N0001425SBC04.pdf

Approved, DCN# 2025-5-21-976 05/28/2025

N0001425SBC04

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution is unlimited.

BAA Call N0001425SBC04 Special Program Announcement for Office of Naval Research

Research Opportunity:

Ocean Explorer (OEX) Large Underwater Vehicle Demonstrator

Industry Day

I. INTRODUCTION

This announcement describes a technology area, titled Ocean Explorer (OEX) Large Underwater Vehicle Demonstrator Industry Days under the N0001425SB001, Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology which can be found at https://www.onr.navy.mil/work-with-us/funding-opportunities/announcements. The submission of proposals, their evaluation and the placement of research contracts or agreements will be carried out as described in the above Long Range Broad Agency Announcement.

The purpose of this announcement is to focus scientific community attention on: 1) the area to be studied; and 2) Industry Days for dialogue among those interested in this technical area and (3) the planned timetable for the submission of white papers and full proposals.

II. TOPIC DESCRIPTION

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) seeks potential performers who are interested in pursuing the rapid design, build, and testing of OEX, an ultra-large autonomous undersea vehicle capable of conducting extended ocean scale missions while carrying a large modular payload. Innovation is sought both in terms of ultra-large undersea vehicle technology and in rapid prototype design and fabrication. The BAA Call initially seeks white papers followed by a full costed proposal covering an OEX “Preliminary Design” phase (Phase 1A) with a “Detailed Design” option (Phase 1B). The purpose of the OEX Preliminary Design is to establish the technical feasibility of the vehicle (with a payload module) and to lay out the operational and maintenance infrastructure required to support a hypothetical OEX “squadron”.

OEX “Preliminary Design” will include design details for: 1) an objective operational vehicle (“Production Vehicle”) with a fully operational payload module; 2) a modified vehicle (“Prototype Vehicle”) in which the payload module is replaced by a “dummy” module with no payloads; and 3) a “Prototype Payload Module” capable of handling and deploying actual payloads in a dry land test.

ONR seeks to address critical operational needs while significantly advancing the state of the art for uncrewed undersea vessels (UUV) from both performance and manufacturing capability.

Specific program objectives, strategic goals, performer participation, and technology transition opportunities will be presented during Industry Days hosted at ONR in the Washington, DC metro area.

https://www.onr.navy.mil/work-with-us/funding-opportunities/announcements

N0001425SBC04

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution is unlimited.

III. INDUSTRY DAYS

ONR will hold Industry Days on 30 June – 1 July 2025 at the Bobby Junker Executive Conference Center (BJECC) at ONR.

Office of Naval Research Bobby Junker Executive Conference Center (BJECC) – 14th Floor One Liberty Center 875 North Randolph Street Arlington, VA 22203

The Industry Days will serve to provide specific information that will be required knowledge when submitting white papers and proposals. ONR will present an OEX technical overview, followed by an opportunity for industry questions and answers (Q&A). Industry Days attendance, while optional, is highly encouraged for any parties interested in submitting white papers and full proposals. Nonparticipants of Industry Days will highly likely to have unsuccessful proposal.

No registration fee is required to participate.

Note: This announcement is neither a contract, nor a request for proposal, nor a promise to contract, nor a commitment of any kind. The Government assumes no liability for costs incurred by any participant for travel or participation.

REGISTRATION, VISITOR ACCESS, AND SECURITY

ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Please register at:

https://www.onlineregistrationcenter.com/2025OEXIndustryDays

Registration for Industry Days will open on 29 May 2025 and close on 18 June 2025.

Visitor Access. ONR Security, in conjunction with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), requires visitor access approval through the PFPA Visitor Management System (VMS) for all guests without ONR swipe access. Once registered for Industry Days, ONR will initiate the VMS process.

Please keep a close eye on your email inbox (and your junk email) for a link to a secure VMS application to fill in the required fields with your Personal Identifiable Information (PII). Please complete the submission of your PII as soon as you receive this email or you will not be cleared to enter OLC on Industry Days.

After submitting your PII please look for an automated approval email from the VMS with check-in instructions and identification requirements.

