SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- Reliable, Advanced Small Power Systems (RASPS)
- Notice Date
- 10/27/2016
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command, ACC - RSA (W911W6) (AATD) (SPS), LEE BLVD BLDG 401, FORT EUSTIS, Virginia, 23604-5577, United States
- ZIP Code
- 23604-5577
- Solicitation Number
- W911W6-17-RFI-0001
- Archive Date
- 12/13/2016
- Point of Contact
- Kenneth M. Hood, Phone: (757) 878-0103, Laurie Pierce, Phone: (757) 878-2071
- E-Mail Address
-
kenneth.m.hood.civ@mail.mil, laurie.a.pierce2.civ@mail.mil
(kenneth.m.hood.civ@mail.mil, laurie.a.pierce2.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes (FAR 15.201(e)) as part of a market survey by the Aviation Development Directorate (ADD). It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. There is no solicitation available at this time. Further, the Army is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. This notice does not commit the US Government to contract for any supplies or services in the future. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary. Failure to respond to this RFI will not preclude participation in any future RFP, if applicable. If a future solicitation is released it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps. There will be no compensation by the Government for any cost incurred in providing a response. The Army Contracting Command is issuing this RFI to interested parties on behalf of ADD who is seeking information on reliable, advanced small power systems (RASPS) for primary application to Future Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems (FTUAS). Both system and component level data are sought, which describe candidate technologies of interest, their current capabilities and risks, and component / system level development plans to address known risks and current performance shortfalls. Information on potential power system solutions, associated metrics to pursue, and associated technology maturity will assist the U.S. Army's planning efforts to develop advanced, optimum solutions for future Army Aviation applications. Background: The Army is in the planning stages for the development of an FTUAS family of aircraft that at this time is envisioned to consist of a smaller platform that can more easily be transported with and support Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) with operation to 15,000 feet and a larger platform that has characteristics such as having speed parity with current/future manned aircraft with long range and weapons capability that supports the Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) with operation to 25,000 feet. Runway independence will be a critical requirement of these FTUAS. Although a significant amount of conceptual design and mission benefit analysis still needs to be performed to refine this envisioned FTUAS family of aircraft, propulsion technology has been identified as a key enabling technology that needs to be developed for these systems. Requirement: The ADD aims to focus investments on small engine technology unique to military requirements and not duplicative of current industry investments. Such requirements/goals may include but are not limited to: heavy fuel operation, increased reliability, reduced specific fuel consumption, increased horsepower to weight ratio, increased durability in operational environments, reduced environmental noise, and reduced production and maintenance cost of technologies and systems related to primary propulsion and power systems for Army FTUAS. Knowledge of the current state of the art of candidate technologies and barriers to the fielding of these technologies on military UAS will be instrumental in supporting the need for future ventures performed through both the U.S. Government and contractors. Preliminary engineering analysis has been exploratory in nature and conducted within the Aviation Development Directorate (ADD) to determine the potential technology offerings and achievable metrics in the horsepower range of 40 to 400 horsepower for primary propulsion and power systems for Army FTUAS. Current thoughts for technology development demonstrations under RASPS to support the future BCT TUAS and CAB TUAS vehicle classes are to pursue potential demonstrations at the lower end of this range (40-50 hp range) for application to potential future fixed wing and small vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) BCT TUAS and at the higher end of this range (200-400 hp demos) for potential application to larger VTOL BCT TUAS and smaller CAB TUAS. The Government may also choose to pursue demonstrations in only one of these size classes under the RASPS program due to funding limitations. Program metrics that are planned to be validated via design, analysis, and engine test during RASPS engine demonstration efforts are cruise specific fuel consumption (lb/hp*hr) @ 50% Power and 10,000 feet ISA, max power specific fuel consumption (lb/hp*hr) @ 100% Power and sea level STD, horsepower to weight ratio (hp/lb), reliability (Mean Time Between Essential Function Failure (MTBEFF) in hours), environmental noise, and production cost ($/hp). Note that an EFF is generally a failure/malfunction of the propulsion system resulting in unacceptable degradation or unacceptable loss of propulsion system power or RPMs. An EFF can be a component failure, the repair of which cannot be delayed until the next scheduled maintenance point. Also, note that all offerings must be inherently designed to run on heavy fuel. Note that for the horsepower to weight ratio metric, the weight must include all accessories/subcomponents (i.e., cooling systems, turbochargers, etc) required for self-sustaining operation across the operational envelope. Discussion of the offered engine configuration's ability to be designed to operate in both vertical and horizontal attitudes should be included, as this will be a desirable characteristic for some potential future UAS configurations. White papers that address the following items are requested: • Information on enabling reliable small power systems technologies that address the above metrics that are ready for design, development, and validation. • Information on the current state-of-the-art (including discussion of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) status) of candidate power systems and associated