Marine Air Defense Integrated System Optics System

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is for planning and informational purposes only and shall NOT be considered as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred in responding to this RFI or furnishing the requested information. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of a contractor's submission of responses to this RFI or the Government's use of such information. The Government reserves the right to reject, in whole or in part, any contractor's input resulting from this RFI. No contract will be awarded from this announcement. Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

1.0    Introduction:

The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Program Executive Officer Land Systems (PEO LS), Program Manager for Ground Based Air Defense (PM GBAD) has a requirement to integrate an Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) Optic onto a rapidly re-deployable ground and mobile platforms to meet detection and tracking requirements, as well as to enable visual identification, for the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Family of Systems (FoS).  This RFI is focused on existing commercially available optic technology that is Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 8/9. 

1.1       Purpose:

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit potential solutions from industry on optic technical capabilities, production capacity, delivery and installation, and product support available to maximize efficiencies regarding cost, schedule and performance for providing a state-of-art optic system that effectively and efficiently detects, tracks and enables visual identification of aerial threats in support of Marine Air/Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Counter Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) operations and defense of designated stationary assets. 

This RFI constitutes market research in accordance with FAR Part 10 and is not an RFP.  The Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) is issuing this RFI, in support of PEO LS, to determine if more than one vendor has the capability to provide the support described herein.

1.2       Program Background:

The MADIS is a FoS consisting of specific, integrated capabilities required to carry out active air defense against UAS threats.  The defense of maneuver forces requires an integrated and in-depth air defense umbrella based upon the rapid kill chain sequence of “detect”, “track”, “identify”, and “defeat”.  This doctrinal task sequence provides the foundation for the concept of operation enabling the MADIS FoS to use organic and/or non-organic data to acquire, engage, and negate or destroy aerial threats.  The MADIS FoS achieves success by employing a dispersed, integrated, and composite defense comprised of layers of GBAD systems to defend designated stationary military assets while considering standoff, lethality, range, and effectiveness.

The MADIS FoS utilizes EO/IR optic assemblies to detect, track, and enable visual identification of potential targets and then classify threat levels of target UAS. An optic may be manually controlled or slewed toward a target through a command and control (C2) system integrated with additional sensors.  

1.3       Requirements:

To best support the MADIS FoS requirements, PM GBAD has a requirement to integrate and deliver an EO/IR optic with the capability to detect, track and enable identification of the range of threats under all weather conditions while mounted in a stationary location.

EO/IR Optic:  A TRL 8/9 optics solution that is capable of detection, tracking and enabling identification of commercially available or military Group 1-3 UAS including fixed wing (FW) and rotary wing (RW) UAS, day or night. The contractor shall describe their optics solution with regard to the following:

Mechanical Design Considerations

• Total weight of the system along with a breakdown of the total weight by major system components and subcomponents
• Operating and peak power draw for operation
• Assemble and disassemble timelines between storage and operational configurations
• Open standard design enabling ease of mounting and/or integration
• Gyro-stabilization and how system receives timely position and location information
• Optical and digital zoom capabilities for long distance identification, and any potential near-field limits
• Ability to modify system (hardware and software) to meet USMC specific requirements

Environmental Design Considerations

• Protection from solar radiation damage
• Means to enhance the optic’s ability to effectively operate in all weather conditions, including but not limited to: day or night, rain or snow, high humidity, blowing sand and dust
• Means to mitigate or reduce the impact of heavy fog or other limited visibility environments while in operation
• Identify which Laboratory Test Methods in MIL-STD-810F the component meets, or meets the requirements and associated limits as applicable in an earlier MIL-STD-810 version
• Provide the Name, Date, Report Number (Document ID) and Testing Agency that completed the Test Method on the component
• Identify whether the component meets MIL-STD-461G or meets the EMI requirements and associated limits, as applicable in an earlier MIL-STD-461 version
• Provide the Name, Date, Report Number (Document ID) and Testing Agency that completed the EMI Test Methods on the component
   

Interoperability Considerations

• Open architecture software design such that the system can be integrated into existing C2 systems; identify any Department of Defense C2 systems currently integrated with the optic
• Open architecture software design such that the system can be integrated with agnostic sensor(s); identify the sensors currently integrated with the optic
• Identify any Standards that the system utilizes for interfacing with other systems (e.g. industry standards such as SAE or IEEE or military standards)

Performance Considerations

• Ability to rotate in elevation and azimuth, and any limitations
• Maximum ranges (kilometers) of detection, tracking and enabling identification with EO and IR optic function in day and night conditions of Group 1-3 FW or RW UAS, or targets of interest of similar size
• Ability to perform slew-to-cue operations; and with which systems has the optic been integrated with
• Ability to, in real time, display, process and record video data with metrics such as bit rate, resolution (e.g. 480p/standard definition or 720p/high definition), frame rates, video formats and any limitations
• Ability of auto-tracking a target of opportunity and any limitations (sky background, urban/ground background)
• Ability to auto-focus on a target of opportunity and any limitations
• Maximum continuous active operational availability in hours and any limitations
• If there are options for an integrated eye-safe compliant laser range finder capable of ranging line-of-sight air targets, include performance information and any certifications with the laser range finder(s)

