Technology Operational Experimentation Events (TOEE) 26 Experimentation Campaign focused on Emerging Technologies

Description

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Department of the Navy (DON) Office of Naval Research-Global (ONRG)

The Technology Operational Experimentation Event (TOEE) 26 experimentation campaign will focus on emerging technologies to support operational objectives related to the following three operational areas listed below:

• 26.1 Wave Breaker: Counter Unmanned Systems (UxS) Swarm
• 26.2 Battle Box: Containerized Payload for Unmanned Surface Vehicles
• 26.3 Virtual Vanguard: Decision Superiority from the Maritime Operations Center (MOC)

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY.

Purpose

The U.S. Department of the Navy (DoN) issues this Request for Information (RFI) on behalf of the DoN Office of Naval Research – Global (ONRG).  This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government. This is NOT a Request for Quotations or Proposals. No solicitation document exists, and the Government may or may not issue a formal solicitation because of the responses received to this RFI.

The Government will not pay for any response or demonstration expenses. All costs incurred responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense (the Government may transport company material to CONUS locations for the Advanced Capability Experiment (ACE) if required). Failure to respond to this RFI will not preclude participation in any future solicitation. Any information received will become the property of the U.S. Government and will not be returned to the submitter. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or sensitive information. Government technical experts drawn from staff within DoN and other Federal agencies may review responses.

I.  Introduction

TOEEs are a series of events designed to provide decision-quality information to Naval Research & Development Establishment (NR&DE) leadership informing future Science and Technology (S&T) investments (further development, transition, or divestiture) through live force experimentation executed in operationally relevant scenarios and environments.  Past events have focused on Expeditionary Sustainment, Maritime Reconnaissance and Counter-Reconnaissance, Small Boat Payloads in support of Littoral Maneuver, Expeditionary Medicine, and Subsea and Seabed Warfare.  These events provide a broad range of technology providers with an opportunity to experiment in operationally relevant conditions under scenarios designed by warfighters.  Technology experts from the NR&DE assess the technology performance and outputs from these events, and their feedback is used to inform future S&T programs.

For TOEE 26 series, the Office of Naval Research Global, Experimentation and Analysis (ONRG E&A) planned and collaborated with the Naval operational forces, OPNAV, and ONR to develop the following operational topics to be addressed in FY 26.

1. Counter Unmanned Systems (UxS) Swarm: Defeat of UxS swarms by Naval forces to include Marine Corps Stand in Forces (SIF) operating in Expeditionary Advanced Bases (EAB) and lightly defended Navy Surface assets operating in the littorals.
2. Containerized Payloads for Unmanned Surface Vehicles:   Modular payloads for an unmanned surface vehicle operated from an unmanned operations center to successfully execute select mission sets.
3. Decision Superiority for the MOC: Advanced decision support tools leveraging data analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) to execute MOC operations. 

II. Scope

For the TOEE experimentation campaign, ONRG E&A is looking for innovative solutions, either in part or whole, that map to the operational topics listed above.  Within each topic area, the experimentation series will explore technologies relevant to these problem sets and alternative concepts of employment through a series of experimentation events. 

1.  Applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes:

334511 - Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing

541715 - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

541511 - Custom Computer Programming Services

2.  Applicable Product Service Codes:

5865 - Electronic countermeasures, counter-countermeasures and quick reaction capability equipment

AJ12 - General science and technology R&D services; general science and technology; applied research

R425 - Support- professional: engineering/technical

III. Request for Information Topic Areas:

ONRG is interested in learning about technologies that will assist the Navy and Marine Corps in the performance of its missions specifically aligned with the following three operational topics:

1. Counter UxS Swarm Technologies: Active or passive sensors to detect, track, and identify unmanned air, surface, and undersea systems; including threats operating closely to each other and in large numbers.  Battle management aids and decision support tools to support command and control (C2) and provide a common tactical picture (CTP).  Kinetic and non-kinetic effectors, particularly those which are multi-domain (air, surface, undersea) or can defeat multiple threats per use in a cost-effective manner.  Technologies may be employed from small tactical vehicles, by individual Marines, or from lightly defended ships (ex. Military Sealift Command vessels) via embarked systems. 
   • In addition, ONRG is interested in survivable UxS swarms for contested and congested environments inside weapons engagement ranges to act as a red cell to stress the counter UxS technologies.
2. Containerized Payloads for unmanned surface vehicles: Remotely operated or autonomous payloads of all types that are either controlled from an unmanned operations center or autonomous while mounted on an unmanned surface vessel capable of long endurance open ocean operations.  Payloads should be compatible with the vessel such as those described in “Exhibit A: Prototype MASC Area of Interest (AOI)” in sam.gov solicitation N00024-25-R-6314.  Of particular interest are novel payloads that leverage multiple vessels working together or teaming with manned platforms providing new or significantly enhanced capabilities over current Navy fielded systems.  All Navy mission areas are of interest for this topic. 
3. Decision Superiority from the Maritime Operations Center (MOC): Advanced decision support tools leveraging data analytics, automation, and AI to execute and enhance MOC operations.  Advanced decision tools may support course of action generation and ranking based on near real time information and predictive adversary actions, automated planning and orders writing, and data visualization from Space to Seabed.   A key aspect includes tools that scale for future use when there are significantly more data and information streams.

ONRG E&A is interested in learning about the availability of technologies with a technology readiness level (TRL) of five through seven with the capability to support the focus areas listed above and conduct live experimentation in fiscal years (FY) 2026 and 2027. ONRG E&A intends to provide systems that meet TRL requirements and align with operational needs with an invitation to participate in the TOEE experimentation series throughout FY26-27. 

The experimentation series will begin with a demonstration of each technology as part of a limited technical assessment in a virtual or live environment for government technology assessors.  Successful technologies will be invited to participate in follow-on limited objective experiments (LOEs), to be scheduled as early as January-July 2026 with locations to be determined (in CONUS). LOE outcomes, technologies that successfully provide a desired capability and maturity level may be invited to participate in the TOEE culminating event, known as an Advanced Capability Experiment (ACE) which will tentatively take place in FY 26-27. Funding may be provided to participants for the LOE and ACE to support the travel, labor, and integration costs necessary to participate.

* For Key Dates, please see "Attachment 3 - Key Dates" *

Industry Day Event

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) and Office of Naval Research – Global (ONRG) will host a virtual Industry Day Event on 4 December 2025 at 1400 EST/1300 CST via Microsoft Teams.

The purpose of the Industry Day Event is for interested parties to obtain a better understanding of the Office of Naval Research Global (ONRG) experimentation series. The information to be disseminated is distribution limited to Department of Defense U.S. Contractors only. Requests for access to Industry Day must be submitted via e-mail to Contract Specialist Brandon.d.hayes11.civ@us.navy.mil. Requests must contain the vendors Contractor and Government Entity (CAGE) Code to be considered as potentially eligible to receive the controlled unclassified data.  NSWC PCD requests that respondents, with intentions of attending the industry Day, submit their request no later than 1 December 2025 to Contract Specialist Brandon.d.hayes11.civ@us.navy.mil. Information regarding access to the MS Teams meeting will be provided to those Contractors that are verified as eligible to receive the information.

Submissions to the topic area should include:

• Quad Chart (an example of a requested quad is provided via appendix A and a template is provided)
• White Paper (in pdf format) that addresses how your submission meets the technology focus area and discusses the areas below (1-7).  The white paper should be limited to five pages not including the cover page.

(1) Operational Relevance. Describe how the proposed technology or engineering innovation addresses one of the specific TOEE 26 topic areas, listed in section III. Request for Information Topic Areas. If the proposed technology addresses multiple TOEE 26 topic areas (i.e. system of systems), multiple submissions should be provided that align the components to the individual topic areas.

(2) Cost. Provide an estimated cost to mature the proposed technology/engineering innovation to low-rate production levels as well as a not-to-exceed estimate of a low-rate initial production (LRIP) cost for the technology/engineering innovation.  For purposes of estimation, LRIP quantities shall range from 4-6 fieldable prototype units.  In addition, provide a not-to-exceed estimate of a low-rate production cost for the technology/engineering innovation unless such a range is justifiably prohibitive (e.g., 4-6 units is too low/too high of a scale to be economically viable).  These estimates are not contractually binding but could be used as evaluation criteria to determine suitability for further experimentation. 

(3) System/Sub-Systems Architecture. Describe the systems, interfaces, and the data architecture of the technology or engineering innovation being submitted. Include diagrams, architectural views, or other graphical representations to describe the major systems, sub-systems, and interfaces. Submissions are not required to provide end-to-end solutions but should identify external interfaces that will ultimately be required for technology or engineering innovation to function in the intended operational environment.  If submitters have Systems Modeling Language (SysML) or Unified Modeling Language (UML) models for their system, they are encouraged to provide these as part of their submission.  Identify the current Intellectual Property (IP) rights (open-competitive or closed-proprietary) that apply to each of the major systems, sub-systems, and interfaces.  

(4) Critical Technical Parameters.  Describe the critical technical parameters that characterize the specific contribution of the proposed technology or engineering innovation. In tabular format, quantify the performance that has been demonstrated and describe the environment or conditions it has been tested under.  If test data in an operational environment is not available, estimate the technical performance that may be immediately achievable. Include supplemental artifacts, such as specification sheets, data sheets, test reports, or other documentation that supports performance estimates. 

(5) Dependencies and Special Considerations. The Government will provide technical and operational assessment personnel, basic access to approved training areas and ranges to conduct experiments, basic venue infrastructure including frequency allocation services, intra-network connectivity, and shore power. Identify all other government furnished information (i.e., interface specifications, launch and recovery procedures, topside surveys, etc.) and/or equipment required to support the submission (e.g., unmanned system deployment from host platform, iridium-enabled Gateway Buoy, GPS, GSM, Secret or higher facility clearance/storage capabilities). Identify any significant certifications required prior to conducting a planned experiment (i.e., Weapons Safety Review Board, Laser Safety Review Board, Li-ion Battery Certification, etc.).  For each specific dependency or consideration, identify at least one feasible alternative (i.e. virtual or constructive event, test rigs, simulations, static displays) that would mitigate, for example, the uncertainty risk of operational asset availability(ies). Following selection, the Government will provide submitters with a summary of range and support equipment that will be allocated to the specific submission. If the Submitters requirement for range support exceeds what has been allocated, the Submitter may acquire additional resources. The Government will work in good faith to identify requested resources and/or propose alternatives that meet the Submitters budgets. An extreme case might be that a required government asset is not available, and the costs to acquire a surrogate test asset are not affordable. The Government may then recommend the Submitter participate in TOEE 26 as a standalone, virtual, or constructive demonstration. 

(6) Technology and Integration Readiness Levels.  Assess the current technology readiness level (TRL) of the major systems/sub-systems described in Section 2. Assess the current integration readiness level (IRL) of the critical interfaces also described in Section 2. For each estimate, describe whether the estimate is based on test data from a developmental (lab-, simulation-based) or operational (test range or other with operational users) evaluation. If applicable, project the TRL and/or IRL achievable upon completion of the proposed submission. Include supplemental artifacts, such as technology readiness assessments, design reports, test reports, or other documentation that supports technical and interface maturity estimates. TRL and IRL definitions are provided in Appendix B. 

(7) Team. Submitters are encouraged to team amongst industry, academia, and government partners. Provide a brief description of the subject matter expertise that each member of the team provides and a brief description of the participating organizations.  

Submission Requirements

Submissions in response to this RFI, to include the quad chart (ppt format) and white paper (pdf format), must be submitted via email to Brandon Hayes at Brandon.d.hayes11.civ@us.navy.mil and Jonathon Faranda at Jonathon.d.faranda.civ@us.navy.mil by 5:00 PM Eastern Time 19 December 2025. For classified submissions please reach out to Jonathan Faranda at Jonathan.d.Faranda1@.navy.smil.mil.

Appendix A: Requested Data Formats

1. Quad. Please see Attachment 1 Appendix A Quad Chart (Microsoft PowerPoint) for the requested technology quad.

Appendix B: Technology and Integration Readiness Levels

2. Appendix B TRL. Please see Attachment 2 Technology Readiness Levels