SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- Agility Prime Innovative Capabilities Opening (ICO) Transformative Vertical Flight
- Notice Date
- 1/5/2023 10:28:13 AM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- Contracting Office
- AIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- FA8625-20-R-2028
- Response Due
- 2/24/2025 8:59:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 02/28/2025
- Point of Contact
- Angela Pereira Duque, Phone: 9372553367, Angela C. Pereira Duque, Phone: 9372553367
- E-Mail Address
-
flyorbs@afwerx.af.mil, angela.pereira_duque.2@us.af.mil
(flyorbs@afwerx.af.mil, angela.pereira_duque.2@us.af.mil)
- Description
- UPDATE: 01/05/2023 - AOI # 1, AOI #2 and AOI #3 are closed as of 16 December 2022.� SECTION 1 � INTRODUCTION Under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 4022 the Agility Prime Office is pursuing prototype projects from nontraditional and traditional defense contractors. These projects will help the Government assess the transformative vertical flight market and Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) technologies. This effort seeks to establish a collaborative strategy with industry and investors that accelerates fielding of the most promising technologies for savings and utility to the Government, as well as potential commercial market success. As these systems mature toward certified commercial operations, the Government will identify opportunities for early adoption, with the potential for procurement and fielding in the next three years. The core technologies of interest include emerging electric VTOL (eVTOL) and urban/advanced air mobility (UAM/AAM) aircraft, although alternatives will be considered. These aircraft may incorporate non-traditional electric or hybrid propulsion for manned or optionally manned missions, with onboard pilot, remote pilot, or autonomous control. Based on emerging commercial trends, these transformational commercial vehicles are typically characterized by employment of distributed propulsion for vertical flight and potential use of a wing for horizontal flight, along with augmented flight control systems, and high levels of automation or autonomy. Besides aircraft, this effort will consider similar support to enabling technologies. During this Opening, the Government intends to test the hypothesis that, compared to other ground and air vehicles, these aircraft could revolutionize mobility given: 1) lower maintenance cost and time, through mechanical simplicity; 2) improved safety and declining personnel demands, using autonomy; 3) affordable quantity, based on potential mass production; 4) improved acoustics, employing distributed propulsion; and 5) greater flexibility and reduced infrastructure needs, with runway independence. To mitigate risk, this hypothesis will initially be tested outside of the urban environment in scenarios that could potentially open a broad public-use market for early Government adoption prior to civil certification in a way that accelerates UAM. Modularity similar to a satellite bus or universal serial bus (USB) could enable vast use cases. These vehicles, referred to as ORBs, are not drones, cars, helicopters, trucks, airplanes, motorcycles, or SUVs, but might support similar missions. Given their flexibility, an ORB could act as an organic resupply bus for disaster relief teams, an operational readiness bus for improved aircraft availability, and an open requirements bus for a growing diversity of missions. ORBs could enable distributed logistics, sustainment, and maneuver, with particular utility in medical evacuation, firefighting, civil and military disaster relief, installation and border security, search and rescue, and humanitarian operations. This effort expands on what has thus far been a fruitful but ad hoc engagement with industry in this sector through the following path: 1) requesting details regarding planned commercial technologies and markets; 2) identifying technologies that are likely to result in successful prototypes; 3) creating opportunities for collaborative test planning with the potential of offering test assets and expertise; 4) leveraging this campaign for near-term government airworthiness authorization as well as procurement of hardware, software, data, or services. The intent is to accelerate certification, while also assessing the value of early adoption and fielding. Near-term government use-cases could occur prior to civil certification and might provide revenue and data to help accelerate even broader adoption and technology development. Other Transaction for Prototype (OTP) The United States Government (USG) may choose to award one or more OTPs as a result of this Opening, depending on evaluations and funds availability. In such cases, an Other Transaction for Prototype (OTP) agreement, in accordance with 10 U.S Code 4022, will then be negotiated for prototype project delivery, based on the selected solution brief(s). If the parties intend, upon successful completion of the prototype project, to enter into a follow-on production agreement without further competition using 10 U.S Code 4022 authority, all such follow-on production agreement terms must be negotiated prior to execution of, and included within, the original OTP. Alternatively, upon successful completion of a prototype project under the original OTP, the Government and