementary guidance within AMO. In furtherance of these strategic goals, CBP AMO conducts national security missions that consist of; interdiction, investigation, domain awareness, contingency operations, and national taskings. In support of these core competencies, CBP utilizes a wide range of aircraft, vessels, sensors and systems. Domain awareness is a critical contributor to securing the nation's borders and combating criminal organizations. AMO shares real-time, actionable information by linking a vast network of sensors, sensor-equipped aircraft, and vessels through an onboard mission management system (MMS) for sensor control, display, and coordination with the Air and Marine Operations Center.

Increasing the Effectiveness of Operations is a Goal of AMO’s Vision and Strategy 2030. Objectives of this goal include:

· Close Gaps in Domain Awareness; and

· Perform Assessments of Emerging Technologies Accordingly, AMO is conducting market research on radar and electro-optical / infrared (EO/IR) sensor technologies to enhance our mission through that time period and beyond.

2.0 REQUEST

AMO is conducting market research for airborne sensor systems, such as radar, EO/IR sensors, and mounting options in relation to our current aircraft and missions. AMO is interested in high TRL (8 or 9) solutions that are interoperable between vendors and platforms. Common sensors or system components help to reduce sustainment costs. AMO is interested in surface surveillance, air surveillance, sea surveillance, and air intercept radar systems, or a multi-role type radar system.

3.0 AIRCRAFT AND MISSION DESCRIPTIONS

3.1 Small

3.1.1 Light Enforcement Helicopter (LEH) Airbus H-125 is used to detect, identify, track, and interdict adversary groups traveling over land. LEHs provide overwatch and surveillance of border enforcement and law enforcement operations, act overtly or covertly, while enhancing situational awareness through data-linked video, imagery, data, and voice communications. LEHs insert and extract U.S. Border Patrol agents in the field, and transport personnel and cargo to support partner operations at airfields and tactical landing zones.

3.1.2 Pilatus PC-12 is used to detect, identify, track, and interdict adversary groups traveling over land. PC-12s provide surveillance of border enforcement and law enforcement operations, act overtly or covertly, while enhancing situational awareness through data-linked video, imagery, data, and voice communications. PC-12s transport personnel and cargo to and from airfields to support partner and law enforcement operations.

3.2 Medium

3.2.1 Multi-role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) Beechcraft Super King Air 350ER is used in maritime, air, and land interdiction, investigations, and transporting cargo and people. MEA provide surveillance through satellite and line of sight data-linked radar, video, imagery, data, and voice communications. It also has the capability to support disaster relief operations and special security events.

3.2.2 UAS General Atomics MQ-9 is a long-range and high-endurance platform used in maritime and land border interdiction. MQ-9 provides surveillance through satellite data-linked multi-mode radar, and EO/IR video and imagery.

3.3 Large

3.3.1 Bombardier DHC-8 Q200/Q300 is a medium-range, multi-role patrol aircraft. It comes equipped with multimode radar and EO/IR that can detect and monitor maritime and surface targets. The DHC-8 is well-suited to accomplish the mission of detecting, disrupting, and interdicting maritime smuggling.

3.3.2 P-3 Long Range Tracker (LRT) and P-3 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft are high-endurance, all weather, turboprop aircraft. P-3 AEW is the only dedicated law enforcement AEW aircraft in the world. It was developed to provide wide area search, increased command, control and communications capabilities. Additionally, the AEW is used for airspace management during special events. P-3 LRT conduct long-range surface surveillance patrols and air intercept missions along the U.S. borders and in the drug transit and source zones in Central and South America.

3.3.3 The Extended Border Foreign Operations Surveillance (EBFOS) program is a mix of unmanned and manned aircraft to conduct foreign operations missions to promote cooperation and compliance with international laws, conduct maritime and air search patrols, conduct aircraft and marine vessel pursuit, and intelligence gathering. A mix of manned and unmanned solutions for the EBFOS program will eventually replace the aging P-3 fleet and will cover that mission set.

4.0 RESPONSES

4. Please include a statement of interest and capabilities addressing the General Statement, answering Overall Questions, as well as the applicable requested information for your proposed radar or EO/IR system

4. General Statement

4.1.1 Your proposed radar and/or EO/IR, for which aircraft/mission set

4.1.2 Experience and knowledge of vendor’s management, engineering, production personnel and quality control personnel for similar work.

1. Systems engineering process

1. Current production capacity

1. What is your company history regarding U.S. customers, and established federal government contract vehicles?

1. Please include discussion of all environmental and MIL specification standards your product is in compliance with, and any certifications associated.

1. Schedule estimates for

7. Time from award to delivery of first system

7. Availability and delivery timeline for spare parts (foreign or domestic).

1. Training

8. Information pertaining to technical expertise and support for training on the operational usage and maintenance of the radar or optical system.