key technologies. • Description of what development/S&T efforts are currently funded and ongoing that relate to identified candidate technologies. Please provide the information on these efforts, to include the source of funding of these efforts, within a separate addendum. • Specific values of what it is believed the candidate technology can achieve relative to the above identified program metrics along with substantiation of these capabilities and information to help define goal values for these metrics for any or all of the engine size classes of interest. • Description of effort and rough order of magnitude (ROM) of projected cost to develop and demonstrate technologies of interest to a technology readiness level of 6 culminating in engine performance testing and the optional costs to complete a 150 hour endurance test, characterized by 14 CFR 33.49. At least one re-design, fabrication, and test iteration should be assumed to address shortfalls. Hardware requirements should include fabrication of three engine sets (to complete the above testing and to support additional test efforts below). • ROM of projected cost to perform technical support during 30 hours of altitude testing at the Army Research Laboratory's Small Engine Altitude Research Facility (SMEARF) to validate performance and re-light capability across the operational spectrum. Altitude test points of interest include: o Sea level, Standard, at 50% and 100% power o 10,000 ft ISA at 25%, 50% and 100% power o 25,000 ft ISA at 25%, 50% and 100% power (this would be at 15,000 ft ISA for 50 hp engines and below) o 6,000 ft, 95 F at 100% power Or alternatively, provide ROM for engine installation and altitude testing in own/selected facilities along with discussion of reasoning / benefits of testing in contractor selected facilities. Note that ARL's SMEARF dyno max power is 250 hp. • ROM of projected cost to perform technical support during 500 hours of reliability testing at the Army facilities to investigate reliability characteristics of the engine technology. Or alternatively, provide ROM for engine installation and reliability testing in own/selected facilities along with discussion of reasoning / benefits of testing in contractor selected facilities. • ROM of projected cost to perform technical support during noise testing at the Government facilities to investigate environmental noise characteristics of the engine technology. • Discuss the scalability of the engine technologies from the current designed horsepower, and identify any technology that would be required to scale the engine up by 100% and down by 50% horsepower along with the ability to scale across the 40 to 400 hp range of interest. • Provide approximate volume (length x width x depth) of candidate propulsion systems to include all accessories/subcomponents (i.e., cooling systems, turbochargers, etc) required for self-sustaining operation across the operational envelope. White papers submitted in response to this RFI should also include a cover letter with the following information: Organization name, address, email address, Web site address, telephone number, CAGE code, NAICS code and size and type of ownership for the organization. There is no intent on the part of the Government to provide feedback on white papers submitted in response to this RFI. However, ADD may contact the submitter for further information as necessary. Submission Instructions: Interested parties are invited to submit a response to this RFI by 4:00pm EST on November 28, 2016. Submissions are not to exceed twenty (20) pages using your preferred format and sent electronically (MS Office or PDF) to kenneth.m.hood.civ@mail.mil via the AMRDEC Safe Access and File Exchange website (https://safe.amrdec.army.mil/SAFE/). If proprietary or copyrighted information is submitted, please include a statement authorizing the Government to reproduce for Government review purposes. Appropriately marked proprietary information will be properly protected by the U.S. Government. Submissions are limited to U.S. firms and should be unclassified. Classified information should be submitted only if it significantly clarifies or broadens the scope of technology considered. If a classified response is necessary, please email the contracting point of contact for specific submittal instructions. AMRDEC's SAFE site is not approved for transmission of classified information. If there are any questions regarding this RFI, please contact Kenny Hood at kenneth.m.hood.civ@mail.mil. Use of Support Engineer and Scientist Exchange Program: The Engineer and Scientist Exchange Program (ESEP) is a DoD effort to promote international cooperation in military research, development, and acquisition through the exchange of defense scientists and engineers (S&E). The Government team reviewing responses to this RFI will include an ESEP participant from the Ministry of Defense, Federal Republic of Germany. The Government has a Use and Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in a form similar to that found at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 227.7103-7 and an approved foreign disclosure case to support Government disclosure of technical data subject to U.S. export controls to the ESEP participant. Respondents shall clearly state in their cover letter their consent or non-consent for the U.S. Government to disclose proprietary data to the ESEP participant. If the submitter objects to release of only a portion of its submission, the submitter should include such information within a separate, identified section within its response (although still within the page limit). If respondents desire a company specific NDA or proprietary information agreement (PIA), include that information in the cover letter along with a draft of the proposed NDA/PIA for Government review. Any draft NDA/PIA submitted will not count against the page limit stated in this RFI.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/1cb3c84a8f3f3cf0533be1805e646079)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Army Contracting Command, ATTN: CCAM-RDT, 401 Lee Boulevard, Fort Eustis, Virginia, 23604-5577, United States
- Zip Code: 23604-5577
- Zip Code: 23604-5577
- Record
- SN04314312-W 20161029/161027234226-1cb3c84a8f3f3cf0533be1805e646079 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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