Submarine-Launched Unmanned Aerial System (SLUAS) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

INTRODUCTION The Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), on behalf of the Program Executive Office (PEO), Submarine Combat and Weapons Control Program Office (PMS 425), is conducting market research in accordance with FAR Part 10 to determine industry alternatives for successful design, manufacture, assembly, test, and delivery of the Navy's Submarine Launched Unmanned Aerial System (SLUAS) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). The UAV must be able to integrate and function with the existing SLUAS deployment canister and the two components will be combined to formulate the SLUAS All Up Round (AUR). The Navy requires the capability of a SLUAS AUR with a 3-inch diameter form-factor to provide the submarine fleet. Delivery of full rate production UAVs are needed within 12 months of contract award. DISCLAIMER This Request For Information (RFI)/Sources Sought notice is for market research purposes only and does NOT constitute an invitation for bid, request for quotation, request for proposal, or any obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. This notice shall not be construed as a contract, a promise to a contract, or as a commitment of any kind by the Government. The Government is NOT seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals. This notice is a market research tool being used to determine overall market developments, capabilities, and adequacy of the industrial base capable of providing the supplies/services described herein, prior to defining requirements and the method of acquisition. Any information submitted by respondents to this technical description is strictly voluntary. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information submitted, or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this notice and any costs associated with this market survey submission are solely at the interested vendor's expense. PROGRAM BACKGROUND There has been engineering design, development and testing with the Navy's current deployment canister and this canister has proven successful in performing its functional requirements with developmental and pre-production UAV designs. The government has not yet awarded a production contract for UAVs to be used with the canister and intends to award a contract for production UAVs within the next 12 months with full rate production delivery within 12 months after contract award. The intent of this Sources Sought is to assess the state-of-the art of the technology and capabilities with respect to UAVs that could be applied to meet the Government's production UAV requirements for SLUAS. REQUIRED UAV CAPABILITIES The Navy requires a SLUAS UAV to function with the existing 3-inch diameter deployment canister. The deployment canister is capable of housing a UAV launched from a US submarine. The deployment canister protects the UAV from sea water and hydrostatic pressure during travel through the water column to the surface of the ocean. Once at the surface of the ocean, the deployment canister will delay launch until the preprogrammed initiation, activate a bob detect algorithm for proper launch orientation, and eject the UAV. The UAV is limited in size and weight due to the existing deployment canister overall size and required buoyancy of the AUR. The Government envisions a solution for the production UAV that meets the following operational and program requirements: The UAV must be able to be integrated into the existing SLUAS deployment canister. Interested parties should address the ability of their technologies to be integrated into the existing SLUAS deployment canister and the ability of their company to perform the integration. The deployment canister functional interfaces with the UAV are as follows: Geometry - 20 in length and 2.75 diameter Weight - 3.0 lbs maximum total vehicle weight with optical payloads and the ability to stow additional payloads or future payload upgrades is desired. Ejection velocity - A 3.0 lb UAV is expected to achieve an exit velocity of up to approximately 75 mph upon ejection from the deployment canister to assist the UAV into self-sustained flight at launch. Pneumatic pressure may be adjusted to lower exit velocity if necessary. Communication - The canister provides an optical window to enable Infrared (IR) communication with the canister and then subsequent deployment canister provides communication with the UAV via a ribbon cable. Power connections - No electric conduits are provided to pass power to the UAV while stowed in the deployment canister. UAV charging must be accomplished prior to being stowed in the deployment canister. Ejection detection - The UAV must be capable of sensing ejection from the deployment canister to initiate self-powered flight. The canister will provide signal to the UAV to power on. Storage - The UAV must be capable of being stored within the canister without operator intervention or maintenance. It is desired to have the storage period to be no less than 6 months. The AUR should be capable of receiving pre-mission flight programming via the deployment canister and requires no additional direct operator input to the UAV prior to launch. Non-developmental item - The UAV should be a non-developmental item to the maximum extent possible. The current state of development, Technical Readiness Level (TRL) and developmental timelines of their technologies must be included in the RFI response. Flight endurance and range - The UAV endurance and range is an important performance characteristic, and longer endurance and ranges are highly desired. The endurance must be greater than 10 minutes and the range must be no less than 1 nm. These performance values are desired after the 6 month storage period. Interested parties should address the current endurance and range of their UAV in the response as well as any expected reductions or increases in this performance that can be achieved or expected to be achieved to meet these requirements. Flight control and navigation - Interested parties should provide details regarding their technologies related to flight control and navigation systems. Items of interest are: Autonomous flight - The ability to receive pre-programmed flight paths, way points, loitering and other autonomous operations and the ability to operate without constant radio communications. Real-time 3-D GPS, inertial and/or other positioning capabilities. Battery Certification - The UAV batteries will be required to be certified for submarine use as well as any local, national