Inactive

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION: No award will be made as a result of this request. This Request for Information (RFI) is for informational and planning purposes only; this is not an Invitation for Bid (IF... THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION: No award will be made as a result of this request. This Request for Information (RFI) is for informational and planning purposes only; this is not an Invitation for Bid (IFB), a Request for Proposal (RFP), or Request for Quotation (RFQ). No solicitation document exists and a formal solicitation may or may not be issued by the Government as a result of the responses to this RFI. The Government will not be liable for payment of any response preparation expenses and is in no way obligated by the information received. Any costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement will NOT be reimbursed. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing a future acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement, Statement of Objectives and/or Performance Based Specification(s). Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The purpose of this RFI is to gain information on commercial technologies leading to Government/Industry partnering to accelerate the development of state-of-the-art technologies that will enable the Warfighter to be more effective, efficient, and lethal. BACKGROUND/DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Fort Belvoir Division is seeking sources on behalf of the Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC DEVCOM) C5ISR Center (C5ISR) Engineering & Systems Integration Directorate (ESI) to deliver up to quantity 6 ground based Electro Optic (EO)/Infrared (IR) sensor payloads with a Thermal Automated tracking capability. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS: The purpose of this RFI is to gather the necessary information in order to inform future requirements for this need. Respondents are asked to provide white papers that identify fully integrated EO/IR gimbal solutions that can automatically track low thermal contrast air targets at extended ranges that meet the needs described herein. Solutions should be able to be rapidly procured for fielding, with technology readiness level (TRL) 7 or higher evaluation units (QTY 6) available for procurement within 2 months with delivery in less than 10 months. White papers that describe developmental efforts may be submitted, and the most informative submissions will be able to offer hardware to be evaluated at a US Government designated location within 1 month (approx. August 2022). Specifically, C5ISR ESI anticipates that this potential EO-ATATT will augment existing capability that the C5ISR ESI directorate has integrated onto multiple vehicle platforms while maintaining a competitive average procurement unit cost (APUC) at low volume quantities of units. Capabilities with higher APUCs will be considered, but affordability is a major consideration. The requirements for the EO-ATATT are as follows - in descending order of importance: Disruptive capabilities that can significantly improve the performance specifications described below are also encouraged so that a variety of responses are received. To help shape responses, the following are the key areas of consideration for the EO-ATATT System, however this is intended only as a guide and thresholds/objectives are subject to change to accommodate desired functionality: 1. The EO-ATATT System must have cooled High Definition (720P at a minimum) Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR) and High-Definition Electro Optical imaging sensors. 2. The EO-ATATT system must perform automated air target detection (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning aided) and automated air target tracking via a closed loop tracking control system. The automated closed loop tracking capability must be able to be initiated and stopped via a Software Application Programming Interface (API) to the system over TCP/IP protocol. Additionally, this tracking system must be capable of providing target detection data via Software API at greater than 10Hz. 3. The EO-ATATT system must have an integrated laser range finder which is boresighted to the EO and MWIR imaging sensors. The LRF must have at least a 1Hz update rate with this data provided via Software API. 4. The EO-ATATT system must be designed to perform continuous zoom and automatic focus in both the MWIR and EO imagers. All Zoom and Focus commands must be able to be toggled via software API. Additionally, the EO-ATATT system must be able to zoom in even further while tracking targets. 5. The EO-ATATT system must be designed to communicate (Both control and sensor video) with an existing government command and control system via either Ethernet or fiber utilizing TCP/IP protocol. 6. The EO-ATATT system must be designed to have a high Probability of Recognition IAW the DRI scale of a 0.5m x 0.5m sized target at a range of 2,000+ meters when in the narrowest field of view. 7. The EO-ATATT system must be designed to be fully ruggedized to MIL STD 810 standards and demonstrate reliability in the operational environment. 8. The EO-ATATT system must weigh less than 100 lbs; Less weight is preferred. 