HBUC_LCEI_RFI_30 Sep_PM_EN.pdf

Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) Low Collateral Effects Interceptor (LCEI) Request for Information (RFI)

C-sUAS Product Information

BACKGROUND:

The United States Air Force (USAF) Counter small-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) branch (AFLCMC/HBUC) is requesting information regarding Low Collateral Effects Interceptor technologies related to combatting the sUAS threat (Groups 1 and 2) as presented in Table 1. An LCEI should be autonomous aircraft with hard kill systems effective against Groups 1 and 2 sUAS aircraft. All interceptor systems must be hosted on air vehicles that can be determined to be air-worthy by the government:

• The air vehicle must be based on or derived from U.S. components and electronics.

• The air vehicle must have sufficient flight hours and reliability data.

UAS

Group

Maximum Weight (lb)(MGTOW)

Nominal Operating Altitude (ft)

Speed (kn)

Representative UAS

1 0-20 < 1200 AGL 100 RQ-11 Raven, WASP, PUMA

2 21-55 < 3500 AGL < 250 ScanEagle, Flexrotor 3 55-1320 < 180 FL Ahield AI V-BAT, RQ-

7B Shadow, RQ-21 Blackjack

4 >1320 Any Airspeed

MQ-8B Fire Scout, MQ-1A/B Predator

5 >180 FL MQ-9 Reaper, RQ-4 Global Hawk

Table 1: US DoD UAS Groupings with Groups 1-2 highlighted in grey.

AFLCMC/HBUC is conducting market research to evaluate Low Collateral Effects Interceptors (LCEI) for threat small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). Please note this Request for Information (RFI) is for planning purposes only. The information obtained from responses to this notice may be used to form a future acquisition strategy and solicitation, should one be issued.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. The document below contains a form to be filled out concerning the description of the C- UAS technologies that a respondent desires to submit back for this RFI. The form allows Contractors to provide their product’s detailed specifications and can be used by the Government to determine which systems meet their needs.

2. THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) ISSUANCE. This request is issued for the purpose of exchanging information and market research that will allow industry to best communicate to the Government their capabilities through this exchange of information. Responses to this request are voluntary and will not affect any contractor's ability to submit a proposal if, or when, an RFP is released. The requested information is for planning purposes only and does NOT constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued.

No entitlement to payment by the Government of direct or indirect costs or charges will arise as a result of the submission of information in response to this request.

The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information.

No award will be made as a result of this request. This request is for informational purposes only to promote exchanges of information with industry. The Government will not pay for any information and/or materials received in response to this request for information and is in no way obligated by the information received.

3. *** Responses to this request are due no later than Monday, 25 November 2024, at 4:00

P.M. Eastern Standard Time (EST) to Contracting Officer, Robert Gill at Robert.gill.12@us.af.mil and Program Manager, 2d LT Addison Howland at addison.howland.1@us.af.mil. Responses to this notice may not be returned. Please request a confirmed receipt ***

4. Failure to provide documentation may result in the government being unable to adequately assess the product’s capabilities and its suitability to meet government requirements. However, the information provided on this form shall NOT exceed the CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION (CUI), formerly UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO. If existing substantiation is desired to be submitted in addition to this form (e.g., DD1494, additional slick sheets, photos, system architecture diagrams, etc.), please attach in your response as separate files. Classified data should not be submitted in response to this RFI without prior coordination with the Points of Contact (POC) below. If classified data is desired to be included, first contact the POCs below to establish an appropriate means of transmittal for classified data.

Primary Point of Contact:

Contracting Officer, Robert Gill, Robert.gill.12@us.af.mil

Secondary Point of Contact:

Program Manager, 2d LT Addison Howland, addison.howland.1@us.af.mil

5. Please specify/label all units, as appropriate, for numerical items.

6. Please fill out all sections below.

mailto:Robert.gill.12@us.af.mil mailto:addison.howland.1@us.af.mil

7. Please provide all documents listed under “Document List” at the end of this RFI, if able.

8. If the documentation is too large to send via email, please drop-off via DoD Safe (up to 8 GB total) for Robert.gill.12@us.af.mil and addison.howland.1@us.af.mil. In the Short note to the Recipients section, type “2024 C-sUAS LCEI RFI Response: (vendor’s name)”.

COMPANY INFORMATION:

Vendor/Company Name and POC contact information (name, email, phone)

Address

CAGE/UEID Number (if applicable)

Facility clearance level and Safeguarding clearance level

Product Name / Model Number

LCEI TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS & CAPABILITIES

Describe what effector(s) the LCEI utilizes (i.e. net gun, fragmentation rounds, jamming etc.)

Yes or no, does the LCEI have interchangeable effectors (please explain)

Yes or no, can the LCEI be equipped with multiple effectors simultaneously? (please explain)

Yes or no, does the LCEI’s effector/s have a range of 9.3 km (5 NM) from launch-point?

(please explain)

What is the LCEI’s maximum vertical and horizontal acceleration?

What is the LCEI’s sprint speed?

What is the LCEI’s top engagement speed?

What is the LCEI’s maximum range?

What is the LCEI’s maximum loiter time?

What is the LCEI’s size, weight, and power?

What is the LCEI’s maximum payload weight?

What is the LCEI’s required number of operators?

What is the LCEI’s optimal number of operators?

Yes or no, has there been official shock-testing on the LCEI? (please explain)

Yes or no, has there been official resistance testing to dirt/dust/water? (please explain)

Yes or no, has there been official environmental temperature testing? (please

What is the maximum wind speed the LCEI can successfully operate in?

What min/max temperature the LCEI can operate in?

