SUWP AoI (Experimentation and Test Assets)_10-29-2026.docx

Area of Interest (AoI) – Small Unit Water Purification (SUWP)

Alternative Sources of Water for Small Units. The Army has critical capability gaps in supplying potable water to widely dispersed, semi-independent small units operating in contested logistics environments. Currently, tactical water purification systems (TWPS) are utilized to produce bulk water, which creates a significant logistical burden by forcing units to rely on vulnerable, long-distance distribution and bottlenecks supply chains. The centrally located positions of the TWPS restrict the movement of the Army units. To mitigate this tether, the Government is seeking small lightweight commercial units that are highly mobile, ruggedized, and are capable of water purification. The system must leverage onboard vehicle power and standard 120V external sources to produce potable water via reverse osmosis (RO) filtration from fresh, brackish, or saltwater sources. To support distributed operations, this system must be easily transportable and packaged in man-portable cases (no more than two cases, each case under 138lbs) and capable of producing at least 15 to 35 gallons of potable water per hour depending on the water source. Furthermore, to enable General Purpose Users (GPUs) to operate the system safely without specialized water treatment oversight, the system must integrate Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) to actively mitigate biological water security risks at the tactical edge.

The Government intends to procure up to 23 systems: 17 systems, inclusive of spare parts, to support experimentation and six systems for testing by the Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC). Contractors are highly encouraged to submit more than one system solution or variant for consideration. For the 23 systems being procured, the Government may experiment with and test multiple solutions/variants; therefore, the Government may award contracts to multiple contractors. If awarded a contract, the contractor(s) shall deliver all systems no later than 1 February 2027.

The Army is seeking to make awards as soon as possible; therefore, the suspense for white paper submission is no later than 12:00 pm Eastern on November 6, 2026. Submissions received after the specified due date and time may not be evaluated by the Government.

All communications, including white paper submissions, shall be sent to:

Contract/Agreements Specialist, Elizabeth Merriman (elizabeth.merriman.civ@army.mil), and, Contracting/Agreements Officer, Jennifer L. Jusela (jennifer.l.jusela.civ@army.mil).