or international certifications required for commercial shipping of the products. Interested parties should discuss their current state of battery certification(s), knowledge in battery certifications and previous or ongoing battery certification efforts with their technologies in the response. Real-time Telemetry - The UAV must be capable of providing real-time telemetry (examples - battery life, air speed, altitude, etc.). Interested parties should discuss their technologies abilities with respect to providing real-time telemetry information. Optical Payloads - The UAV must be capable of providing real time video feed using optical payloads with the ability to perform pan, tilt and zoom cameras remotely from a ground control station and/or autonomously with any target recognition capabilities. Interested parties should discuss the optical payloads and controls capabilities with their technologies in the response. Shock qualification - AURs are required to be shock qualified to MIL-S-901 Grade B requirements. Interested parties should discuss their knowledge relevant to shock testing, any previous or ongoing shock certification efforts with their technologies in the response. Ground Control Station (GCS)/Communications - The UAV must be equipped and furnished with a ground control station and UAV communication equipment to support a variable bandwidth encrypted datalink. The communication range shall support the full range of the UAV. The communication equipment shall also be capable of operation in an emission controlled environment for prolonged periods. Interested parties should provide evidence of communication equipment range testing, a description (along with supporting data if available) of their technologies ability to operate in emission controlled environments and details regarding their encryption capabilities with their technologies in the response. Reliability - The UAV and GCS equipment must be reliable. The GCS must be able to function within the submarine environment. Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) data for the designs and their components is desired to understand sparing and performance of vendor capabilities. Interested parties should be address MTBF data of their technologies in the response. Self-testing - The UAV should be equipped with an onboard diagnostic equipment to provide reasonable assurance the UAV is fit for service prior to a launch. This diagnostic check should be capable of being performed and displayed while stowed in the deployment canister. Interested parties should discuss their onboard diagnostic technologies in their response. Target recognition and positioning - The UAV must be able to support target recognition and provide accurate real time position of the targets. Given the nature of the system the target recognition capabilities are likely to be in an ocean environment. Interested parties should address the ability of their technologies to manually and autonomously acquire targets and their positions with accuracy and precision in an ocean and any other environments in the response. Cyber security - The technologies employed must support operations to meet cyber security requirements (current and future) and allow for any required ship system interfaces to be modified by the Government for the purposes of cyber security requirement compliance. Interested parties should address the cyber security capabilities of their systems and the ability of their technologies to be modified for ownship protection and cyber security compliance. Anti-Tamper - Anti-Tamper technologies provide safe guarding of government equipment. Interested parties should address their anti-tamper capabilities, and the ability of their capabilities to be modified for an UAV in their response. Quality Assurance - This UAV's intended use and designated purpose require reliable, reproducible designs. Quality assurance is therefore of high importance. Interested parties should address the company's quality assurance certifications and Quality Management Systems in their response. Production - The exact quantities of UAVs needed on an annual basis has yet to be determined. Any contract award is intended to enable full rate production delivery of UAVs within 12 months of contract award. Interested parties should address the ability of their company and technologies to obtain full rate production within 12 months for quantities up to 300 UAV/year in their response. In addition, this notice requests that industry comment on how the Government can best satisfy its needs, alternative approaches, technology availability and risk, the identification of cost drivers, and suggestions on ways to enhance and/or sustain competition. Interested parties shall also list past customers (maximum of 3) for whom the contractor has done projects of a similar technology, domain, and/or scope within the last five (5) years. RESPONSES Interested parties must demonstrate their capability of providing the above-mentioned capabilities/services. Requirements for the production contract are expected to be at the SECRET level (facility and key personnel). Those contractors who currently possess or expect to possess a Department of Defense SECRET facility security clearance within the next 9 months are invited to indicate their interest by providing: Company name Company address Overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address) CAGE code Point of Contact, to include E-mail address Telephone number Fax number Facility clearance Business Size Status (i.e., Large, SB, VOSB, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.) Number of Employees Capabilities Statements Interested parties are requested to respond to this notice in PDF or Microsoft Word Office 2010-compatible format. Please limit responses to 20 pages or less (including cover, administrative pages, and descriptive literature); 1-inch margins; and 12 point font (or larger). RESPONSE DEADLINES AND SUBMISSIONS Responses are requested no later than 26 July 2021 at 5:00 PM EST. Responses shall be submitted via e-mail to the Contract Specialist, Ms. Sydney K. Kacek at sydney.k.kacek.civ@us.navy.mil in PDF or Microsoft Word Format, with a CC to the Contracting Officer, Mr. Timothy B. Ward at timothy.b.ward.civ@us.navy.mil. Proprietary information, if any, must be clearly marked. The subject line of the email should read "Submarine-Launched Unmanned Aerial System (SLUAS) UAV Sources Sought." To aid the Government in its review and evaluation, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. It should be noted that telephone replies will not be accepted.