SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- FY09 Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program/Directorate Science and Technology BAA
- Notice Date
- 6/9/2008
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Navy, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps Systems Command, M67854 MARINE CORPS SYSTEMS COMMAND Quantico, VA
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- M6785408R7044
- Response Due
- 7/21/2008
- Archive Date
- 1/31/2009
- Point of Contact
- Peggy Smith 703.432.0894
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- JNLWP FY09 Technology Broad Area Announcement NON-LETHAL WEAPONS FY09 APPLIED RESEARCH EFFORTSCategory: A--Research and Development (PROCUREMENTS)Date Published: 9 June 2008 Synopsis:FY09 NON-LETHAL WEAPONS APPLIED RESEARCH BAA 09 SUBMISSIONS DUE 21 July 2008 OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION: The Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) is soliciting proposals for research, development, and demonstration of next-generation non-lethal weapons (NLW) and capabilities. The objective of this BAA is to stimulate applied research, development, and rapid-prototyping of NLW technologies in an attempt to address known NLW capability gaps. Applied research is systematic study to understand the means to meet a recognized and specific need. It is a systematic expansion and application of knowledge to develop useful materials, devices, and systems or methods. It may be oriented, ultimately, toward the design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet general mission area requirements. General applied research focus areas in their relative priority of interest to the JNLWD include: A.Non-lethal vessel stopping at extended range B.Clear a space without entry C.Non-lethally divert an aircraft in the air or stop and/or disable an aircraft on the groundD.Individual and crowd behavior in environments where less than lethal force is an optionE.Human effects/effectiveness and safety thresholds of selected NL stimuli F.Stimulating academic institutions, both civilian and DoD Academies, in the research and development of NLW concepts. This includes supporting short-term academic challenges and competitions related to NLW development. G.Advanced materials and NL payloads The JNLWD also expresses specific interest in soliciting proposals for research, development, integration, and demonstration of new payloads that would fulfill the non-lethal requirements of the unattended, autonomous Intelligent Munitions System (IMS). This interest is closely coordinated with the IMS Program office, which has alternative funding to apply to promising IMS-related proposals. Submissions should specifically describe technology and research objectives designed to accomplish the following: A. Safely stop or significantly impede the movement of occupied vessels with minimal collateral damage in support of either (or both) the maritime defense and interdiction missions. Proposed concepts for use in maritime defense missions must prevent vessel from physically approaching within 100 meters. Proposed interdiction mission concepts must be employable at close ranges (~25 meters) and effective in chase-type scenarios where the targeted vessel is fleeing from the chase platform. Additionally, concepts incorporating the following characteristics may receive extra consideration: 1.Safely stop uncooperative vessels, including high-speed planning vessels (i.e., go fast boats), without the need to pre-emplace at the engagement point.2.Provide the desired standoff distance (>100 meters).3.Produce universal effects for outboard, inboard, inboard/outboard and jet drive propulsion (including jet skis). Technologies should address both electronically and non-electronically controlled engine systems. 4.Affect vessels up to 40 feet in length.5.Deploy from a variety of vessels, including small boats or large ships, fixed or rotary wing aircraft, or remotely piloted platforms.6.Reversible effects allowing the targeted vessel to be quickly returned to an operational condition with minimal time to repair and minimal repair cost. B. Facilitate the clearing of buildings (or simple structures) comprised of 3-5 rooms by friendly forces. Proposed concepts should ultimately set conditions for safer entry by friendly forces operating in urban terrain by preventing hostile resistance during the task of clearing the building. Proposed approaches could either disable occupants in place or clear all personnel, both combatants and non-combatants, from the objective building or structure. Concepts that disable occupants in place shall be of a non-chemical nature. Proposed concepts must allow for the delivery of effects from a relatively safe distance so that friendly forces will not have to enter the structure in order to initiate effects. Ideally, the capability will be able to be launched from a range between 2 meters and 90 meters. The completely reversible effects will be temporary in nature, with (T) of 15 minutes to (O) of 45 minutes. The effects must minimize collateral damage, remaining localized on the targeted structure and not covering adjacent buildings or open areas. C. Safely divert an aircraft in the air or stop and/or disable an aircraft on the ground. The JNLWD requires a systems engineering based study to address the full scope of potential technologies and/or approaches to resolve these non-lethal counter-material capability gaps. The primary focus of the divert an aircraft task is to control the airspace and enforce no-fly or restricted flight zones. Effects should be focused on the aircraft, not the pilot or other personnel on board. The capability should enable the enforcement of flight restriction zones (e.g., metropolitan Washington, D.C.), protection of critical infrastructure and other high value assets from a possible aerial threat. For aircraft on the ground, stop requires the aircraft to come to 0 mph at some point between when it starts to taxi and when it reaches abort speed. The requirement to disable includes actions to render inoperable, deny use, and/or deny access to an aircraft on the ground. Successful accomplishment of either objective results in keeping the targeted aircraft from becoming airborne. Additionally, concepts incorporating reversible effects which allow the targeted aircraft to be quickly returned to an operational condition with minimal time to repair and minimal repair cost may receive extra consideration. D. Conduct systematic studies to enhance understanding and management of individual and crowd behavior in environments where less than lethal force is an option. Data should support development of relationships and behavioral rules that relate physiological insult to behavioral response. Investigations should focus on: 1.Historical study of military and law enforcement interaction with individuals and crowds to understand the cause/effect behaviors of the crowd, how the military or law enforcement forces dealt with the situation, and the resulting outcomes (positive and negative). 2.Human effects and effectiveness studies to examine individual and group/crowd behavioral responses when no NLW is employed vice when a currently fielded NLW such as blunt impact, electro-muscular disruption, or riot control agents is employed. Predicted behavioral responses for new or conceptual NLW employment in individual and group/crowd scenarios should also be addressed. Knowledge gained should support development of techniques and tools for non-lethal weapons training, tactical experimentation, and mission planning. E. Conduct systematic studies to analyze the human effects/effectiveness and safety thresholds of selected stimuli for non-lethal effects. Investigations should focus on one of the following: 1.Analysis of optical stimulus for significantly enhanced day time effectiveness over current non-lethal technology/prototypes/weapons. Resulting technology should have potential for development into a militarily useful NLW form factor (i.e. size, power requirements, weight, range, etc.). 2.Examination of the bioeffects of high power microwaves for non-lethal counter-personnel applications. 3.Studies of thermal laser effects for non-lethal application. Research should consider various wavelengths that propagate well though the atmosphere (not limited to the 2.0 micron wavelength) and focus on understanding reversible health effects, pulsing methods, and effectiveness through clothing. 4.Studies of the human effects/effectiveness, similar to the thermal repel effect produced by 95GHz millimeter wave radiation, but at higher millimeter wave frequency waveforms. F. Explore discovery and invention related to non-lethal weapons technology and research via advanced academic research institutions (includes U.S. colleges and universities and military academic institutions). G. Identify and demonstrate the ability of advanced materials or new payloads to provide new or enhanced non-lethal counter-personnel or counter-material capabilities. Examples of advanced materials and payloads include combustion engine modifiers/inhibitors, rigid foams, anti-traction materials, super adhesives, launchable nets or entangling nets, smart nano-materials, and morphing materials, among others. H. Fulfill the non-lethal requirements of the unattended, autonomous Intelligent Munitions System (IMS). General research goals include efforts to: 1.Non-lethally counter personnel and/or vehicles using the IMS Dispenser Module (DM) as the payload carrier. The NL payload shall fit within the DM footprint of 24L x 24W x 14.5H. Total volume available is approx 7390 cu in. 2.Non-lethally counter personnel and/or vehicles using the IMS DM as the control source for a NLW. NLWs would not be part of the DM footprint but a stand alone effect that receives a fire command from the DM and must interface to the SPIDER Mission Adapter Module (MAM) connection or current Miniature Grenade Launcher DM ports. 3.For both capabilities described above: counter-vehicle concepts should be effective on civilian-class vehicles; NLWs must be effective in all terrain and allow activation via autonomous/manual means. PROGRAM SCOPE: The scope of this program is intentionally broad to address the wide spectrum of desired operational end-points that the funded investigations will strategically support. All research is intended to have the common objective of addressing the technology/ knowledge gaps described above. Strategically, this research will support the development of a family of next-generation NLWs to meet the capability gaps documented in the Joint NLW Capability Based Assessment. In addition to the data and technological gaps identified above, research supported by this BAA is intended to enable technology to overcome the current limitations of existing NL systems. These limitations generally include but are not limited to: 1)Range, coverage (volume of fire), accuracy and precision.2)Effectiveness and the ability to quantify it.3)Providing a universal, repeatable and robust NL effect.4)Target safety, particularly across a wide-spectrum of the population.5)Deployability, to include weight and volume.6)Employability, to include use in complex urban environments.7)Military effectiveness and utility in complex operating environments such as within crowds, within rooms and buildings, and within vehicles and vessels.EVALUATION CRITERIA: Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria in descending order of importance: 1)Quality and Technical Merit. 