Fiber Optic Draw Tower

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), under the Department of the Navy Office of Naval Research, is conducting market research for the procurement of a Fiber Optic Draw Tower system through this Pre-Solicitation Notice posted on April 1, 2026, with responses due by April 8, 2026. The requirement is for a fully turnkey silica fiber optic draw tower capable of drawing multiple fiber types including step index multimode, graded index multimode, single mode, microstructured photonic crystal fibers, and hollow core fibers, with specifications detailed in the attached Salient Characteristics document. Interested parties must submit capability statements via email containing company contact information, business size and socioeconomic categories, Unique Entity ID/CAGE Code, suggested NAICS and PSC codes, and confirmation of whether the offering constitutes a commercial or noncommercial item. The government requests technical information including descriptions of items meeting the specifications, suggestions for alternate configurations, estimated delivery schedules, and cost estimates to support budget planning. This is explicitly stated as an RFI for information and planning purposes only, with no guarantee of a subsequent solicitation, and responses will not constitute binding quotes or lead directly to contract award.

This Pre-Solicitation Notice includes no set-aside designation and contains no information regarding potential incumbents or current contractors. The government has not disclosed an award value or budget range in the notice; however, interested firms are encouraged to provide cost estimates to assist NRL in establishing adequate funding should the requirement move forward. The procured system must accommodate preforms ranging from 10 to 50 millimeters in diameter and produce fiber with diameters from 80 to 1,000 micrometers at draw speeds of 1 to 200 meters per minute, with a spatial footprint constraint of approximately one meter by one meter by nine meters in height. Key technical capabilities required include a resistive, water-cooled furnace reaching 2,300 degrees Celsius, dual independent fiber coating systems with LED UV curing, draw tension monitoring, and full source code software access to enable NRL personnel to implement modifications including potential classified or ITAR-restricted enhancements. All specifications remain subject to modification pending NRL's market survey and engineering review.