Special Notice for MUX Payload Adapter Prize Challenge

11 December 2019 Update: The MUX Payload Adapter Prize Challenge is cancelled pending requirement review by the U.S. Marine Corps and Department of Navy (DoN). If there is interest by the DoN to pursue this challenge in the future, a notice will be posted to Beta.Sam.gov. MUX Synopsis: The Naval Air Systems Command, Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO(U&W)), Multi-Mission Tactical Unmanned Air Systems Program (PMA-266) is coordinating a prize challenge related to a modular mission system payload adapter in order to obtain information to inform the development and acquisition strategy for the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Expeditionary (MUX) program. The planned prize challenge represents the first phase of the MUX development strategy. The over-arching plan will include: -Six separate first round prize challenges, four of which will be for individual mission payloads, one for payload adapter designs, and one for system architecture designs. -A subsequent second round prize challenge for air vehicle designs that, at the discretion of the Government, integrate selected payloads, payload adapter, and architecture designs from the first round of challenges. -At the discretion of the Government, development of a prototype and fielding effort for selected products may follow. Marine Corps desired capabilities for the MUX UAS dictate that it will be a multi-mission platform capable of operating from Air Capable ships, including Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG), or austere environments ashore and that it will have expansive range and endurance to provide persistent wide area coverage. In order to provide this challenging mix of characteristics and to reduce requirements on the Air Vehicle, the Size, Weight, Power and Cooling (SWaP-C) of the mission system payloads must be kept to a minimum. Four of the first set of MUX prize challenges are designed to meet this goal by minimizing the SWaP-C of individual systems for each of the top mission sets which include: Airborne Early Warning, Electronic Warfare, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), and Data Relay (DR). In addition to minimizing the SWaP-C of individual mission system payloads, it is intended to integrate the mission system payloads in a manner so that only the relevant systems for each sortie need to be carried, further reducing demands on the air vehicle. The system architecture challenge will incentivize a Modular Open System Approach (MOSA) which will facilitate the incorporation of mission packages from multiple original equipment manufacturers. The payload adapter challenge will solicit designs to allow those mission packages to be swapped rapidly in the field with minimal support equipment and tools. Mission System Payload Adapter Prize Challenge Synopsis: The payload adapter prize challenge aims to identify a mission system payload adapter to support mission system payloads that will: 1. Provide a standardized physical container design capable of holding each of the MUX mission payloads separately. Some elements of individual mission payloads (such as apertures and antennas) may not be amenable to inclusion within a single container; the goal is to make the largest fraction of the total mission package mass removable as practical. 2. Provide a design that facilitates rapid loading and unloading of the mission payload container into an airframe using a minimum of tools and support equipment, holds the payload securely in place during flight in an airworthy fashion, and makes all of the required connections between the airframe and mission payload. The design should include all required physical interfaces on both the mission payload container as well as on the airframe. The payload adapter prize challenge will leverage model-based systems engineering (MBSE) methods. During this prize challenge, invited competitors will be provided with a starter model generated in No Magic Cameo Enterprise ArchitectureTM, Version 19.0 (Unified Architecture Framework (UAF)). Competitors will extend the starter model to substantiate their payload adapter design concept and submit the extended model to be scored against a standardized grading rubric. Competitors will also submit responses to Government questions and a written description of their model that includes mapping of requirements and capabilities to UAF views, along with a list of supporting physics-based relationships and assumptions. Challenge submittals will be scored and evaluated by a panel of judges. Cash prizes will be awarded for first place ($700,000), second place ($200,000), and third place ($100,000). All interested parties will be required to submit an application in order to receive the Government-developed starter model and to be considered by the Government for participation in the prize challenge. Only U.S. citizens eligible for a security clearance or U.S. companies eligible for Facility Clearances (per DoD 5220.22-M, 28 Feb 2006) are eligible to participate. The Government intends to issue a formal announcement of the prize challenge in November 2019. The formal announcement will be available at Challenge.gov. The formal announcement will describe the application process for the prize challenge as well as the terms and conditions that apply to participation in the prize challenge. The Government will not accept initial applications until a formal announcement is posted that describes the prize challenge application process. Information provided herein is subject to change and in no way binds the Government to issue or award a prize challenge or any other contract or transaction or to be responsible for any monies expended by any interested parties before issuance or award of the prize challenge for the effort described above. Points of Contact: For questions related to this announcement, contact Mr. Sean McManus, Contract Specialist, at sean.t.mcmanus@navy.mil.