ACOMMS MODELING AND EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FOR ACOMMS MODELING AND EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT Purpose The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) is seeking information on fully programmable software defined acoustic modems. Description The modem should be fully software defined with an interface allowing for custom coding and reprogramming of the modulation and demodulation routines. The modem should have similar functionality to software defined radios (SDRs) in the radio frequency domain, in which the entire digital signal processing (DSP) chain can be coded and developed by the user. The modem should utilize both CPU and FPGA (field programmable gate array) hardware to handle the DSP. The CPU should support the FPGA, meaning that code on the CPU can directly interface with the signal stream from/to the FPGA. Both should be fully programmable using languages such as C++, python, and/or Verilog. An FPGA capable of supporting higher level programming interfaces, such as Vivado, and possessing hardened (hard-wired/on-chip) support for modern error correction routines (LDPC / Turbo codes) is preferred. FPGA integration is not required if it can be demonstrated that the CPU alone can handle the DSP requirements to operate in real-time. The full package should contain both the hardware for modulation/demodulation and for driving an acoustic transducer at a power of at least 100W. Power draw during receive mode should not exceed 5W. Solutions outside of these power requirements may be considered depending on the suite of features offered by the system. Additionally, a large tunable range of the center frequency (ideally from 1kHz to 1MHz) and a usable bandwidth of at least 20kHz are being targeted. The system should have at least 4 transducers used for both input and output. The modem should be able to independently communicate with each transducer to allow for (multiple-input-multiple-output) MIMO and beamforming approaches to be used in both transmit and receive mode. The applicable PSC code is 5895. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is 334290. Size Standard is 800 employees. Responses Potential offerors with the ability to meet all or the majority of the requirements listed in the Description Specification are requested to provide information on their solution as a Microsoft Word Document or Portable Document Format (PDF) file in memorandum format. Responses to this RFI should include supporting materials that provide a demonstration of your company's capabilities and experience. For costs, please provide any applicable quantity discounts. The following information is requested (indicate if the information is an estimate or actual). Product Description (including key features/functionality) Physical Characteristics Product History User Interface Product Maturity Cost In addition to illustrating the ability to meet the performance requirements, the following questions must also be answered within this RFI: 1. As of the posting of this RFI, are a minimum of two (2) production samples available for evaluation that meet all or most of the requirements of this effort? If not, provide an estimate as of the posting of this RFI on when production samples can be made available. 2. If a commercial item exists, but does not fully meet the above requirements, provide an estimate on when an item would be available to meet the above requirements. 3. What is the estimated cost per system? 4. Is a commercial manual available for the item? If not, provide an estimate for how long it would take to produce one and the associated cost to develop one. The cover page of the RFI response should include the following: 1. Business Name 2. Business Size/type 3. Point of Contact Name 4. Business Address 5. Phone Number 6. Email Address Please e-mail responses with any supporting pictures or attachments to brandon.d.hayes11.civ@us.navy.mil and label with the solicitation number and title. NSWC Panama City requests your responses by 26 November 2025. Questions can be submitted electronically to brandon.d.hayes11.civ@us.navy.mil and nathaniel.j.fuller3.civ@us.navy.mil. The technical point of contact is Dr. Nathaniel Fuller, NSWC PCD Code S31, (586) 744-8809, nathaniel.j.fuller3.civ@us.navy.mil. Information provided will be treated as Business Sensitive and will not be shared outside of Government activities and agencies without the permission of the provider. Your assistance in supporting this effort will enable the USMC to define well-informed requirements and will greatly improve the efficiency of future acquisition and developmental efforts. Please ensure any supporting documentation does not exceed 6MB and 10 pages. All information shall be provided free of charge to the Government. NSWC PCD may request further information regarding the capabilities of respondents to meet the requirements and may request a presentation and/or a site visit as deemed necessary. This is a Sources Sought announcement, a market survey for written information only. This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals and no contract will be awarded from this announcement. THE SUBMISSION OF THIS INFORMATION IS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT TO PROCURE ANY ITEMS/SERVICES, NOR FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO PAY FOR THE INFORMATION RECEIVED. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENT EXISTS AT THIS TIME.