A -- Request for Information on Maritime Domain Awareness

This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), soliciting industry interest in conducting research in technologies supporting Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard have defined MDA to be the effective understanding of anything associated with the global maritime environment that could impact the security, safety, economy or environment of the United States.MDA is the collection, fusion, and dissemination of enormous quantities of data - intelligence and information - drawn from U.S. joint forces, U.S. government agencies, international coalition partners and forces, and commercial entities. Eventually, the depth of information collected from these various sources will be weaved together to enrich a comprehensive common operating picture (COP) that is envisioned to be fully distributed among users with access to data that is appropriately classified. The purpose of MDA is to generate actionable intelligence. Without actionable intelligence, counterterrorist or maritime law enforcement operations are seldom fruitful. The challenge will be to effectively integrate and fuse the various inputs to achieve the synergies offered by a comprehensive situational awareness picture, while being responsive to the information needs of participating agencies. Research is expected to be funded by a variety of United States Government agencies between Fiscal Year 2006-2009. NRL is specifically interested in leveraging efforts and technology of vendors that are currently under contract for MDA by any United States Government agency. Vendors interested in participating in this research program should submit a letter of interest including the following information: a) Name of current program b) Government contract number c) Government Program Manager contact information d) Vendor Point of Contact e) Summary of effort (four paragraph maximum). Submissions at higher classification levels can be arranged upon request. This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or as an obligation on the part of the NRL to acquire any products or services. The NRL does not intend to award a contract based on this RFI or otherwise pay for the information requested. Submission of a response to this RFI is voluntary. The voluntary submission of a response to this RFI shall not obligate the NRL to pay or entitle the submitter. All information and data received in response to this RFI marked or designated as corporate or proprietary information will be fully protected and held in strict confidence. Responses to this RFI may be submitted in writing or by email no later than August 12, 2005. Information may be submitted to:, Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook, Ave. S.W., ATTN: CDR J. R. Graham, Code 8020, 4555 Overlook Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20375 or email: nrlmda@ncst.nrl.navy.mil . Responses received after August 12, 2005 will not be reviewed.