UUV RFI Document.pdf

Request for Information for Small Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division 110 Vernon Avenue Panama City Beach, Florida 32407

ADDITIONAL GENERAL INFORMATION

This is a Request for Information (RFI) as defined in FAR 15.201(e) to obtain information about pricing, delivery, and other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals; therefore, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Companies that respond will not be paid for the information submitted. The Government will be utilizing Government personnel only under this RFI. The role of these Government personnel is to function as reviewers. These personnel will have access to the information submitted in response to the RFI, and will provide technical expertise and/or advice as required. All personnel have Non-Disclosure Agreements on file with the Government.

NOTE: Responses to this RFI are due no later than six weeks from the RFI publish date.

If late information is received, it may be considered by the Government Evaluation Team, depending on agency time constraints.

PSC – 1940

NAICS – 336612, 1,000 Employees

GENERAL INTENT

DESCRIPTION

The Navy provides this RFI inviting industry to provide information on technologies related to small unmanned underwater vehicles. Industry responses to the RFI will be assessed and may assist in identifying potential future actions.

Note: There is no guarantee that any submitted topic will be funded, and responders to this RFI will have no competitive advantage in receiving awards related to the submitted topic area. The information submitted in all responses may be utilized to help the Government further define its requirements. If the Government develops a project that addresses any submitted or similar topic, the resulting procurement will address technology and business specific requirements as defined by the Government to achieve project objectives.

BACKGROUND

The Government is seeking unmanned underwater vehicle technologies that will meet some or all of the performance requirements below. Meeting all requirements of this RFI is not mandatory. The Government wants to understand the market space and potentially work with vendors to close identified capability gaps and potentially buy COTS systems under a small UUV program of record.

This RFI is released to support PMS 340’s need for small unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). This size is defined as less than 45 inches in length and less than 200 pounds threshold.

Basic Goals/Requirements

The following is a list of basic goals/requirements for the UUV. Again, responses encouraged even if all cannot be met.

UUV-001 Threshold: Weight shall be 200 pounds or less.

Objective: Weight shall be 120 pounds or less.

UUV-002 Threshold: UUV shall have at least an 4-hour endurance at 3 kts, in baseline configuration utilizing lithium-ion batteries.

Objective: UUV shall have at least an 8-hour endurance at 3 kts, in baseline configuration utilizing lithium-ion batteries.

UUV-003 Threshold: The baseline UUV configuration shall be able to operate down to 100 meters in depth.

Objective: The baseline UUV configuration shall be able to operate down to 300 meters in depth.

UUV-004 Modular open system architecture (MOSA), compatible with SeeByte mission planning and autonomy software (SW), shall be utilized with the ability to add modular payload/capability sections to the vehicle.

UUV-005 Baseline UUV system shall be capable of encrypted data storage when required by mission parameters.

UUV-006 Commercial and government off the shelf modular payloads shall be utilized for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

UUV-007 Navigation shall utilize Global Positioning and Inertial Navigation Systems.

UUV-008 UUV autonomy shall be capable of object detection, recognition, avoidance, redirection, and mission re-tasking based on threat assessment.

UUV-009 Length overall shall not exceed 45 inches.

UUV-010 Shall be compliant with Special Operations Forces (SOF) Carry-

On Hardware (COH) authorization instruction, as implemented by NAVSEA Instruction 9590 (Series).

REQUIRED RESPONSES

Limit RFI responses to 5 pages. Responses containing contractor proprietary information must be marked and transmitted in accordance with contractor company requirements.

Proprietary information can be submitted by either encrypted email or CD/DVD digital media. CLASSIFIED SUBMISSIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED. Note: See format and page limitations and submission of documentation paragraphs for additional instructions. Responses are preferred in the following format:

TITLE: Descriptive title for technology solution

SUBMITTER INFORMATION: Responses should include the company name, location of company, and the title, telephone number, and both mail and e-mail addresses of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss the submission and the potential for procurement to support rapid fielding.

GOVERNMENT CUSTOMERS/INTERESTED ORGANIZATIONS:

Identify government customer organizations cognizant of the technology and challenges in utilizing the technology. These should be the organizations/agencies that have interest in the technology and have technical or programmatic expertise for assessing the values of the technology to potential government customers. Identify any relevant related government programs (and/or point of contact), including organization, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and FAX numbers. Points of contact that can provide additional information useful to the technology review should be included in an appendix.

