Technology Operational Experimentation Event (TOEE) 25.2 experimentation campaign will focus on emerging technologies to support operational objectives related to Subsea and Seabed Warfare (SSW).
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Department of the Navy (DON) Office of Naval Research-Global (ONRG) The Technology Operational Experimentation Event (TOEE) 25.2 experimentation campaign will focus on em... REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Department of the Navy (DON) Office of Naval Research-Global (ONRG) The Technology Operational Experimentation Event (TOEE) 25.2 experimentation campaign will focus on emerging technologies to support operational objectives related to Subsea and Seabed Warfare (SSW). 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 as a result 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 Experimentation (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 is a series of events designed to provide decision-quality information to Naval Research & Development Establishment (ND&RE) 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, and Small Boat Payloads in support of Littoral Maneuver. These events provide a broad range of technology providers an opportunity to experiment in operationally relevant conditions under operational scenarios designed by warfighters. Technology experts from the NR&DE assess the technology performance, and outputs from these events are used to inform future S&T programs. For TOEE 25.2, the Office of Naval Research Global, Experimentation and Analysis (ONRG E&A) planned and collaborated with the operational forces to develop operational objectives leading to three specific focus areas supporting SSW. The three focus areas for TOEE 25.2 will be: Autonomous undersea navigation and collaborative autonomy Sensors and automated target recognition Command and Control (C2) tools and decision aids for planning and mission coordination II. Scope In the TOEE 25.2 experimentation campaign, ONRG is looking for innovative, agile solutions, either in part or whole, that map to one or more of the three focus areas. Within each focus area, the TOEE 25.2 SSW 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: 334290 - “Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing” 334511 - “Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing” 541330 – “Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture” 2. Applicable Product Service Codes: 5810 - “Communications Security Equipment and Components” 5865 - “Electronic Countermeasures, Counter-Countermeasures and Quick Reaction Capability Equipment” 6350 - “Miscellaneous Alarm, Signal, and Security Detection Systems” AC12 - “National Defense R&D Services; Department Of Defense - Military; Applied Research” R425 - “Support- Professional: Engineering/Technical” III. Request for Information Topic Areas: ONRG is interested learning about technologies that will assist the Navy in the performance of its SSW mission specifically aligned with the three focus areas of: Autonomous undersea navigation and collaborative autonomy Sensors and automated target recognition Command and Control (C2) tools and decision aids for planning and mission coordination Some additional CUI details for the focus areas are available for interested parties qualified to handle and manage CUI material. ONRG is interested in learning about the availability of technologies with a technology readiness level (TRL) of five or greater with the capability to support the focus areas listed above and conduct live experimentation in FY25. ONRG intends to provide standout systems with an invitation to participate in the TOEE 25.2 experimentation series throughout FY25. The experimentation series will begin with a demonstration of each technology as part of a limited technology assessment in a virtual or live environment for government technology assessors. Successful technologies will be invited to participate in a limited objective experiment (LOE), tentatively scheduled for January-February 2025 with the location to be determined (in CONUS). With a successful limited objective experiment outcome, technologies may be invited to participate in the culminating Advanced Capability Experiment (ACE) to tentatively take place in September 2025 (location to be determined, very likely CONUS). Funding may be provided to participants for the ACE to support the travel, labor, and equipment or development costs necessary to participate. 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 Wednesday, 28 August 2024 from 11:00 am to – 12:30 pm (Central Standard Time, USA) 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 21 August 2024 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 25.2 topic areas, listed in section III. Request for Information Topic Areas. If the proposed technology addresses multiple TOEE 25.2 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 the 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 a contested 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 25.2 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 Jeremy Johnson at jeremy.k.johnson2.civ@us.navy.mil by 5:00 PM Eastern Time 27 September, 2024. For classified submissions please reach out to Jonathan Faranda at jonathan.d.faranda.civ@us.navy.mil. Appendix A: Requested Data Formats 1. Quad. Please see the attached formatted (Microsoft PowerPoint) for the requested technology quad.
Data sourced from SAM.gov.
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