New Technology Marine Radar Systems

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FOR THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (USCG) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER (RDC) IN NEW LONDON, CT. This Request for Information (RFI) is part of a market research effort to assess scientific and technical capabilities that will best address the USCG's need. The USCG RDC is chartered to conduct research, development, testing and evaluation activities. Description: This RFI is part of a market research effort to survey the commercial radar market to determine the current and future availability of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) New Technology Marine Radar System(s) (NTMRS). Specifically, the USCG is seeking detailed information on the specifications, maturity level, potential for increased performance and life cycle cost information of current and future NTMRS. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for information received in response to this RFI. You are invited to respond with information via the questions in Attachment A to assist the RDC with its market research to identify and characterize current and future NTMRS. Background: The information provided in response to this RFI will help the USCG determine the availability of current and future new technology marine radar systems and how their potential for increased performance and lower life cycle cost can help the USCG better execute its missions. The information obtained from the RFI will be used to identify USCG platforms and missions that could benefit from the new technology radars. In this context, a NTMRS is defined as one that has a solid-state power amplifier in its transmitter chain, replacing the traditionally used cavity magnetron. Various NTMRS models being marketed by industry make the claim of enhanced operating performance and lower life cycle cost. The enhanced performance stems largely from the fact that these amplifier-based radars are coherent and support the use of pulse compression and Doppler processing to gain much higher range resolution than do magnetron based radars and thus have an increased ability to detect small targets in the presence of clutter. These radars also use digital frequency synthesis to enable frequency diversity and pulse stepping, high sensitivity receivers using low noise amplifiers, advanced analog-to-digital conversion, and advanced signal processing to provide higher definition radar data displays and improved detection and tracking performance. Advanced signal processing algorithms are also claimed to be able to achieve enhanced angle resolution while using shorter antennas. Replacing the failure prone magnetron with a long-lived, solid-state amplifier, which may add a premium to the initial cost of the radar, is said to offer lower life-cycle cost potential through the reduction of magnetron replacement costs. Areas of Interest: NTMRS of interest range from the large International Maritime Organization (IMO)- compliant S- and X-band radars to small radars intended for small boats. Current sales literature available suggests that at least two categories of solid-state amplifier radars are being sold, including solid-state pulsed radar and the employment of frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) transmissions. Questionnaire Response: Given the variety of methodologies and technologies, all RFI questions may not be applicable. Answer those questions that are relevant to your technology. At a minimum, the RDC requests you answer questions 1-11. Any additional comments and anecdotes are greatly appreciated and can be included in the RFI response. To facilitate questionnaire response, you may include web links for the purpose of ensuring adequate level of detail and/or understanding. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for information received in response to this RFI. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), RFIs are not offers and will not be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract. Information submitted will be reviewed by Government personnel at the USCG RDC and members of the RDC's Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) Contractor Team, who will assist the Government with this effort. NOTE: Non-governmental personnel have signed nondisclosure agreements. Responses to this questionnaire should be sent to contact@example.gov. The deadline for responses to the RFI is July 16, 2012. The NAICS code for this RFI is 334511. With regard to the NAICS code, the questionnaire, Attachment A, requires you to identify your business category. REMINDER: ALL RESPONDENTS MUST COMPLETE THE QUESTIONNAIRE TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY. PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED, VOICE MAIL MESSAGES LEFT WILL NOT BE RETURNED AND EMAILS WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE. Thank you for taking the time to respond to this questionnaire!