Logistics Considerations

• Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) metrics and preventative maintenance schedules
• Weatherproof transport considerations to support rapid tear down, transport, and set up of the optic.
• Ease of maintenance considerations
• Troubleshooting and diagnostic documentation and support considerations, including built-in-test (BIT) and self-diagnostic capabilities
• Special tools for on-site maintenance
• Manpower (Operation/Maintenance Personnel Quantity, Skillsets)
• Training Package
• Technical Publication(s)
• Parts assigned/requiring National Stock Numbers
• Spare parts kits for commonly damaged or high failure rate items, if available
• Identify any batteries internal to the optic (e.g. CMOS batteries)
• Warrantied Items
• Identify any components that contain materials listed in NAS411-1 Hazardous Materials Target List (HMTL) rev2 (30-Sep-2020)
   

Procurement Considerations

• Cost per system
• Availability on hand (quantity)
• Production Capacity (timeline to produce and quantity per month)

2.0       Requested Information:

Respondents who are interested are requested to provide the information that identifies their capability to provide the support described in the Introduction listed above.

3.0       Responses:

Vendors possessing the requisite skills, resources, and capabilities necessary to perform the stated requirements are invited to respond to this RFI via an electronic submission of an executive summary not more than ten (10) pages in length when printed on 8 ½ x 11 in paper using 12 point font and single spaced. All electronic documents must be in either Microsoft Word 2007 or later format (.docx) or Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf). All responses must include the following information:

(1) Name and address of applicant/company (Corporate/Principal Office)

(2) Name, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of point of contact

(3) General Service Administration (GSA) contract number (if applicable)

(4) CAGE Code and DUNS Number

(5) Business Size (under NAICS 333314, Optical Instrument and Lens Manufacturing)       

(6) White paper providing capabilities and relevant past performance.         

(7) Recommendations to improve the Marine Corps’ approach to this requirement.    

(8) State whether the Company has a Secret Facility Clearance and Secret Safeguarding.

(9) State the potential small business subcontracting opportunities in regards to type of work for this requirement provided for by small businesses, the type of small business (small business (SB), veteran-owned small business (VOSB), service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB), historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) small business, small disadvantaged business (SDB), and women-owned small business (WOSB) concerns) involved, the significance of the effort to the requirement and the percentage of total potential effort being able to be provided to those types of small businesses.  

 (10) Identify whether your product is a commercial item in accordance with the definitions in FAR 2.101. In addition, your response must address DFARS PGI 212.102(a)

(11) Data Right Assertions: The government anticipates that the source for the development of all the technical data, training material and software deliverables, including all components of same, would be government funding under a contract effort, with the result that the government will receive unlimited rights in all such deliverables.  If this assumption is incorrect, please identify every deliverable or every component of every deliverable, that will come with a restriction; for this request for information, please follow the procedure and format for Assertions of Restrictions in DFARS 252.227-7017, which the government will consider to be a notional Assertion.  Indicate in this notional Assertion any uncertain entries, and the basis of that uncertainty, that might change in a formal Assertion if a contract were awarded to the respondent.  For any training material that is pre-existing and would come from your company, or from a third party, or from the government, identify that material and confirm that it can be delivered with a copyright release that will allow the government to make all copies or derivative works that it might find necessary. For any software deliverable or deliverable component, identify any portions of software come from existing commercial software or from open source software, and list the respective software license(s) that pertains.

Please be advised that any proprietary information must be marked as such on a page-by-page and paragraph by paragraph basis.  The Government will not assume that any of the information provided by a respondent is proprietary unless it is conspicuously marked on this basis.  Moreover, the Government does not assume any duty to contact a respondent and inquire whether any unmarked information submitted in response to this RFI is proprietary.

The Government is only seeking sources/information for market research to determine the availability of commercial capabilities in the described areas. Acknowledgement of receipt will not be made. Availability of any formal solicitation will be announced separately. Submittals will not be returned to the sender.  Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. It is the contractor’s responsibility to check Beta SAM (https://beta.sam.gov/) to get additional data.

This RFI does NOT constitute an RFP nor a promise to issue an RFP in the future.  This RFI does not commit the United States Government (USG) to contract for any supply or service.  Further, the USG is not seeking proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals.  Contractors are advised the USG will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. 

The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the USG.  The USG has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed and the release of this RFI should not be construed as a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. 

Responses shall be submitted via e-mail [email protected] and [email protected], no later than 1700 Eastern Time on 07 May 2021.  Telephone replies will not be accepted.

3.1       Questions

Questions or comments regarding this notice may be addressed to, [email protected] and [email protected] by email only.  No questions will be accepted after 09 April 2021 at 1300 Eastern Time.  The Government intends to respond to as many questions as practicable and will respond to questions via an amendment to this RFI posted to Beta SAM so that all interested parties will benefit from the same information.  All interested offeror(s) are encouraged to register on the Beta SAM website to receive email notifications when information related to this acquisition is updated, or documents related to this acquisition are issued and available for download.  The Government requests that all interested parties ensure that they are listed on the "Interested Vendors List" in Beta SAM.  As a rule, the Government will not send notifications directly to interested offeror(s), and it is recommended that the interested offeror(s) periodically check this website for updates.