2)Contributions/Relevance to Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program (JNLWP) and Department of Defense (DoD). 3)Capabilities, Experience, and past performance. 4)Plans and Capabilities to Accomplish Technology Transfer.5)Total Cost and Cost Realism. NOTE: Cost realism will be used as an evaluation criterion only in proposals which appear to the reviewers to have significantly under or over estimated the cost to complete the effort. All awards made in response to this BAA will be subject to availability of government funds. Evaluations and selection or non-selection of proposals for funding will be made on the basis of the evaluation criteria listed and the overall balance considered most advantageous to the JNLWP. GENERAL INFORMATION: The JNLWD has available approximately $1.6 million for FY09 for applied research science and technology funding and a comparable amount of additional RDT&E funding. Multiple awards typically of 12-36 month duration are anticipated. Offerors should prepare proposals with a baseline period of performance of 12 months and with one or two options each with a 12-month period of performance and with anticipated contract award dates of December 2008. The 12-month baseline or Phase I of the proposal shall have as a minimum two (2) system or NLW capability demonstrations or program evaluation milestones within the first 12 month period of performance so as to provide data/evidence/support for consideration for option year funding. This BAA will remain open until 31 January 2009. Technical proposals are not to exceed eight pages and must be accompanied by a full cost proposal valid until 31 January 2009 and one QUAD-Chart (the cost proposal and the Quad-Chart are not part of the eight page limit). Format for the Quad chart is provided in the Proposer Information Packet. Offerors must submit their technical proposal, the Quad-Chart, and their full cost proposal to the administrative address for this BAA in electronic format commensurate with a Microsoft Office software product (e.g., Word, Excel, or PowerPoint). It is the policy of the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) to treat all proposals as competitive information and to disclose the contents only for the purposes of evaluation. Nondisclosure notices notwithstanding, employees of JNLWD and support contractor, American Systems, may handle proposals for administrative and evaluation purposes; however, only Government evaluators will make final selection recommendations under this BAA.This announcement, in conjunction with the pamphlet BAA 09 Proposer Information Package (PIP), constitutes the Broad Agency Announcement as contemplated by FAR 6.102(d)(2). Addresses for obtaining the PIP are provided at the end of this notice. A formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement will not be issued. Requests for same will be disregarded. The Government reserves the right to select for award any, all, part, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. In addition, the Government reserves the right to award multiple contracts, grants, or other instruments determined to be of benefit to the government in achieving the goals and objectives of this program. Awards are subject to the provisions of the FAR Subpart 9.5, Organizational Conflict of Interest. All offerors and proposed subcontractors must affirmatively state whether they are supporting any other JNLWP and/or Marine Corps contracts through an active contract or subcontract. All affirmations must state which office(s) the offeror supports and identify the prime contract number. Affirmation shall be furnished at the time of proposal submission. All facts relevant to the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest, as that term is defined in the FAR 9.501, must be disclosed. The disclosure shall include a description of the action the offeror has taken, or proposes to take, to avoid, neutralize or mitigate such conflict. This BAA is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to pay any proposal preparation costs. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit proposals, which will be evaluated. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority Institutions (MI) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of research related to Non-Lethal Weapons developments. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION: Offerors are required to obtain a pamphlet, BAA 09 Proposer Information Package (PIP) which will be made available to industry through the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program website: https://www.JNLWP.com. The PIP provides further information on proposal format, the submission process, evaluation and funding processes, and other general information. Proposals not meeting the format described in the pamphlet may not be reviewed. All administrative correspondence or questions on this BAA should be directed to the following email address: Peggy.L.Smith1@usmc.mil
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=e791a79b3cc7c0c5eab2ee3561f92932&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Record
- SN01589875-W 20080611/080609220901-5857aca8fa1ab9302cfd0b812b6fb028 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |