SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- RFI - THUNDERSTORM Technology Demonstration - RFI_THUNDERSTORM_SPIRAL_15-3.pdf
- Notice Date
- 10/28/2014
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Rapid Reaction Technology Office, 5611 Columbia Pike, Suite 04C20, Falls Church, Virginia, 22041, United States
- ZIP Code
- 22041
- Solicitation Number
- RRTO-2014-11-26-RFI-Spiral-15
- Archive Date
- 12/11/2014
- Point of Contact
- RRTO THUNDERSTORM,
- E-Mail Address
-
thunderstorm@arl.psu.edu
(thunderstorm@arl.psu.edu)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- RFI THUNDERSTORM SPIRAL 15-3 THUNDERSTORM TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM Request for Information Pursuant to FAR Part 15.201(e) TITLE: Thunderstorm Spiral 15-3: Demonstrating Chemical and/or Biological Detection Capabilities on Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Platforms (Spiral 15-3a) and Countering Commercial UAS with Chemical and/or Biological Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Payloads (Spiral 15-3b) SYNOPSIS: Technology Demonstration Collaboration A. INTRODUCTION: This Request for Information (RFI) is NOT a solicitation for procurement or other acquisition proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information solicited. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit technology demonstration candidates from private industry, Government Research and Development (R&D) organizations and academia for inclusion in future Capability Demonstration events conducted by the Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration Program. The intent is to accelerate the delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter by demonstrating the capability and technology in an operationally relevant environment. The application deadline is no later than 5:00 PM EST on 26 November 2014. Thunderstorm is a series of technology demonstrations and other activities sponsored by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Emerging Capability and Prototyping, Rapid Reaction Technology Office (RRTO). In Fiscal Year 15 (FY-15) Thunderstorm will focus on two areas of interest: 1) chemical and/or biological detection capabilities deployed on Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) platforms and 2) countering commercial UAS with chemical and/or biological Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) payloads. The first focus area will explore emerging technologies, technical applications and their potential to use a battery-powered Vertical Take-Off and Land (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to support the detection and identification of chemical and/or biological Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Capabilities of interest include (but are not limited to): • A system that is carried in one backpack up to systems carried/deployed from a HUMVEE-sized vehicle. • UAS payloads that can remotely detect and/or collect and transmit chemical and/or biological data to a receiving unit at least 1 kilometer from the sensing location. • The UAS should be operable by organic Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) unit personnel with minimal training and should be able to hover and land at or near the desired survey locations. • The ground station should be able to provide visual displays of the sensing data received from the mobile detection systems. • The ground station may utilize autonomous operation (takeoff, navigation, sample detection/collection and landing) of the UAS utilizing standard geo-referenced satellite imagery that is either pre-loaded and/or downloaded on-demand from cellular or Wi-Fi networks. The autonomy interface should be simple enough to be learned in one day or less. • The UAS must be able to operate between 0 and 1000 feet above ground level (AGL) and should have a flight time of at least 30 minutes. UAS positional accuracy should be +/- 10 meters and altitude accuracy within 1 meter. • The UAS should have a modular payload(s) capable of detecting one or more of the following: - Standard G, H and V series chemical agents in the vapor phase and/or liquid phase on surfaces or aerosolized particles (minimally at levels consistent with applicable Army field manual OSD required concentrations), - Chemical agent precursors or degradation products, priority toxic industrial compounds and materials (TICs and TIMs) as specified by US Army Public Health Command (PHC) and/or collect samples remotely, - Biological Warfare Agents (vegetative cells, spores and toxins) - Persistent and natural flora (providing biological surveillance on current and emerging flora). • Remote collection of samples for identification and confirmation at qualified DOD laboratories is required for biological payloads and highly desired for chemical payloads. The second focus area will explore emerging technologies, technical applications and their potential to counter a low cost, small/man portable, Commercial of the Shelf (COTS) UAS carrying a chemical and/or biological WMD payload. Capabilities of interest include (but are not limited to): • Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Collaboration and Intelligence (C5I) and sensor systems that facilitate rapid detection, identification and classification of UAS targets; • Electronic systems that can interdict defeat or deny hostile use of UAS. • Systems providing the capability to intercept and neutralize the UAS. Both kinetic and non-kinetic solutions are encouraged and should cover both CONUS and OCONUS applications. Interested parties are welcome to submit their applications to participate in both or either of the above focus areas. Technologies at all classification levels will be considered. This RFI is for Thunderstorm Spiral 15-3, planned for 2nd Quarter Fiscal Year 2015 in Camp Shelby, MS. B. OBJECTIVE: Thunderstorm provides an opportunity for technology developers to demonstrate new and evolving technological capabilities in an operationally relevant environment, as well as to obtain insight into Federal technology gaps and emerging needs. The demonstration environment facilitates a collaborative working relationship between government, academia and industry. This promotes the identification and assessment of emerging needs and mature technologies with the primary goal of accelerating the delivery of technology discoveries to interagency partners. This event facilitates the identification of potential technology solutions to meet technical objectives. Thunderstorm provides a realistic demonstration environment for technology developers to interact with an operational command, which provides feedback on how their systems may support its needs. Materiel solutions brought to the event are at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4 or greater. The Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration involves individual or multiple technologies and is conducted with interagency partners. The demonstrator's parent company provides the technology and Thunderstorm personnel support the technology installation and integration into the overall demonstration. The demonstrator operates the system during the demonstration and uninstalls the system upon completion. The Thunderstorm staff plans, coordinates and assists with the associated logistics of the technology demonstration. The Thunderstorm staff will not assist with engineering the demonstrated technology or system. Thunderstorm Spiral 15-3 field demonstration events will be conducted over a two week timeframe with one week dedicated to demonstrating chemical and/or biological detection capabilities on UAS platforms (Spiral 15-3a) and one week dedicated to countering Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) based UAS with potential WMD payloads (Spiral 15-3b). Field demonstrations will be conducted with interagency partners. THE DEADLINES FOR APPLICATION PACKAGES is no later than 5:00 PM EST on 26 November 2014. Thunderstorm Spiral 15-3 demonstrations will be conducted from 2nd Quarter of Fiscal Year 2015, in Camp Shelby, MS. Under the direction of RRTO, the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University (ARL/PSU) will act as the demonstration director for Spiral 15 demonstrations and host the receipt of the application packages. After review of the demonstration applications, the Government may invite candidates to demonstrate their technologies during Thunderstorm with the intent to accelerate the delivery of innovative capabilities. Industry participation in demonstration activities does not suggest or imply that the Government will endorse, procure, or purchase equipment. DO NOT SUBMIT CLASSIFIED INFORMATION in the demonstration application. DO NOT SUBMIT ACQUISITION PROPOSALS. Submit Demonstration Applications and white papers only. Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration Applications and white papers must be submitted no later than 5:00 PM EST on 26 November 2014. No contracts will be awarded based solely on this announcement. Submission of a demonstration application does not guarantee an invitation to demonstrate. C. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Organizations (Government, Private, and Academic Organizations) interested in submitting an application to participate in the Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration should contact the Thunderstorm Program by email at thunderstorm@arl.psu.edu to request the Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration Application for its submission prior to deadline. In addition interested organizations are requested to provide a short, 4 page or less (excluding cover page and table of contents), white paper detailing their proposed capability. All documents must be developed using MS-Word, and written in Times New Roman 12 pt. The white paper should include a description of the capability, its technical maturity based on TRL and point of contact (name, telephone number and email address). Please do not include corporate capabilities or past performance discussions. The submission of proprietary information is strongly discouraged. Applications that desire to submit classified material must first submit an unclassified application and request instructions on that application for submission of classified materials in support of their application. Multiple applications addressing different technologies may be submitted. Each application must address only one technology. Thunderstorm will provide venues, supporting infrastructure and personnel for assessment (operational and technical), based on availability of resources. Submissions will be reviewed by the RRTO and appropriate supporting Government organizations and support contractors. The RRTO will determine whether a demonstration submission will be accepted for invitation. Selected respondents will be invited to participate in Thunderstorm demonstrations. All respondents' travel costs, technology demonstration and demonstration associated costs will be at the respondents' expense. Invited respondents must be prepared to be self-sufficient during the execution of their demonstration and not dependent on venue resources. If you have questions regarding the submittal, please contact primary 814-865-6058, or secondary 814-865-1811. D. BASIS FOR SELECTION TO PARTICIPATE: Selection of respondents to participate shall be based on the extent to which the technology represents a potential capability increase. Other considerations include: - Technical maturity - Relevance of or adaptability to military operations/missions - Relevance to current operational needs - Relevance to Event Focus Area E. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: All efforts shall be made to protect proprietary information that is clearly marked in writing. Lessons learned by Thunderstorm from these demonstrations may be broadly disseminated, but only within the Government. If selected for participation, demonstrators may be requested to provide additional information that will be used in preparation for the demonstration. F. SPECIAL NOTICE: Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) or contractor consultant/advisors to the Government will review and provide support during evaluation of submittals. When appropriate, non-Government advisors may be used to objectively review a particular functional area and provide comments and recommendations to the Government. All advisors shall comply with procurement integrity laws and shall sign non-disclosure and rules of conduct/conflict of interest statements. The Government shall take into consideration requirements for avoiding conflicts of interest and ensure advisors comply with safeguarding proprietary data. Submission in response to this RFI constitutes approval to release the submittal to Government support contractors. G. FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) 52.215-3: Per FAR 52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997): 1. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI notice or to otherwise pay for the information. 2. Although "proposal" and "respondent" are used in this RFI, your responses will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. 3. In accordance with FAR Clause 52.209(c), the purpose of this RFI is to solicit technology demonstration candidates from R&D organizations, private industry and academia for inclusion in future Thunderstorm technology demonstration events sponsored by RRTO.
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