(Pages in the appendix do not count in the page limitation.)

Letters from current or potential government customers expressing an interest in the technology solution and in addressing the challenges are encouraged. Such letters may be included in the appendix, again, without impacting the page limitation.

TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION/ SOLUTION IMPACT: This section provides essential background information on the technology. This section should include at least the following:

1. Technology Description. The technology/approach and its current and future uses.

2. Benefits. The potential advantages of the offered technology over alternative technologies in terms of cost, performance, maturity, and other factors.

3. Operational Description. General description of command and control.

Information on operational intent (i.e. in protected waters, sea state less than X etc.)

4. Technical Readiness Level. Provide the estimated Technical Readiness Level (TRL) of the platform and a short justification of this level. Rapid fielding requires commercial of the shelf (COTS) or minimum TRL of 7.

INDUSTRY CAPABILITIES: This section describes industry’s current and expected capability to produce and/or integrate the technology.

CRITERIA: Please succinctly address how the technology offered will comply with one or more of the basic requirements/goals listed above.

COST/FUNDING ESTIMATES: High-level cost estimates of implementing the offered technology development. Report pre-established contract vehicles for awareness.

REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION / POINTS OF CONTACT:

Jim Carruth NSWC PCD, Code A54 110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, FL 32407

(850) 630-0262 james.carruth2.civ@us.navy.mil

Sam Ashby NSWC PCD, Code A54 110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, FL 32407 850-890-7301 samantha.e.ashby2.civ@us.navy.mil

FORMAT & PAGE LIMITATION

Submittals should be provided on standard letter size 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper, limited to a maximum of 5 single sided, 1.5-spaced pages. Cover sheet not included in page limit. The font for text should be Times New Roman 12-point or larger. The Responder may use oversize pages (including “foldouts”) where appropriate to contain graphic presentations. Oversize pages do not count as extra pages within the page limitations. Submitted responses should be in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format. Existing commercial documentation and product literature can also be submitted and is not subject to a page limitation.

SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTATION

Unclassified documentation shall be delivered to the Principal Investigators and copied to the Contracting Office at the following addresses:

Principle Investigator:

Jim Carruth NSWC PCD, Code A54 110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, FL 32407

(850) 630-0262 James.carruth2.civ@us.navy.mil

Co-Principle Investigator:

Sam Ashby NSWC PCD, Code A54 110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, FL 32407 850-890-7301 samantha.e.ashby2.civ@us.navy.mil

Contracting Office:

Brandon Hayes NSWC PCD, Code 023 110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, FL 32407 Voice: (850) 867-6475 brandon.d.hayes11.civ@us.navy.mil

INFORMATION APPROACH

The Program may or may not select or recommend any of the submitted information for use to develop a project plan. The Navy, as the DoD Executive Agent for the Program, is not required to provide feedback to responders.

NSWC-PCD utilizes the RFI process to help identify/develop potential programs and to determine if there is an industrial base to address government needs. Upon receipt of RFI responses, NSWC-PCD reviews the submissions to determine the utility of the information and the merit of the proposed technical solution.

If an RFI response does identify a potential program that meets the criteria stated in the NSWC-PCD BAA and is appropriate, dialogue may ensue between NSWC-PCD and appropriate government agencies to determine if a funding source can be established. If the preceding considerations are met, NSWC-PCD may pursue a program.

In the pursuit of a program, the government may communicate with the initiator of the RFI response. A definitive timeframe cannot be determined because the process is contingent upon a number of different variables. If feedback is not provided for an RFI response within 45 days, it is likely that the government is not pursuing the information/solution further.

DISCLAIMER

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only, as defined in FAR 15.201 (e), to obtain information about pricing, delivery, and other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals; therefore, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Companies that respond will not be paid for the information submitted.

No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. There is no bid package or solicitation at this time.

All information received shall be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All responsible sources may submit information in response to this RFI that shall be considered by the agency. Responses to this RFI are due no later than six weeks from the publish date of the RFI; June 30, 2026. If late information is received, it may be considered by the Government Evaluation Team, depending on agency time constraints.

All routine communications regarding this announcement should be directed to the technical point of contact listed above with a copy to the designated Procurement POC.

Please note: the Government is not required to provide feedback to RFI responders.