N0017824Q4402 RFI Revision1.pdf

THIS IS FOR Request for Information #: N00178-24-Q-4402

Submitted by: C. Beard NAICS Code: TBD FSC Code: TBD

Anticipated Date to be published in SAM.GOV 03/19/2024

POC Code/Name: Carmell T. Beard 0243 Email Address: carmell.t.beard.civ@us.navy.mil

Description and Code (To be used on the homepage): RFI for UAV TECH CAPABILITIES, PRODUCTION, AND MANUFACTURING

Type of Action (Synopsis, Sollicitation, etc.): Request for Information (RFI)

This RFI is being posted on https://sam.gov/content/home. It is understood that this is the single point of entry for posting of synopsis and solicitations to the Internet.

DESCRIPTION

This notice is for market research purposes only and does NOT constitute a request for proposal. This notice shall not be construed as a contract, a promise to contract, or as a commitment of any kind by the Government. The Government is NOT seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals.

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) on behalf of Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) issues this Request for Information (RFI) notice. Per FAR 15.201(e), the purpose of this RFI is to improve the Navy’s understanding of industry’s capabilities and other market information pertaining to the production, manufacturing, and fielding of unmanned aerial vehicular systems with ISR capabilities.

With the release of the OPNAV N98 memo “Divestment of MQ-8C Fire Scout Uncrewed Aircraft System”, dated 26 Feb 2024, PEO USC has recognized a need to replace the persistent overhead ISR capability, which the MQ-8C brought to the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). PEO USC is specifically interested in technology solutions that address the following:

1. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) capable of take-off and landing from an LCS under maritime conditions, with or without special equipment

2. UAV ISR capabilities

3. UAV high-bandwidth comms (sufficient for video and sensor track data) between ship-based control segment and UAV, using direct line of sight comms (e.g. Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) or comms relay strategy.

4. Long mission endurance (greater than 6 hours) with either one UAV or by rotating multiple UAVs

5. UAV control segment, personnel, and support packages able to embark on an LCS

a) Stowage in a standard 20’ shipping container

b) Manning (6 people max)

c) Control segment computing hardware fits in 3 server racks or less

6. Encrypted C2 and data links

PEO USC is also interested in Payload integration for candidate UAVs:

mailto:carmell.t.beard.civ@us.navy.mil https://sam.gov/content/home

1. Sensors that have been integrated into/onto candidate UAVs

2. Other Payloads that have been integrated into/onto candidate UAVs

PEO USC is also interested in strategies for Software and data integration of candidate UAVs and their control segments with the LCS Mission Package and Core Combat Systems.

PEO USC is interested in COCO, GOCO, and GOGO options for UAV support and execution of UAV missions.

The Navy is seeking information to include industry’s technical capabilities, manufacturing capacities, supply chain partnerships, and current and planned investments as it pertains to the above categories.

Interested parties shall respond using the attached questionnaire.

PEO USC RFI - UAV TECH CAPABILITIES, PRODUCTION, AND MANUFACTURING

ATTACHMENT 1 -- Questionnaire The intent of the following questions is to communicate the range and type of information of interest to PEO (USC), and PEO (USC) anticipates that respondents may not address all questions. Respondents may address some or all questions in their RFI response. Tailor your response to address the questions to the best extent possible for your products.

For your company, please provide the following:

A. General

1. Provide a brief description of your company (maximum 100 words).

2. Identify whether your company’s ownership is domestic to the United States or foreign; if foreign, specify the country.

3. If your company is operating under foreign ownership, control, or influence, is your company covered under an approved Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) agreement by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)?

4. Identify each product that aligns to the technology categories (i.e., UAV, sensors and/or payloads, data integration, control segment) described in the RFI. Provide a brief description of each product. (maximum 30 words for each product)

For each product identified in question A.4 above, please provide the following:

B. Technology Specifications

1. What is the name of the product?

2. Which technology category in question A.4 above aligns with this product?

3. What is the part number?

4. What is the maturity of the product, e.g., has the product been developed, demonstrated in a real-world environment, or achieved low-rate or full-rate production?

a. Previous certifications (e.g. flight safety, etc.)

5. What is the number of products in inventory?

6. What is the data integration approach?

7. For UAVs only, provide:

a. Vehicle Description

i. general vehicle description

ii. vehicle dimensions

iii. UAV Group (1-5)

iv. vehicle weight (pounds)

v. Fuel type (e.g. JP5, Lithium batteries)

vi. energy capacity (kilowatt-hours), fuel capacity or both

vii. Power requirements (e.g. connections, voltage for recharge)

1. If batteries included, has it passed battery safety testing? (e.g.

Lithium Battery Safety Program)

viii. vehicle drawings and/or renderings

ix. software architecture approach (to include description of open architecture capability)

x. data rights availability for major subsystems and software (unlimited, government purpose rights, proprietary only)

b. Vehicle Performance

i. vehicle range (nautical miles for transit and operation) without recharge/refuel

ii. vehicle endurance (hours for transit and operation) without recharge/refuel

iii. maximum vehicle speed (measured or estimated)

iv. vehicle cruising speed (measured or estimated)

v. reliability (measured or estimated)

vi. maintainability (measured or estimated)

c. Vehicle Payload Capabilities

i. modular payload space dimensions (inches)

ii. modular payload volume (cubic feet)

iii. modular payload weight capacity (pounds)

iv. reconfiguration capability for future payloads

d. Vehicle Operations

i. guidance and control

ii. navigation

iii. autonomy

iv. situational awareness

v. communication systems

1. Links

2. Frequency/waveforms

3. Messages

4. Antennae (on aircraft and ship-mounted)

5. Etc.

vi. stowage

1. container

2. tie-downs

vii. Maritime Environment Readiness

viii. Sensitivity of information held on UAV

ix. Electro-Magnetic Hardening

x. Maintenance Requirements (e.g. low-pressure air)

e. Vehicle Employment

i. signature & detection (optical, radar, etc.)

