Battle Management System (BMS) Combatant Craft Weapon System - Munitions Priority RFI

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), Weapons Control and Integration Department (H), Platform Integration Division (H40), Weapon Control Systems Development Branch (H43), Battle Management Systems (BMS) Program, Combatant Craft Weapon System (CCWS) project providing support to NAVSEA 06 PMS-340 (NSW), through USSOCOM SOF AT&L PEO-SW, in alignment with the SOCREB-validated Maritime Precision Engagement (MPE) Capability Development Document (CDD), seeks industry input to assist with the development and planning of a future munition system leading to potential contract actions for prototype efforts, which may include traditional Federal Acquisition Regulation based contracts, Other Transaction Authority opportunities, or both. In the near-term, USSOCOM intends to identify viable prototype systems for development, testing, evaluation and integration with SOCOM Combatant Craft. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP). NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. References: MPE System Requirements Document (SRD), NSWC Dahlgren - 24MAR2020 MPE Capability Development Document (CDD) - USSOCOM, SOCREB 19MAR2018 Note: These will not be provided during this RFI process. They are listed simply to show the validity of this requirement. Attachments: MPE Capability Compliance Matrix (Vendor RFI Deliverable) Matrix template will be provided to interested parties once security clearances and handling requirements have been verified. Overview: This RFI is focused on supporting a solution to the original Block 1 Munition Priority High-Level Desired Capabilities Document (MPE CDD) and has been refined through reference of the above documents. The MPE SRD was created to aggregate and distill critical parameters of the system requirements. It is understood that vendors may be unlikely to have munitions that are 100% ready to be fielded for this platform and effort, and with respect to the environmental requirements, significant effort may be needed to prepare and qualify a munition. However, this RFI is seeking a - best of product that meets the general intent of the SRD. Furthermore, this RFI seeks to continue the assessment of necessary vendor efforts to make their munition ready for fleet integration. The MPE CDD provides Naval Special Warfare Combatant Craft with an organic precision-strike mission package to engage targets over-the-horizon when conventional methods cannot be employed. The MPE mission package is designed to be a non line-of-sight missile system with man-in-the-loop flight controls, multi-mode seeker, loitering, and scalable effects warhead/payload options that minimizes collateral damage. The basic outline of the MPE CDD is to provide a modular loiter munition capability to Combatant Craft. MPE shall be as open and modular as practicable while using Government-Off-the-Shelf (GOTS) BMS, defined below, for Command and Control (C2). The MPE has three incremental development blocks (MPE Blocks 1-3) to maximize long-term cost savings and enhance scaled capabilities for range, flight endurance, and payload capacity. Initial Basis of Issue (BOI) for a Block 1 munition for NSW is approximately 501 rounds. The MPE Program of Record is intended to be an enduring effort to field increasingly capable and adaptable munitions to the warfighter for the foreseeable future. From Navy Warfare Publication (NWP) 3-20, Surface Warfare Manual Definition of MPE: - Precision engagement is the ability of joint forces to locate, identify, and track targets; select, organize, and use the correct systems; generate desired effects; assess results; and reengage with decisive speed throughout the ROMO (range of military operations). The pivotal characteristic of precision engagement is the linking of sensors, delivery systems, and effects. Purpose: This Request for Information (RFI), while focused on currently fielded, new/up and coming, and future loitering munitions, will discover vendors interested in a unique opportunity to catalyze maritime precision strike and associated capabilities for a number of different customers. The Government is also seeking vendors with unique attributes to simplify and streamline integration efforts. Ultimately, we hope to attain information on munitions that meet or are close to meeting the MPE CDD Block 1 requirements by the end of Q3FY20 while gaining awareness of products and plans to meet subsequent blocks and maritime requirements. Description of Procurement: From MPE CDD, NSW War Reserve Munitions (WRM) and Testing and Training Requirements (TTR) for 10 years: MPE Block 1 AUR (FY20-32, IOC FY24) - TMR: 501 rounds MPE Block 2 AUR (FY24-36, IOC FY26) - TMR: 326 rounds MPE Block 3 AUR (FY33-50, IOC FY35) - TMR: 402 rounds *Total Material Requirement (TMR) By achieving the various safety and BMS C2 standards stipulated in the CDD, the munition solution(s) can expect to reach a wider (e.g. theater, inter-service/agency) customer base operating in the ground and maritime environments. Requested Information: Information on current, in-development, and planned loitering munitions and their capabilities as they match back to or approach the reference requirements. What products do you offer that meet or exceed the a) range, b) endurance, c) payload size and dimensions in the allotted space and weight constraints? What configurations (sensors, warheads, etc.) are currently available for your relevant products? What new configurations are planned and which of the planned configurations are currently in development? What are the most severe environments and stringent qualifications each of your products operate in and meet? What is current packaging size and weight of your relevant product(s)? How is your relevant product launched from the platform? Please specify method of launch and propulsion (i.e. cold/soft launch, pneumatic, gas generator, turbine, propeller). What other capabilities do you feel are important to present? How mature are your products? Please provide information supporting System(s) Readiness Level (SRL), Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) and Technical Readiness Level (TRL). The Maritime environment presented in our requirements are very harsh and unforgiving. Coupled with stringent requirements to operate around the higher power radiation devices of the Navy and highly controlled armories, this can present significant challenges to overcome. Can you address the munition requirements, tests, and qualifications needed for storage on and operating from US Navy vessels and SOCOM maritime craft? From your understanding of each of your products, what additional testing/qualification is needed to meet the Government's intent? What testing/qualification would you desire to conduct, and which would you desire for the government to conduct? All data and testing will be reviewed and need to be made available to the government. If the program desires to enter Production with a fully qualified munition in Q4FY23, how would you lay out your development and qualification plan? Battle Management System (BMS), a government owned and operated system of systems has been specified as an integral part of the effort and is tasked with developing the mechanical, electrical, and logical interfaces with vendors to incorporate their products in to the platform. BMS is also expected to provide the operator station to launch and control munitions, and incorporate one of or multiple datalinks while further integrating with other links and sensors for gathering and providing situational awareness. This requires information sharing, honesty, and ideally a partnership. Development of interface Control Documents, Interface Description Documents, and other specifying documents to ensure understanding between BMS and vendors is critical to system success. This often requires both BMS manager(s) and vendor(s) to be flexible and adaptable. What is your understanding of and experience with BMS, its function(s) and how they operate? What do you see a partnership, if feasible, looking like? How well have you defined your mechanical, electrical, and logical interfaces for your products? Will this definition/documentation be made available to BMS? What definition/documentation do you desire from BMS? How open are you to working with BMS, or a Government Owned Solution, to changing your interfaces if desired or needed? Would you be open to expanding your products beyond this effort? The Government acknowledges areas that it feels it needs to step into and help control to allow for continued competition and innovation in munitions: datalink (namely the protocols, message sets, and encryption methods); munition message sets; electrical interfaces. The Government wishes to continue to expand and create new interface documents down to the All Up Round (AUR) or launch tube/box. The Government does not wish to wholly control a product nor own all the caveats to it (i.e. datalink radio, antenna, etc.). However, the Government wants to leave room for competition, which drives down overall costs, increases value to the taxpayer, and provides faster innovation and integration paths for our customers. The capability provide by this munition may be leveraged across multiple platforms for multiple customers. Provide suggestions for the development of an agnostic (to platform, sensor, and munition) system interface and how the proposed munitions would be altered or repackaged to allow the munitions to meet this interface. The capability blocks in the requirements documents present a desire for loitering munitions to have a degree of modularity and payload changeable areas. Provide suggestions for possible payloads and usages, especially when it pertains to products that would enhance the usage of these loitering munitions now. What payloads are in development or are desired to be developed to provide additional capabilities? Response Guidelines: Interested parties shall submit CAGE CODE, company name, address of office that is interested in responding, and a single point of contact. Upon approval, the Government will send a compliance matrix back out for completion. Points of Contact: Companies submitting white papers to this RFI may contact those listed below for inquiries: Ai Massey, Contracts Email: ai.massey@navy.mil Phone: 540-653-8864 Industry Updates and Closed Discussions: Following the release of this RFI, Government representatives will be collecting and answering questions from vendors. Questions are required to be submitted to the Government NLT 25 May 2020 so that an RFI update document with consolidated questions and answers can be distributed to support final vendor RFI packages. One-on-one discussions with interested vendors may be facilitated immediately following the RFI update. DISCLAIMER: This RFI is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals nor will any award be made as a result of this synopsis. All information contained in the RFI is preliminary as well as subject to modification and is in no way binding on the Government. FAR clause 52.215-3, - Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes, is incorporated by reference in this RFI. The Government does not intend to pay for information received in response to this RFI. Responders to this invitation are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI, minus the agreed upon government reimbursement upon good faith of industry due-diligence. This RFI will be the basis for collecting information on capabilities available. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received in this RFI that is marked - Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.