A valid photo ID is required to enter OEX Industry Days (e.g., Common Access Card (CAC), REAL ID, passport).

https://www.onlineregistrationcenter.com/2025OEXIndustryDays

N0001425SBC04

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Security. All parties interested in attending Industry Days must submit their SECRET visit request via Defense Information System for Security (DISS) or fax via their Facilities Security Officer (FSO) no later than 1700 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) 18 June 2025:

• Classification Level: SECRET

• SECRET SMO Code: N000144

• Fax: 703-696-5126

• Meeting Name: Ocean Explorer (OEX) Industry Days

• Date: 30 June – 1 July 2025

• Degree of Access: SECRET

• ONR Security Point of Contact: Mr. Andrez Keo (ONR Security), ONR.NCR.054.list.Security-

Division@navy.mil

• Technical Point of Contact: Mr. Stephen Schreppler (ONR), stephen.c.schreppler.civ@us.navy.mil

NO CLEARANCES WILL BE VERIFIED ON THE DAY OF THE MEETING. IF ONR

SECURITY CANNOT CONFIRM THAT YOUR CLEARANCE HAS BEEN VERIFIED YOU

WILL NOT BE PERMITTED INTO BJECC.

A portion of Industry Days will be held at the SECRET classification level. All participants must be U.S. citizens holding a valid security clearance at the time of the meeting. Cameras, tablets, laptops, cell phones/blackberry, smart phones, portable electronic devices, Wi-Fi or Mi-Fi devices, personal digital assistants (PDA), electronic books or readers, voice recorders, pagers, radios, scanners, global positioning satellite devices (GPS), thumb drives, or any electronic device that has the ability to transmit or receive, such as a Bluetooth enabled watch or Bluetooth hands free earpiece are not permitted in the classified session. A plastic bin for small electronics will be provided for storage outside the meeting room. Briefcases and backpacks must also remain outside the meeting room. Space will be available for storage outside the meeting room.

Check-in will begin at 0700 EDT and the meeting will begin at 0900 EDT. Arriving early to check-in is highly encouraged. It is recommended that no electronic devices are brought to Industry Days to allow for faster security screening.

IV. WHITE PAPER SUBMISSION

Although not required, white papers are strongly encouraged for all offerors seeking funding. Each white paper will be evaluated by the Government to determine whether the technology advancement proposed appears to be of particular value to the Department of the Navy. Initial Government evaluations and feedback will be issued via e-mail notification from the Technical Point of Contact. The initial white paper appraisal is intended to give entities a sense of whether their concepts are likely to be funded.

Detailed Full Proposal (Technical and Cost volumes) will be subsequently encouraged from those Offerors whose proposed technologies have been identified through the above referenced e-mail as being of “particular value” to the Government. However, any such encouragement does not assure a subsequent award. Full Proposals may also be submitted by any offeror whose white paper was mailto:ONR.NCR.054.list.Security-Division@navy.mil mailto:ONR.NCR.054.list.Security-Division@navy.mil mailto:stephen.c.schreppler.civ@us.navy.mil

N0001425SBC04

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution is unlimited.

not identified as being of particular value to the Government or any offeror who did not submit a white paper.

For white papers that propose efforts that are considered of particular value to the Navy but either exceed available budgets or contain certain tasks or applications that are not desired by the Navy, ONR may suggest a full proposal with reduced effort to fit within expected available budgets or an effort that refocuses the tasks or application of the technology to maximize the benefit to the Navy.

White papers should not exceed 5 single-sided pages, exclusive of cover page, references, and resume of principal investigator, and should be in 12-point Times New Roman font with margins not less than one inch. White papers shall be in Adobe PDF format (preferred) or in Microsoft Word format compatible with at least Microsoft Word 2016.

The Cover Page can be found at https://www.nre.navy.mil/work-with-us/how-to-apply/submit-contract-proposal for contract submissions.

The 5-page body of the white paper should include the following information:

• Technical Concept: A description of the technology innovation and technical risk areas.

• Future Naval Relevance (where applicable) – A description of potential Naval relevance and contributions of the effort to the agency’s specific mission.

• Operational Naval Concept (where applicable) – A description of the project objectives, the concept of operation for the new capabilities to be delivered, and the expected operational performance improvements.

• Operational Utility Assessment Plan (where applicable) – A plan for demonstrating and evaluating the operational effectiveness of the Offeror’s proposed products or processes in field experiments and/or tests in a simulated environment.

• Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate

A resume of the principal investigator, not to exceed 1 page, should also be included after the 5-page body of the white paper.

White papers must be submitted through ONR Submission Portal at https://submissions.nre.navy.mil/ in accordance with Section F, Submission Requirements and Deadline, Section 4. White Paper Submissions in N0001425SB001.