successful submitter may subsequently solicit and negotiate follow-on FAR based contracts, or merely negotiate such contracts, if sufficient justification exists for sole sourcing. Follow-on production agreements may include, but are not limited to, further prototyping, in-kind testing, production, and fielding as launch customer. The OTP must satisfy at least one of the following conditions: There is at least one nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution participating to a significant extent in the prototype project. All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses (including small businesses participating in a program described under section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638)) or nontraditional defense contractors. At least one third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by sources other than other than the Federal Government. The senior procurement executive for the agency determines in writing that exceptional circumstances justify the use of a transaction that provides for innovative business arrangements or structures that would not be feasible or appropriate under a contract, or would provide an opportunity to expand the defense supply base in a manner that would not be practical or feasible under a contract. Opening Procedure and Participation This Opening is a competitive solicitation, continuously open until February 24�2025, which provides the authority and background for a series of future Areas of Interest (AOIs�see definition in Section 2 below) requesting solution briefs and proposals for new solutions or potential new capabilities that fulfill objectives, close capability gaps, or provide potential technological advancements in the area of transformative vertical flight. The Government reserves the right to award Other Transactions for Prototype (OTP) under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 4022 as a result of this Opening, if deemed appropriate, based on information learned about this field in the course of this offering, funds availability, and in accordance with the procedures herein, but the Government is not required to make any award, unless the Government, in its sole discretion, deems such award appropriate. �Prototypes� under this legal authority may include not only commercially available technologies fueled by commercial or strategic investment that result in novel applications for defense purposes, but also, among other things, prototype demonstrations, agile development activities that can incrementally improve commercial technologies that then become available as novel defense applications, combinations of these with existing Government-owned capabilities, or common practices newly applied for broad defense application(s). The specific level of support for each problem statement will be enumerated in the AOI when published. Please Note: This Opening is not itself a request for Solution Briefs or Proposals. AOIs will be released in one or more separate documents. OTPs entered into as a result of this Opening shall be firm fixed price. Besides aircraft, these AOIs could include but would not be limited to: autonomy; advanced aircraft materials and manufacturing; novel acoustics techniques; subsystem, aircraft, and portfolio design tools; rapid mission planning for dense air environments and logistics efficiencies; command and control of air vehicles; robotic landing gear; large flotation devices; modular payload designs; air vehicle data networks and RF waveforms; sense and avoid architectures, algorithms, and sensors; electrical power storage, generation, charging; alternative onboard and ground-based electrical power generation; distributed electric propulsion control techniques. This Opening outlines the processes and procedures whereby solicit Solution Briefs may be submitted in response to AOIs. AOIs are focused topic categories that will be published separately and posted to https://beta.sam.gov. All Solution Briefs submitted in response to an AOI will be considered to be made in response to and governed by this Opening. The Opening outlines the procedures to submit a response to an AOI to ensure a competitive process that consists of three-phases: Phase 1 Solution Briefs: Shall be submitted as specified in Section 3.2 of this Opening. Phase 2 Company Engagement: Submitters with Solution Briefs that satisfy the AOI will be evaluated and if found to be of merit may be invited to an engagement session, subject to availability of Government funds, following the instructions provided in Section 3.3 of this Opening, or schedule an engagement with the Government to provide further details on the AOI. Phase 3 Request for Prototype Proposal (RPP): Those submitters whose Solution Brief and/or Site Visit is found to satisfy the AOI, may, subject to availability of government funds, be invited to submit a full written proposal following the instructions provided in Section 3.4 of this Opening for potential award of an OTP for a prototype project (see definition below). The Government may publish AOIs at any time. Interested submitters should check https://beta.sam.gov for new AOI postings under this announcement. FULL ANNOUNCEMENT DETAILS ON THIS ICO ARE LOCATED IN THE ATTACHMENTS SECTION.� �
- Web Link
-
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- Record
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