HULS Industry Day

All interested contractors are invited to attend an Industry Day with U.S. Navy Fleet and acquisition personnel involved in advancing the capabilities of unmanned underwater vehicles in ship hull search applications. This event will be held on 29 March 2006 at the Navy Memorial in Washington, DC (701 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20004). The yellow and green Metro lines serve the Navy Memorial. The objective is to provide an opportunity for early industry involvement in the Government's proposed approach for future low-risk, spiral procurement of the Hull Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Localization System (HULS) that will support the rapid search of ship hulls, pier walls, pilings, and other vertical, sloped, and horizontal underwater surfaces for limpet mines and other threat ordnance. This system will be part of the - toolbox approach for equipping Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) forces and, as such, must support expeditionary operations (i.e., two-man portable, easily deployable and maintainable). The system will include a suitable suite of sensors to localize and identify objects of interest, pinpoint their location, and provide tactical information about those objects. The system must be sufficiently robust such that its capabilities are not degraded by harbor noise and traffic. It should be capable of being operated from a small inflatable craft commonly u! sed by Navy EOD forces, as well as from other crafts of opportunity and from shore. The U.S. Navy has been exploring HULS employment concepts through several Office of Naval Research and PEO-LMW sponsored evaluations and demonstrations. These events have been crucial to gaining Fleet feedback and assisting in developing system requirements for the initiation of an acquisition program in FY06. It is envisioned that during the initial phase of the acquisition program, more than one alternate design system will be procured for Requirements Compliance Test and Evaluation. After an extended period of evaluation involving Navy laboratory and Fleet personnel, one of the alternate designs will be selected for further acquisition, provided at least one of the alternate designs is found to be operationally suitable and effective. Input received from this Industry Day will facilitate refinement of the competitive acquisition strategy. Industry input is desired to allow for an effective acquisition program with well-defined requirements in the Request for Proposal (RFP). Attendance at the Industry Day is not a prerequisite for ultimately submitting any future proposals. However, it will provide a valuable opportunity for questions & answers and industry input into the read-ahead documentation. Any read ahead documentation will be posted for viewing on or about 17 March 2006. Seating is limited. Request a maximum of two (2) representatives per vendor. Request attendees register for the Industry Awareness Day/Risk Mitigation Workshop by providing Company/Organization Name, Name(s) of attendees, Company/Organization affiliation, address, telephone number, and e-mail address not later than 20 March 2006. Registration data must be faxed or e mailed to the Technical POC identified below. Any advance questions and/or comments pertaining to the Industry Day or the read-ahead documentation may be faxed or ! e-mailed to the Technical POC so that they can be addressed at Industry Day. The purpose of this Industry Day is not to obtain proposals and is solely to offer early industry involvement in a contemplated U.S. Navy procurement. The Government does not intend to pay for the information obtained during the workshop or for the time and expense of the industry participants involved, nor is the Government obligated to any future acquisition or procurement action. For questions please contact the Technical POC: Patrick Whang +1 (555) 000-0000 ext 286, FAX +1 (555) 000-0000, e-mail: patrick.y.whang@ navy.mil.