To ensure full, timely consideration for funding, white papers should be submitted no later than 25 July 2025. White papers received after that date will be considered as time and availability of funding permit.

https://www.nre.navy.mil/work-with-us/how-to-apply/submit-contract-proposal https://submissions.nre.navy.mil/

N0001425SBC04

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution is unlimited.

The planned date for completing the review of white papers is 08 August 2025.

An expanded oral presentation will be requested from those Offerors whose proposed technologies have been identified as being of "particular value" to the Government. However, a positive email response to the oral presentation does not assure a subsequent award. The purpose of the oral presentation is to better acquaint the Government with the Offeror's proposal, especially in its understanding of the technical approach and impact. The oral presentations are tentatively scheduled for 29 August 2025.

The Government will issue selection notification, via email, on or about 15 September 2025 of selection for a full proposal.

V. FULL PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND AWARD INFORMATION

Full proposals should be submitted under N0001426SB001 by 31 October 2025.

ONR anticipates that up to two (2) contracts will be issued for a total funding amount of $30M.

Full proposals for contracts should be submitted in accordance with Appendix 2 of

N0001426SB001.

The period of performance for projects may be from 1 to 3 years.

Although ONR expects the above described program plan to be executed, ONR reserves the right to make changes.

Funding decisions should be made by 21 November 2025. Selected projects will have an estimated award date of 20 February 2026.

VI. SIGNIFICANT DATES AND TIMES

NOTE: * These are approximate dates.

Event Date Time Registration for Industry Day Opens: 29 May 2025

Closes: 18 June 2025 Industry Day 30 June 2025 and

01 July 2025 Check-in: 0700 EDT Meeting: 0900 EDT

White Paper Submission Date 25 July 2025 1630 EDT Notification of White Paper Valuation*

08 August 2025

Oral Presentation* 29 August 2025 TBD Notification of Full Proposal Selection *

15 September 2025

Full Proposal Submission* 31 October 2025 1630 EDT Expected Awards * 20 February 2026

VII. Small Business Subcontracting

Other-than small businesses (i.e. large businesses, non-profit organizations and educational institutions) must submit a subcontracting plan along with their research proposal. While other-than small businesses are responsible for making these subcontracting arrangements, ONR can help facilitate prime contractor/small business contracting connections by posting to the ONR external website contact information of small businesses that have indicated their subcontracting interests and technological niche for prime contractor consideration for this program. This is not an endorsement, but an effort by ONR to help bring these parties together to provide superior solutions.

If you are a small business and your company is interested in subcontracting activities with other-than small businesses, please provide the following information by email to the ONR Small Business Director at nrl_smallbusinessoffice@us.navy.mil with the subject line “N0001425SBC04

– Small Business Subcontracting Interest”:

Company Name and Website Individual (POC) name and POC email address Business Size and socio-economic category Brief Technology Description (no more than 3 sentences) Technology Key Words (no more than 10 words)

Note: Do not include ANY proprietary or CLASSIFIED information. This information will be posted on the ONR website under this BAA call and will be available to the public.

VIII. POINTS OF CONTACT

The specific points of contact for this announcement are listed below:

Technical Point of Contact:

Stephen Schreppler, Program Officer, stephen.c.schreppler.civ@us.navy.mil

Business Point of Contact/Contracting Officer:

Leila Hemenway, Contracting Officer, Leila.k.hemenway.civ@us.navy.mil

IX. SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS

Any questions regarding this announcement must be provided to the Technical Points of Contact and/or the Business Point of Contact listed above. All questions shall be submitted in writing by e- mail.

Answers to questions submitted in response to this BAA call will be addressed in the form of an amendment and will be posted to the following web pages:

mailto:nrl_smallbusinessoffice@us.navy.mil mailto:stephen.c.schreppler.civ@us.navy.mil mailto:Leila.k.hemenway.civ@us.navy.mil

• SAM.gov Webpage –Contract Opportunities – https://sam.gov/

• ONR BAAs, FOAs and Special Program Announcements Webpage https://www.onr.navy.mil/work-with-us/funding-opportunities/announcements.

Questions regarding White Papers or Full Proposals should be submitted NLT two weeks before the dates recommended for receipt of White Papers and/or Full Proposals. Questions after this date may not be answered.

Question procedures will be documented during Industry Days.

https://beta.sam.gov/ https://www.onr.navy.mil/work-with-us/funding-opportunities/announcements