Yes or no, can the LCEI successfully operate at night? (please explain)

Yes or no, can the LCEI engage multiple separated targets in one launch? (please

Yes or no, has the LCEI proven it has the capability to defeat at least 10 single sUAS in a 5 minute engagement? (please explain)

Describe/list the LCEI’s engagement success rate by target type.

rate by target speed.

rate by altitude.

Compare the LCEI’s engagement success during the day to during the night.

rate in different wind speeds.

rate based on number of targets in the air in one launch.

Yes or no, can the LCEI de-flight all consumer grade, consumer hobbyist grade, commercial grade, and military grade sUAS with a probability of defeat rate of 90%?

Provide an overview of required facilities, space, and power requirements for the LCEI.

Define what the ground station for the LCEI would be and list any applicable/relevant requirements for the ground station.

What is the number of personnel needed to install system?

What is the estimated setup time?

Yes or no, is the LCEI multi-mission capable?

Describe the LCEI’s system maturity. Provide Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and your calculation file (reasoning) for the system.

Yes or no, does the LCEI depend on external sensors or systems for successful operation?

Describe/List any systems or hardware external to the air vehicle that are required for operation.

What data formats does the system generate, process, or export?

List formats and interfaces if able to.

What data formats does the system ingest?

List formats and interfaces if able to.

To the ground station, is wireless transmit/receive available or intended to be used? (please explain)

What is the estimated file size(s) and time to download and transfer approximately 8 hours worth of operational/test data?

What media would be used to transfer data to event coordinators/analysts? (i.e. CD/DVD, thumb drive or USB hard drive, etc.)

Yes or no, does your system interface with any existing DoD C2 (Command and Control) applications?

(List all C2(s) if able to and which data format/language they use to communicate.)

What is the reliability (Mean Time Between Failures and/or Mean time Between Critical Failures (mins/hours)) of the system?

How is your MTBF/MTBCF calculated?

(i.e. theoretical prediction, field data, or life testing?)

Yes or no, does your system have troubleshooting functions? And can fault data be downloaded?

(i.e. Built-In-Test [BIT], Fault-isolation-test [FIT], log files, after action reports, elapsed time indicators [ETI])

What types of situational environments has the LCEI been successfully operated in (i.e.

test or operational)?

Is this data available upon request?

Yes or no, does the LCEI require/has your system received an ATO?

(elaborate as needed)

Yes or no, has there been cyber hardening and testing completed on the LCEI? (please

Provide a description of any tracking functions (video tracker, slew-to-cue functionality, etc.) included in the system and any optimization for a particular detection role (marine, aircraft, vehicles, personnel).

Describe (if applicable) the LCEI’s imaging capabilities (black hot/white hot, color palettes optimizations, etc.)

How much video/data storage does your system have?

Describe (if applicable) your system’s forensic/analytic functions for recorded imagery.

LCEI SOFTWARE

Please briefly describe software.

Yes or no, does it rely on specific or unique hardware? (please explain)

List all licensing fees and licenses required to operate the software.

List any certifications the software has received.

List certifications the software is currently receiving.

LCEI PRICING, SUPPORT, & SUSTAINMENT

Where can the Government purchase your LCEI?

Has your LCEI been offered, sold, or leased to the General Public?

Are there any existing Government-wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC), open solicitation, or other vehicle that this work could be performed under, or would a new source selection be more appropriate?

Provide available Government contracts and POCs if able to.

Provide price for follow on support for system. List different pricing models if applicable.

Provide price for reach back support. List different pricing models if applicable.

Provide cost per unit and any reductions in price that may result from larger quantity buys.

Provide price for on and offsite Field Service Representative/Field Service Engineer (FSR/FSE) support.

Define what a purchase of one LCEI “unit” would be. One aircraft? Multiple aircraft?

What is the lead time to acquire one LCEI unit?

What is the lead time to acquire 10 LCEI units?

Describe vendor’s roadmap for the LCEI? (planned updates, planned added capabilities, planned end of support)

Provide any warranty/RMA information

List the country the system is manufactured in, where it must go for intermediate or depot level repairs, and any export control considerations if they exist.

List any limited life items, or replaceable/serviceable items (filters, batteries, etc.) in the system.

If the LCEI has been manufactured and fielded with any organization, please describe the quantity produced/fielded (in total, and if able to, specify organization).

What training/familiarization information is available?

(i.e. PowerPoint training for operation, system maintenance/troubleshooting, install and setup procedures, technical documentation, etc.)

Are any specialized training materials required or available for the LCEI?

Is your system covered by a specific Security Classification Guide (SCG)? If so, please list it, and provide it if able.

Simply listing the SCG title and date is acceptable.

If any government sponsor has mandated the usage of a specific SCG for operation or testing of your component/subsystem, please list and/or provide, as able.

Please list IP assertions and rights of the system.

(e.g., Government owned, purpose rights, limited, etc.)

Can this system operate Unclassified, or does it require a Classified environment/network? (please explain)

Has a HERO, HERP, HERF report been completed for the LCEI? If yes, please attach. If in the works, please give estimated date of completion.

Describe the storage/transportation/logistics of the system.

(include sizes of transit cases, special equipment/handling, etc.)

Documentation List

Please provide the following list of documentation attached to the RFI (digitally), if able to/if applicable.

- Technical Data

- Generic layout of external interfaces

- Interface Control Document (ICDs), System Design Document (SDD), System Requirements Document (SRD), or any other applicable documents that describe the design and interfaces.

- System architecture diagram

- Pricing Models

- Test Data/Results

- Failure Analysis

- HERO, HERF, HERP

- Copy of DD2345

- JF-12, if applicable

- Include a brief (i.e. no more than but approximately 1 page total) description of your organization’s quality control, risk management, and safety practices as they would be applied to this effort.

- Any other additional documents