Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) - Advanced Technologies & Technology Focus Day

NOTE-This special notice is a summarized version of the attached Word Document. Please review the attachment for a more reader-friendly version of this information. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONR RFI Announcement # N00014-18-RFI-0010 Title: Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) - Advanced Technologies & Technology Focus Day I. DISCLAIMER This announcement constitutes a Request for Information (RFI) for the purpose of obtaining information. It does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP), a Request for Quote (RFQ) or an indication that the Government will contract for any of the items and/or services discussed in this notice. Any formal solicitation that may subsequently be issued will be announced separately through Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps). Information on the specific topics of interest is provided in the following sections of this announcement. Neither the Office of Naval Research (ONR) nor any other part of the federal government will be responsible for any cost incurred by responders in furnishing this information. II. PURPOSE/ BACKGROUND The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is requesting information on technologies that are Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 or greater from industry, academia, and government labs that could provide advanced capabilities to the Marine Corps' future Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) and to the overarching Marine Corps armored reconnaissance capability. Specific areas of interest for novel technologies include: Mobility Vehicle Architectures Propulsion Logistics Autonomy/Manned-Unmanned Teaming Sensors Weapons Communication Force Protection/Survivability Battle Management Systems Eight (8) vendors are currently under contract with ONR and performing concept studies of the ARV that will inform the Government of what potential capabilities they believe will be feasible within certain platform size, weight, and cost constraints. Ultimately, the selected vehicle concepts will be fabricated and tested to demonstrate the concepts capabilities and its underlying technologies. The information provided via responses to this RFI will be forwarded to the ARV vendors and is meant to inform their trade studies to ensure that they are aware of as many advanced technology offerings as possible. The technologies of greatest interest will be invited to a Technology Focus Day event in the Washington, D.C. area in which the technology vendors will be able to interact one-on-one directly with concept study performers to share their applicable offerings. The ARV is envisioned as a possible next generation replacement for the U.S. Marine Corps' legacy Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) in support of the Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) battalions within the Marine Divisions. LAR Battalions have been designed to perform combined arms, all-weather, sustained reconnaissance and security missions in support of the Ground Combat Element and aim to reduce the "fog of war". Two of the fundamental roles of the LAR Battalion include shaping the battlespace by facilitating a commander's ability to maneuver and concentrate forces at the decisive point and providing information to commanders that yields a high degree of situational awareness. Facing more modern threats, LAR Battalions will have to fight for information prior to being able to provide it and will have to shape an increasingly complex battlespace. LAR Battalions will operate in highly contested environments, countering threats that have greater reach and lethality. Next generation armored reconnaissance will require multiple and resilient means to sense and communicate, more capable lethality options to destroy heavily armored threats close-in and at range, and an associated enhanced protection posture to counter those threats. Core to this next generation capability is the ARV which will be a modern combat vehicle system that balances competing capability demands to sense, shoot, move, communicate and must remain transportable as part of the naval expeditionary force. The ARV will be a leap-ahead technology system, not an incremental upgrade/development to the legacy LAV. Some of the envisioned capabilities include but are not limited to: Robust cross-country and on-road land mobility with shore-to-shore water mobility Full spectrum passive & active force protection and survivability Ability to deliver direct and indirect fires kinetically and non-kinetically A modern communications suite that is a critical node in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) with tactical battle management systems Ability to enhance and extend the reconnaissance reach and provide persistent surveillance Incorporation of manned and un-manned teaming to extend the reach of the Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) battalion Similar levels of transportability to the legacy LAV which defines platform size and weight For additional information on the ARV and its desired capabilities, please refer to a prior solicitation: https://www.onr.navy.mil/-/media/Files/Funding-Announcements/BAA/2018/N00014-18-S-B002.ashx This RFI itself is not soliciting proposals for funded research and development and is solely for receiving program-relevant information on innovative technologies. III. INFORMATION REQUEST / APPLICATION ONR is seeking abstracts describing technologies (TRL 4 or greater) capable of ensuring that the future ARV is capable of fighting for information in a complex operating environment with advanced sense, shoot, move, and communicate functions. The provided abstracts should describe the following in no more than 300 words: The capabilities of the proposed technology Specific benefit of the technology in improving the mission of the ARV Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Area(s) of Interest for the technology from the following list: - Mobility, Propulsion, Autonomy/Manned-Unmanned Teaming, Weapons, Force Protection/Survivability, Vehicle Architectures, Logistics, Sensors, Communication, and Battle Management Systems) As part of your submission, please also include your organization's name and a point of contact in the event the Government or the concept study vendors wish to contact you. Abstracts may also include a graphical depiction of the technology. The goal of these abstracts are to (1) inform the government contractors performing concept studies for the ARV program of cognizant technologies and (2) to invite highly qualified parties containing technologies of greatest application to the ARV to a one-day meeting in the Washington, D.C. area where concept study performers and Government representatives can gain an in-depth understanding of your technology. Those invited to the Technology Focus Day meeting will be requested to provide a poster board and handouts providing further information on their technology and an individual to attend the event to describe their technology and company. The Government will not be offering any funding associated with this RFI or for participation in the Technology Focus Day event. All responses are voluntary and participants are free to drop out at any time. Any party submitting an abstract is not obligated to attend the Technology Focus Day event if invited. Abstracts should be submitted via e-mail in Adobe PDF format to the technical points of contact (See Section VIII). Unclassified abstract responses should be sent assuming Distribution D (DoD and Contractors). No classified responses should be submitted under this RFI. Submissions may be shared with the ARV vendors at the Government's discretion. IV. OBJECTIVES OF THE TECHNOLOGY FOCUS DAY EVENT - 1. Inform ARV vendors performing concept trade studies of advanced technologies applicable to the ARV and its anticipated mission. - 2. Provide an avenue for developers of advanced technologies to be included in the trade studies for the ARV platform and for potential incorporation into full scale technology demonstrator vehicles in future phases of the program. V. APPROACH OF THE TECHNOLOGY FOCUS DAY EVENT The Technology Focus Day will be a 1-day event on 13 SEPTEMBER 2018 consisting of a short government briefing followed by a poster session of various technology offerings. The eight (8) organizations performing concept studies will provide personnel to attend the event to review, evaluate, and determine technologies of greatest interest as they perform their concept trade studies. Due to capacity limitations, the Government reserves the right to limit the number of participants per contractor (or business unit as applicable), federal agency, or university. VII. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS and FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS Responses are requested to ONR by 3 PM DST on 24 AUGUST 2018 for consideration for attendance to the Technology Focus Day. Abstracts will be reviewed by a government team and selected candidates will receive invitations to the Technology Focus Day by 29 AUGUST 2018. All responses shall be submitted electronically via e-mail to the addresses listed below. Communication regarding this notice will not be returned unless submitted electronically via e-mail to a designated POC. Do not provide cost or pricing information, any received will be deleted and destroyed. VIII. POINTS OF CONTACT **Please include: 'ARV Advanced Tech and Tech Focus Day' in the Subject line of all electronic communications!!** Technical questions regarding this RFI must be sent to the following Point of Contact: Name: Mr. Jeff Bradel Title: Program Officer Division Title: Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare & Combating Terrorism Science and Technology Department Division Code: 30 Address: 875 N Randolph St., Arlington, VA 22203 Email Address: jeff.bradel@navy.mil Abstract submissions or other administrative questions regarding this RFI must be sent to the following Point of Contact: Name: Mr. Jeff Bradel Title: Program Officer Division Title: Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare & Combating Terrorism Science and Technology Department Division Code: 30 Address: 875 N Randolph St., Arlington, VA 22203 Email Address: jeff.bradel@navy.mil