Request for Information: HALE/HAPS

1. Purpose. This publication is a Request for Information (RFI) from the Washington Office Fire and Aviation Management (WO FAM) Capabilities, Development and Integration (CD&I) branch. The purpose of this RFI is to conduct market research. Information obtained through this RFI will be used to develop appropriate demonstration testing in a way that can be evaluated against current capabilities. The Government requests that prospective Contractors complete and return a Capabilities Statement as described below to determine current ability to meet the objectives and requirements herein. This RFI is being issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute an Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment for an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. Responders are advised that the United States Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this announcement. 2. Background. The Government desires to assess the feasibility of High Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Systems (HALE UAS) or High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) to provide persistent or periodic updates of fire activity using multi-spectral infrared (IR) bands as well as electro-optical (EO) for the entire life cycle of a fire or group of fires within a specified geographic area and provide voice and data service when existing networks are not available. 3. Desired Capabilities. The ideal HALE/HAPS system would be able to demonstrate the following capabilities: 3.1 Mapping system and/or product delivery: a. Provide persistent 24 hour imagery (EO and IR) in an on-demand basis for a specific target area or; b. Provide periodic imagery (EO and IR) across an area approximately 200 miles by 200 miles in size by flying a pattern that provides mapping coverage of multiple target areas within the flight path at least four to six times daily and; c. Provide imagery data that is capable of being interpreted or auto-generated into GIS-ready raster or vector files (polygons, lines, points) to determine updated fire perimeters and; d. Demonstrate the ability to detect new lightning or human caused fire starts using infrared sensors and transmit location information. 3.2 Imagery would be produced with the following resolution: a. Less than 4 meter Ground Sample Distance (GSD) at NADIR and less than 10 meter GSD at the edges of the target area. 3.3 System would demonstrate capability of providing persistent voice and data cellular coverage to areas within and adjacent to incidents where ground based networks are not available. 3.4 Footprint/Field of View for imagery and communications would be usable across fires that range up to 75,000 acres. 3.5 System would include functionality to allow for ground resources to know when coverage is available or unavailable over the incident. 4. Requested Information. CD&I is seeking industry information on the availability of the desired capabilities. Interested companies are requested to submit the following information: 1. Organization and point of contact, title, phone and email. 2. Description of the organization's business, including business size. 3. Brief statement of addressing your ability to deliver the desired capabilities (in whole or in part) outlined in section 3. Responses should also include the following information: i) Operational readiness of the system for a demonstration during the 2020 fire season (approximately May-October). ii) Approximate unit costs for demonstration testing and any relevant cost containment considerations. iii) Constraints that may affect timing, location or duration of demonstration testing (e.g. permitting, launch facilities, other). 5. Response Guidelines. Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a brief white paper. Additional information such as conceptual diagrams, performance results of prior testing, and any other relevant information are encouraged, but not required. Companies who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via e-mail no later than October 11, 2019 to contact@example.gov and contact@example.gov. Oral communications are not permissible. The Government will not reimburse companies the costs associated with the submissions for their responses. Any questions, comments, concerns should be directed to the e-mails above. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. INDUSTRY DISCUSSIONS: DISA representatives may choose to meet with potential offerors and hold one-on-one discussions. Such discussions would only be intended to obtain further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, including any development and certification risks. DISCLAIMER: This RFI is not an 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 plan 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. This RFI will be the basis for collecting information on capabilities available. This RFI is issued solely for planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in this RFI that is marked "Proprietary" will be handled accordingly. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. 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.