9. The EO-ATATT system must be able to accommodate 22-33 Volts DC and consume an absolute maximum of 800 Watts steady state. Less power utilization is preferred. Affordability will be a major consideration for EO-ATATT. In order to adapt to budgetary requirements, the Government is specifically seeking white papers that can be scoped to provide a breakout of additional capabilities vs average procurement unit cost (APUC). The Government is specifically interested in modular proposals that are also capable of being upgraded at a later date. Examples of additional capabilities include but are not limited: Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) Capability within the gimbal system Fused EO and MWIR Air Target Tracking to further enhance the tracking capability The ability to rapidly integrate other Government selected and provided lasers into the gimbal system In addition to technical information for potential solutions and industry state of the art, it is critical to know the timelines for which a solution(s) can be demonstrated, both at a technology readiness level (TRL) 7 for evaluation at a government run developmental test or similar environment, as well as procured in larger quantities for fielding. Vendors Respondents should describe their candidate solutions with regards to the following characteristics: Sensor performance. How closely does the proposed sensor solution align to the performance characteristics of the EO-ATATT system described above? Air Target Tracking performance. How closely does the proposed tracking capability of the sensor system align to the performance characteristics of the EO-ATATT system described above? Size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C). What is the form factor of the proposed system? What will the APUC be at quantities of 6 and also at quantity 20? Interoperability. How will the proposed solution interact with the Government’s command and control software? Will the system have a Software API that meets the characteristic described above? Ability to be upgraded. How can the proposed solution be upgraded in the future to incorporate additional capabilities? Respondents are encouraged to submit multiple courses of action, specifically responding to: What capability can be procured within the next 2 months with delivery in no more than 10 months? What other capabilities can be added later in a follow-on increment? INFORMATION REQUESTED: Sources able to provide the requested information are invited to submit a white paper describing their technology, and test data relevant to this RFI. The white paper should be organized as listed below and include the following information: 1. Cover letter (not included in 10 pages) providing: a. Company Information i. Company name ii. Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code, and Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number iii. North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code: Please identify your company's small business size standard based on the primary NAICS code of 541715 R&D Services. The Small Business Size Standard for this NAICS code is 1000 number of employees. For more information, refer to http://www.sba.gov/size. iv. Primarily location(s) where work is performed v. Mailing Address vi. Company Website b. Company Technical Point of Contact i. Name ii. Title iii. Mailing Address iv. Email Address v. Phone Number 2. Technical Approach Summary (submitted in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) format and shall be limited to 10 pages, double spaced, 12-point font). SUBMITTING RESPONSE TO THIS RFI: Interested parties are encouraged to submit their information electronically by 1700 EDT on 05 August 2022 to the following: usarmy.apg.devcom-c5isr.mbx.esi-bus-ops-acq-rfi@army.mil The subject line for the email submission should read: “RFI: EO/IR System with an Automated Thermal Air Target Tracker (EO-ATATT) – YOUR COMPANY”. Any company proprietary information, performance capabilities, and/or future modification plans should be clearly identified and MUST be marked accordingly and will be protected by the Government. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosure to non-government personnel and entities. Please do not submit classified information in response to this RFI; if necessary, classified discussions with the Government can occur later via secure means. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Responses to this RFI may be used to develop Government documentation. QUESTIONS: Technical and contractual questions are to be forwarded to the e-mail box below. The subject line for the email should read (adjust for the type of question): “Technical Question(s) AND/OR Contractual Question(s), RFI: EO/IR System with an Automated Thermal Air Target Tracker (EO-ATATT) – YOUR COMPANY”. usarmy.apg.devcom-c5isr.mbx.esi-bus-ops-acq-rfi@army.mil Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 05 August 2022 will be answered. The ideas presented in the white paper will be discussed and assessed by ESI. Government support contractors will be involved in the review and assessment of responses submitted under this RFI. INDUSTRY DAY: The Government will hold a voluntary virtual event 1 week after issuance of this RFI to address any questions from potential respondents (on/about RFI Date +7 ). Following receipt of submissions, The Government intends to hold a virtual Industry Day via Microsoft Teams approximately 1 week after the White Papers submission date (on/about RFI Date +14). Details of the Industry Day will be released in a separate Request for Information. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify sources that can provide technologies to support the NVG-N program. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Army has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. DATA RIGHTS: It is desirable that data be received with unlimited rights to the Government. However, it is recognized that proprietary data may be included with the information provided. If so, it is the responsibility of the interested party submitting data to clearly identify and mark such proprietary information and clearly separate it from the unrestricted information as an addendum. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosures to non-government personnel and entities. Please do not submit classified information in responses to this RFI; if necessary, classified discussions with the Government can occur later via secure means.