Special Notice Intend to Award Sole Source to Ocean Power Technologies.pdf
PDF 60 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Lease and upgrade of sensors for current Buoy
- Solicitation number
- 1301258535
About this file
This is a Special Notice of Intent to Award on a Sole Source basis to Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPT) for a maritime research project at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). The procurement involves leasing a buoy platform with specific technical requirements, including power and size capabilities to support NPS and AT&T equipment, solar and wind power generation, AIS and surface search radar, high-definition infrared cameras, and a Starlink network for real-time data links. The project aims to assess and develop Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) for persistent energy-harvesting platforms to support Maritime Domain Awareness and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance.
The sole source justification emphasizes significant prior investments by AT&T through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), with OPT already having integrated AT&T hardware into the buoy platform. The government argues that selecting any other vendor would set the project back by years or potentially cause mission failure, resulting in lost productivity and missed opportunities to explore maritime operational capabilities. The lease is positioned as cost-effective compared to purchasing a buoy, with a planned 12-month base period and two 12-month option periods, focusing on testing and evaluating expeditionary and advanced deployment operations.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 1.02 PWS For Posting RFI.pdf | ||
| 1.02 SAM.GOV NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE.pdf |
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Intend to Award on Sole Source basis to Ocean Power Technologies, Inc.
The purpose of the research being conducted at NPS includes the assessment of, and CONOPS development for, persistent energy-harvesting platforms to support Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR). This research requires such a persistent maritime platform that is large enough to accommodate the NPS sensors being employed, and includes a real-time networking system incorporating technology from our CRADA partner, AT&T. By leasing such a system, NPS and its partners can conduct testing over the next several years without having to worry about maintaining the buoy platform or managing the disposal of such a large system at the end of the project. Leasing the system is also extremely cost-effective, as the purchase price for any such buoy that meets the technical requirements would greatly exceed the lease price for the length of the project, even with the execution of options to extend the lease.
By the way, if you need a copy of our CRADA with AT&T, that can be provided. But there is no formal agreement with the preferred vendor for this project, Ocean Power Technologies (OPT).
What features/capabilities does Vendor A provide that no other vendor can provide?
The selected buoy platform must have the power and size requirements to support all NPS and AT&T equipment, including both the 5G maritime station and the microwave backhaul to the antenna at NPS.
The selected buoy platform must have solar and wind power generation to ensure persistent energy at all times.
The selected buoy platform must have AIS, surface search radar, and high-definition infrared cameras to monitor the local area.
The selected buoy platform must have a Starlink network capable of providing real-time back-up data links for the NPS sensors.
Why are those features important to have in your requirement?
An objective of the project is to evaluate such systems for expeditionary and advanced deployment operations. This requires persistent energy and resilient comms.
The buoy will be observable by mariners and must be equipped with appropriate technology to operate in the ocean for extended periods. This requires AIS and other sensors to collect information on nearby activities to ensure any incidents are properly recorded.
NPS has a CRADA partnership with AT&T that is supporting the networking aspects of the project. This requires integration of AT&T hardware with the selected buoy platform, which was already done by AT&T working directly with
OPT.
Because this work supports future expeditionary and advanced operations, it must have resilient comms channels, including Starlink.
What will be the mission impact if the requirement is not solicited from solely Vendor A?
There has already been significant investments made by our CRADA partner, AT&T, in this overall effort. If Vendor A is not selected, the project will be set back by years, if not full mission failure. This will cost the government, its CRADA partner, and local collaborators in lost productivity and opportunity to explore operationally relevant capabilities in the maritime domain.
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .