Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Modular Payloads and Enhancements

This is a Request for Information (RFI/White Papers) by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWCDIVNPT). It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), or a commitment by the U.S. Government, nor should it be construed as such. SCOPE: This is a Request for Information (RFI), as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e). The Government is issuing this RFI in an effort to understand market availability, technical characteristics, cost, and functionality of Information Technology (IT) tools, applications or products capable of satisfying the life-cycle technical, functional, operational, and/or capabilities described in this RFI. Any information submitted by respondents to this request is strictly voluntary. This is not a request for proposal, request for quotation, or invitation for bid, nor does its issuance obligate or restrict the Government to an eventual acquisition approach. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses from this RFI or pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the use of such information. All information received from this RFI will be used for planning and market research purposes only. To the maximum extent possible, please submit non-proprietary information. Any proprietary information submitted should be identified as such and will be properly protected from disclosure. The Government shall not be liable for damages related to proprietary information that is not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. BACKGROUND: Future UUV operations may be conducted in complex, shallow-water, cluttered littoral environments. Detecting, understanding and reacting to threats that pose significant risk to the warfighter and other assets is critical to mission success. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport (NUWCDIVNPT) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head EOD Technology Division (NSWCIHEODTD) are interested in receiving white papers from industry, academia, individuals and government organizations capable of providing research, design, and testing of the objectives described below. The Goal of this RFI is to research, discover and evaluate technologies that will accelerate the delivery of advanced capabilities to UUV platforms and will provide an asymmetrical warfare advantage during UUV operations. PURPOSE: The purpose of this RFI is to gather information on best practices, technology solutions and cost estimates for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) modular payloads and enhancements specific to the two objectives stated below. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (Division Newport) is interested in information gathering for the following objectives. Objective 1: Investigate UUV effector payloads that can be integrated into, deployed from or attached to a UUV that have the capability to stop or disable maritime vessels less than 50 meters in length. The means of disablement may be kinetic or non-kinetic and the effect may be lethal or non-lethal. Once the payload is delivered, and the disabling effect has been achieved, the effect should not be readily reversible. The effector payload must be able to be transported and deployed from an UUV or be part of the UUV itself. It is desired, to achieve the maximum effect from the smallest possible UUV. The ability of the UUV to effectively employ the effector payload is also of interest. Objective 2: Investigate commercial or developmental UUV capability enhancements that will result in increased UUV speed and positional/placement accuracy for purposes of delivering the effector payload in objective 1. The ease with which these capability enhancements are compatible and can be integrated into commercial UUVs is of interest. Submittals that suggest a developmental vehicle or other method to deliver the effect from an underwater platform will be accepted and reviewed in the study as well. The ability of a UUV to effectively deliver the effector(s) from objective 1 is also of interest. Requested Information: The government is interested in receiving white papers relating to the objectives stated above. White papers can address either objective, or both of the objectives. At a minimum, white papers should address the technical solution addressing these objectives and the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the solution(s). The government is also interested in the cost for procurement of off the shelf solutions and developmental costs (if applicable) for solutions that require further development. Additional Information Requested (as you feel appropriate for your project): Provide the following business information: a) Company Name b) Telephone Number c) Email Address d) Point of Contact for further clarification or questions. Questions: Questions with regard to this RFI are requested to be submitted by e-mail to: Primary: Christopher Patty, Email contact@example.gov Secure Email contact@example.gov Alternate: Gregory Harris Email: contact@example.gov Secure Email contact@example.gov Alternate: Steven Palys, Email: contact@example.gov Secure Email contact@example.gov Alternate: Seth Moyer, Phone Email: contact@example.gov Secure Email contact@example.gov RESPONSES: Responses to this RFI are requested to be submitted by e-mail to: Primary: Christopher Patty, Email contact@example.gov Secure Email contact@example.gov Responses due NLT (AUGUST 31, 2018) Response should be single-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, with one inch margins all around, compatible with MS Office Word 2007, with a total page count not to exceed (35) thirty Five pages. Response, including attachments, shall not exceed 10 MB. Each page of your package shall be printable on 8 " x 11" paper. Please note that some email systems may block file types such as .zip or other macro-enabled extensions; respondents should verify receipt. Any response submitted by respondents to this request constitutes consent for that submission to be reviewed by Gregory Harris, NSWCIHEODTD, Christopher Patty, Steven Palys, and Seth Moyer of NUWCDIVNPT. The responses may be forwarded to other Government entities in consideration for applicability to other programs. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to provide feedback with respect to any information submitted. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All personnel, Gregory Harris, NSWCIHEODTD, Christopher Patty, Steven Palys, and Seth Moyer of NUWCDIVNPT reviewing RFI responses are government personnel and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information. This RFI is issued solely for information purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service in any manner. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested parties' expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued.