HIGH ENERGY LASER WEAPON SYSTEMS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane has a requirement in support of Naval Sea Systems Command's Directed Energy and Electric Weapon Systems (DE&EWS) Program Office (PMS 405) and is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to determine the general availability of components / equipment / subsystems / systems that could comprise a High Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) and to determine viability for integration into an incrementally-fielded, spiral capability HELWS for usage by all military services and Department of Homeland Security. PMS 405 is interested in existing / planned efforts that would allow for leverage of existing and/or Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) items into militarily useful laser weapon systems within two to three years. Emphasis should be placed on an initial capability that could counter a subset of asymmetric threats such as jet skies, small boat swarm attacks, rockets, mortars, artillery rounds, manpads, electro-optic sensors, and soft unm! anned aerial vehicles. The system should be multi-mission capable and able to support electro-optic surveillance missions as well as laser engagements. As laser and laser beam control technology matures the system should be able to support upgrades that expand the potential target set, surveillance capabilities and operating range of the system. PMS 405 and its technical designees would be the Technical Design Agent responsible for integration of the various detect, track, process, and engage elements that will comprise HELWS baselines. HELWS is projected to be: - Initially an independent capability that can be fielded as either a transportable system for land based use or as a stand-alone / minimally-integrated capability for ship board use. - A future Navy shipboard capability that could be integrated into the ship's combat systems consistent with the Department of the Navy's Open Architecture (OA) thrust to support future Surface Navy needs. Responses to this RFI should not exceed fifty (50) pages, including a one (1) page corporate capability and a statement of capability in engineering analysis. The RFI must contain the following information: a system / subsystem / component capability statement which includes information on the type of technology used, producibility, a brief analysis of lethality, laser propagation and target vulnerability, pricing information, an assessment of risk and Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and a delivery schedule. In the response, vendors should clearly mark any information that is proprietary. Interested parties should list production-representative components / equipment / subsystems / systems that could be available for test / evaluation and/or integration at a government designated facility by March 2007. Pricing and delivery information should be based in FY07 dollars. Responses are due by 26 December 2006. Both e-mail and mail submittals will be accepted. Responses should be sent to: Commander, NAVSURFWARCENDIV Crane, Code 80931, Bldg 3168, Attn: Mr. William Wootton, 300 Highway 361 Crane, IN 47522-5001. POC is Mr. William Wootton, Phone +1 (555) 000-0000 (office), +1 (555) 000-0000 (cell), FAX +1 (555) 000-0000 or Email: contact@example.gov. NOTE: This Request for Information is for planning purposes only and is issued in accordance with FAR Clause 52.215-3. No solicitation document exists at this time. Issuance of this notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure these items or to issue a solicitation. In addition, the Government is under no obligation to pay for information submitted in response to this RFI, and responses to this notice cannot be accepted as offers. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such.