ii. onboard sensors not specific to the payload

iii. manning requirements to operate

iv. take-off and landing system

f. Control Segment Hardware

i. Form-Factor/Size

ii. Physical Mounting

iii. Weight

iv. Power Requirements

1. If batteries included, has it passed battery safety testing? (e.g.

Lithium Battery Safety Program)

v. Manning Requirements

vi. Maritime Environment Readiness (e.g. MIL-Detail 901 shock testing, MIL-

STD 167 shipboard vibration testing (ideally passed grade B testing))

1. Pass/fail criteria used in tests

vii. Electromagnetic Hardening

g. Control Segment Software

i. Cyber Resiliency

ii. Software Architecture

iii. Hosting on Ship Computing Services and Hardware

h. Data Integration

i. Common Interfaces (e.g. STANAG 4586)

ii. Open Architecture Standards (e.g. Future Airborne Capability Environment®

(FACE®))

iii. Interface Control Documents (ICDs)

iv. Data Services

v. Data Storage and Access

vi. Data Types/Products Provided by Control Segment or UAV

vii. Data Types Required from Ship by Control Segment or UAV

8. For Payloads and Sensors only, provide:

a. Product Description

i. general product description

ii. product diameter or cross section (inches)

iii. product length (inches)

iv. product weight (pounds)

v. energy demand (kilowatt-hours)

vi. product drawings and/or renderings

vii. software architecture approach (to include description of open architecture capability)

viii. data integration needs

ix. data provided

x. Open architecture standards applied (e.g. Sensor Open Systems

Architecture™)

xi. control approach and manning needs

xii. data rights availability for major subsystems and software (unlimited, government purpose rights, proprietary only)

C. Business Model

1. Is the product available for purchase, lease, or as a Contractor-owned, Contractor-operated

(COCO) service?

2. Describe your customer base for this product (i.e., DoD, commercial, both).

3. Do you have any active DoD contracts, DoD agreements, or federal supply schedules for this product? List the contract/agreement numbers and identify whether these contracts/agreements were competitive or single source.

4. Are any of your DoD contracts or agreements for this product rated DO or DX? If so, specify the contract or agreement number and the rating assigned.

5. Do you have any current or past contracts awarded under the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program? If yes, which phase has your product completed?

6. Have you successfully completed a prototype project for this product under the authority of 10 U.S. Code § 4022? Were competitive procedures used for the selection of parties for participation in this transaction? List the agreement numbers for each prototype project.

D. Manufacturing

1. Identify the manufacturing capacity of the product per month and identify the minimum capacity required for economical production. Are there any industrial base challenges driving cost or any price trends we should be aware of?

2. What is the manufacturing throughput time for one unit?

3. Do you currently, or have you historically, relied on sources external to your company for production manufacturing? If yes, from where, and how much production capacity have you acquired and in what time period?

4. What are your current and future predicted equipment and production line utilization rates?

5. Any there current or future obsolescence concerns? If so, have you implemented successful strategies to mitigate said concerns?

6. Do you anticipate needing additional workforce members if production was to scale to 10, 50, 100, or 200 units?

7. Do you anticipate needing additional facilities and/or capital tooling and equipment if production was to scale to 10, 50, 100, or 200 units?

E. Supply Chain

1. Identify 1st tier suppliers for major components or subcomponents of your product. For USVs, major components and subcomponents include but are not limited to hull, propulsion, and communication systems.

2. For suppliers identified in question E.1. above, are any suppliers under foreign ownership, control, or influence? If yes, specify the supplier, major component or subcomponent, and country.

3. For suppliers identified in question E.1. above, have you assessed any suppliers that are single source, capacity constrained, foreign dependent, and/or facing near-term Diminishing Manufacturing Sources & Material Shortages (DMSMS)? If yes, please identify the supplier and the associated major component and/or subcomponent.

4. Identify which major components and/or subcomponents are long lead-time items. What is the amount of time it takes to procure each item?

5. What are the capacity limitations of the supply chain?

6. Does your current distributed supply chain pose challenges (e.g., lead time, cost, security, etc.)

and, if so, what mitigations are you currently considering or taking?

F. Investment

1. Identify the types of facility and capital investments that your company is planning for the next three (3) years. What is the impact of these investments on the production activities (e.g., quality assurance) and production throughput and capacity?

2. Does the company have established relationships with sources of capital for investments in facilities and/or equipment?

3. Is the company seeking additional capital to mature prototypes or scale production?

G. Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM)

1. Provide the total ROM estimate and lead time to manufacture and deliver quantities of 10, 50, 100, and 200 units.

2. Is the above ROM estimate based on current or future facilities and human and capital resources? If based on future facilities and resources, when does your company plan to complete these investments?

3. If a maximum capacity is greater than 200 units in a year, identify the quantity and provide the total ROM estimate.

All information should be submitted to Carmell T. Beard (Contract Specialist) and Amy T. Richards (Contracting Officer); email address is carmell.t.beard.civ@us.navy.mil and amy.t.richards.civ@us.navy.mil, reference number N0017824Q4402. The submission date for capability statements is on or before 16 April 2024 1600 EST. Questions regarding this RFI Notice must be received no later than 1600 EST on 10 April 2024. This market research announcement is not considered a commitment of any kind by the Government and individual correspondence should not be expected in advance of any resulting pre-solicitation notice for the proposed requirements.

mailto:carmell.t.beard.civ@us.navy.mil mailto:amy.t.richards.civ@us.navy.mil