8. Information pertaining to the availability of operator and maintenance manuals and other documentation to include interface control documents.

1. Price estimates to include the below information

9. Unit costs (to include any required software or firmware)

9. Installation kits (to include mounting and cabling)

9. Ground support or test equipment

9. Recommended Spares

9. Documentation (ICDs, operator’s manuals, maintenance instructions)

9. Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE)

9. Support to aircraft integration and/or engineering for each aircraft listed

9. Technical support on selected aircraft

9. Any incremental quantity discounts applicable

1. Vendor feedback, if any

4.2 Overall Questions

4.2.1 What is the state of the market regarding innovative, airborne, wide-area surveillance systems across the electro-magnetic spectrum?

4.2.2 What are the available land, sea, and air search and track modes and methods, ranges, resolutions, and identification capabilities available for radar, lidar, electro-optical, and infrared (EO/IR) airborne sensors?

4.2.3 What is the state of the market regarding sensor software learning algorithms used for automated object recognition, identification, and tracking?

4.2.4 What is the range of sensor and integrated mission system payloads for small, medium, and large fixed and rotary-wing aircraft?

4.2.5 What is the state of mission management system integration and standards proliferation for airborne sensor systems?

4.2.6 What are the available datalink options for UAS and sensor command and control, sensor data, and mission management data?

4.2.7 Based on the descriptions of AMO aircraft and missions above, what are other sensors and payloads you think we should be aware of?

4.3 Radar

4.3.1 Radar cross section (RCS) performance parameters for small, medium, and large targets. These parameters should be correlated to different sea states, vessel speeds, and stand-off range.

4.3.2 Air search mode performance parameters.

4.3.3 Radar’s ability to operate in maritime surface surveillance and air search modes simultaneously.

4.3.4 Radar’s weather observation mode performance parameters.

4.3.5 Radar’s ability to provide track and classification data to CPB’s mission management system for processing. The radar data should include but is not limited to correlating radar to Automatic identification system (AIS), AIS to Digital Nautical Chart (DNC), radar to DNC, and DOD and foreign partners.

4.3.6 Any other capabilities not included in this list.

4.4 EO/IR Sensor

4.4.1 Optical sensor’s ability to operate in day and night environments (to include dusk and dawn lighting conditions).

4.4.2 Optical sensor’s ability to detect, identify, classify, track, illuminate and record imagery.

4.4.3 Optical sensor’s ability to operate in environmental conditions such as: extreme high and low temperatures, high altitude, high salt spray, and high humidity.

4.4.4 Optical sensor’s ability to be upgraded via software and or hardware to address obsolescence and technology refreshes in order to meet future modernization requirements of CBP AMO.

4.4.5 Any other capabilities not included in this list.

5.0 RFI SUBMISSION DIRECTIONS

Question Deadline - Companies may submit questions regarding this RFI to the Government and are due no later than 3:00 P.M. (EST) on April 30, 2025. Response submissions to this RFI should be identified with AMO-RFI-04222025 and should be submitted via e-mail to: Michael.A.Hall@cbp.dhs.gov. Please submit all technical questions to this RFI via e-mail to the Contracting Officer, Michael Hall. Verbal (telephonic) questions will NOT be accepted. All received questions will be answered by posting answers to the SAM.gov website (www.sam.gov). Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after the due date will be answered. The Government will review all RFI submissions upon receipt and will seek further clarification from respondents as appropriate.

RFI Response Deadline – RFI responses shall be submitted via email to Michael.a.hall@cbp.dhs.gov by 3:00 P.M. (EST) on May 23, 2025. Acknowledgment of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the Government's evaluation of the information received. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI or the Government's use of such information as either part of an evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement.

Electronic submissions in response to this RFI must be viewable in Microsoft Word or Acrobat Reader 10.0. All submissions (email including attachments) must be less than 50MB. Oversized submissions will not be delivered by the DHS/CBP E-mail system.

This Request for Information (RFI) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Government to issue a Request for Proposal or to award a contract. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses to this RFI or otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. The Government's use of such information is at its sole discretion and is not accepting proprietary information. Sources responding to this RFI shall submit the minimum information necessary for the government to make a determination that the source is capable of satisfying the desired requirements.

The Government will not publicly disclose vendor proprietary information to the extent that it is consistent with the Government’s legal obligations. Any information submitted in response to this RFI, including information marked as limited rights data, restricted computer software, being subject to limited rights, and/or being subject to restricted rights, will be shared by the Government with current and future support contractors hired to assist the Government. The Government’s support contractors that have been, or may be hired, are required to sign non‐disclosure agreements restricting them from unauthorized use and disclosure of information that may be proprietary to third party companies. By submitting information in response to this RFI, vendors agree to allow the Government to share information they submit with Government support contractors who are, or will be, covered by a non-disclosure agreement.

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