Technology Insertion (TI)-28 and TI-Next Acoustic Rapid Action Commercial Off-the Shelf (COTS) Insertion (A-RCI)- Prime Integrator

The Director of Submarine Programs (DSP), Undersea Submarine Acoustic Systems Program Office (PMS 401) is conducting market research to identify potential sources that possess the capability to serve as the prime integrator of new and existing sonar Technical Insertions (TI). The role of the prime integrator may include engineering design development and technical support to develop, manufacture, test, train and install Technology Insertion (TI)-28 and TI-Next Acoustic - Rapid COTS Insertion (A-RCI) hardware and software systems, technical insertion kits, workstation displays, trainers, and associated spares for LOS ANGELES, SEAWOLF, OHIO, VIRGINIA and COLUMBIA class submarines; Foreign Military Sales (FMS); related trainers; and, common SONAR programs such as the SQQ-89.  

Engineering support may include:

• Software design development efforts and hardware interface for Sphere Array, Large Aperture Array (LAB), Lightweight Wide-Aperture Array (LWWAA), Wide Aperture Array (WAA), Lightweight Low Cost Conformal Array (LWLCCA), Sail Receive Array, Noise Monitoring, Test Target Injection, On-Board Trainer, Legacy Replacement, and Chin Array. 
• Develop design improvements for new and modified acoustic sensor systems; perform upgrades for common forward fit and back fit networking; and, transition Advanced Processing Builds (APBs) into their specific platforms, trainers, and shore-based facilities. 
• SWFTS re-architecture requirements, in-service and lifecycle support for A-RCI to include field legacy A-RCI designs. SWFTS re-architecture intends to meet the North Star goal to “Deliver capability to the compatible fleet at the speed of relevance,” and is characterized by shrinking, pushing, and consolidating the hardware edge in each Infrastructure Baseline (IB) ; modernizing software infrastructure to industry standards; containerizing software to operate in the SWFTS Common Compute Environment (CCE); and economizing certification testing and pipeline in order to changing the paradigms impacting speed of capability to the fleet. 

To increase fleet compatibility and reduce configuration variants, the Submarine Warfare Federated Tactical System (SWFTS) is transitioning to an Infrastructure Baseline (IB) strategy. Each IB cycle begins with a foundational Tech Insertion (TI) and is followed by a subsequent TI dedicated exclusively to mitigating obsolescence. For example, TI-28 serves as the obsolescence tech refresh for the TI-26 IB; it shares the same infrastructure and common shipboard integrated baselines as TI-26 to strictly minimize impacts on ship interfaces and environmental qualifications.  Future cycles will mirror this cadence, with TI-Next (e.g., TI-30) establishing a new IB, and its successor (e.g., TI-32) serving as the paired obsolescence refresh.

The proposed procurement will be a single ten (10) year Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF), Fixed Price Incentive Fee, Firm fixed Price, and Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) type effort, spanning between Fiscal Year (FY) 2029 and FY 2039.  The proposed contract will include approximately 7,150,000 man-hours of engineering design development and technical support.  The anticipated TI-28 and TI-next production procurement may include the following shipset quantities: 12 in FY29, 14 in FY30, 12 in FY31, 10 in FY32, 14 in FY33, 11 in FY34, 10 in FY35, 9 in FY36, 9 in FY37, 9 in FY38 and 9 in FY39.

Respondents must demonstrate the required level of technical expertise, as well as the ability to fulfill the mandatory requirements as described in the Statement of Work (Attachment 1) and Program Schedule (Attachment 2) .  Respondents must provide the detailed narratives and supporting rationales/data to identify how their knowledge, skills, and abilities meet the requirements listed in Attachments 1 and 2.   

The respondents must have experience as a lead system integrator who will be involved in the development of software functionality and hardware selection as well as the integration of the overall system.  The respondents must be able to coordinate software design, development, and integration across diverse industry partners (both large and small business), academia, and Government warfare centers.  The respondents must show that they are knowledgeable of the SWFTS and how the acoustic subsystem is integrated and tested with other SWFTS subsystems.

The respondents must have facilities and equipment necessary for the system development, testing, integration, production and performance of the Statement of Work (Attachment 1) in support of all Technology Insertion baselines (TI-28, and TI-Next).  The respondents shall describe the layout of space, and provide a diagram of its facilities to demonstrate that they have adequate design, development, testing, and manufacturing capability and capacity for successful performance of all described requirements, including system and engineering support facilities and manufacturing facilities.  The respondents must describe and discuss the facilities for the physical inspection and storage of incoming materials and vendor supplied items; production, fabrication, and assembly; performing critical processes and procedures; and development, production test, and inspection.

The respondents shall state whether the facilities are leased or owned.  The respondents must have a facility security secret clearance issued by the Defense Security Service at the Secret Level; and the ability to obtain the facility security clearance at the TOP SECRET level, if required.   

The respondents must be able to field the Key Personnel in Attachment 3 (Staffing Plan) of this notice.   Notional Non-Key personnel staffing level will be left to the respondents to propose. 

Respondents are strongly encouraged to provide innovative approach that could improve the technical, including staffing, and cost performance without sacrificing the quality of maintenance and timely delivery of the systems to the warfighters. Respondents must provide documentation or examples of the ability to design, integrate, test, produce and support all baselines and hardware deliveries to the fleet and all associated integral and ancillary support capabilities from past experience. 

Responses to this source sought notice should be submitted to Candace Magelitz at :contact@example.gov and Cassie Brese at contact@example.gov. All responses shall be unclassified and must be received no later than 5:00PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on 3 June 2026. The subject line of emails containing responses or questions related to this notice should reference the solicitation number for this notice and "Technology Insertion (TI)-28 and TI-Next Acoustic Rapid Action Commercial Off-the Shelf (COTS) Insertion (A-RCI) (insert name of company) ." Please limit responses to a maximum of thirty (30) pages.

Companies are encouraged to submit prior to the closing date. Inclusion of a delivery receipt with an email submission will be the only indication of successful receipt of response. File size is limited to 12MB per email and companies are solely responsible for ensuring their email size does not exceed the 12MB limitation. File sizes larger than 12MB and .zip file extensions will be stripped by the Navy email system. Modifications, amendments, or withdrawal of a response should be made to the above email addresses. One email is acceptable as long as it does not exceed 12MB. If it exceeds 12MB, companies may separate their submission among multiple emails and should number them email 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3, etc. Links to online share drives such as google drive, dropbox, etc. will not be accepted.

Responses SHALL NOT be faxed or hand de-livered. NO CLASSIFIED MATERIAL SHALL BE SUBMITTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. 

The cover pages shall include the following information:

1.         Company name; Address; Point of Contact; Phone Number; and E-mail address.

2.         Identification and verification of the company’s business size (i.e., small, large) relative

            to NAICS Code 334511, Size Standard: 1,350 employees.

Small Businesses are reminded under FAR 52.219-14; Limitation on Subcontracting, for services, that at least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern.  Include the percentage of work that will be self-performed on this project.

Attachments to this announcement:

Attachment 1: Statement of Work

Attachment 2: Program Schedule

Attachment 3: Staffing Plan

Attachment 4: Questions Template

Attachment 5: Terms of Use (TOU) Agreement

Procedures for obtaining the Statement of Work (Attachment 1) and the SUB-SONAR Specification 26.1(and Later) 14 November 2025, which is referenced in Attachment 1:

The Statement of Work (SOW) and the referenced SONAR Specification will be available only to those companies with a validated security clearance at a minimum SECRET clearance level.

To obtain access to those documents, interested companies shall complete and submit the Terms of Use (TOU) Agreement provided in Attachment 5 to this notice.

 Prospective respondents must submit Attachment 5  to Helen J. Douglas at #, and Cassie Brese at contact@example.gov. The requestor shall sign the TOU and return the signed copy to the relevant POC(s) with subject line: “TOU – <insert name of requestor’s company name> – Technology Insertion (TI)-28 and TI-Next Acoustic Rapid Action Commercial Off-the Shelf (COTS) Insertion (A-RCI).” 

The controlled documents may only be provided to prospective respondents following approval by the NAVSEA Office of Security Programs and the Contracting Officer. The SOW will be sent by e-mail. The SONAR Specification will be available for view only in the reading room located at Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI; and Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock, MD. No copies or notes will be allowed in the reading room. The Government undertakes no obligation to prospective respondent to assist in the attainment of requisite security clearance(s) so that the prospective respondent may provide a response to this notice.  Foreign company access to these documents and other controlled information will be addressed if and when a Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued.

Prospective respondents are advised DFARS 252.204-7004 Alternate A, System for Award Management would apply to any solicitation issued for this requirement, and lack of current registration in the System for Award Management database will make a respondent ineligible for award. Information on the System for Award Management database may be obtained via the World Wide Web at https://www.sam.gov.

The Government will consider all comments received, but does not commit to providing a response to any comments or questions received as a result of this sources sought notice. This notice is for information and planning purposes, and the Government will not pay or otherwise reimburse respondents for information submitted. The Government is not soliciting, nor will it accept proposals as a result of this sources sought notice. The sources sought notice is a market research tool being used to determine the existence of qualified and experienced sources. Responding to this sources sought is not a request to be considered for award. If a solicitation is issued in the future, it will be announced via the Government wide point of entry (https://www.sam.gov/) and all interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from any response to this sources sought notice. A response to this notice will not be considered a request to be added to a bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation.