Low Cost Maritime Domain Awareness Technology for Remote Locations - Market Research
This Request for Information (RFI) is part of a market research effort by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Research and Development Center (RDC) to determine the availability of commercially available low cost technologies/systems for improving the Coast Guards (CG) Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) in remote regions. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this RFI or to otherwise pay for information received in response to this RFI.
The USCG intends to use the information collected from this RFI to conduct detailed analysis that evaluates readiness and applicability, device or equipment capability, and acquisition (non-recurring) and life-cycle operating (recurring) costs for said technologies/systems. You are invited to respond with information to assist the CG with its market research to identify potential availability of commercial low cost technologies/systems for improving the CG MDA and ISR in remote regions.
BACKGROUND
The Coast Guard faces challenges with respect to conducting maritime surveillance in the Pacific Ocean necessary to support its statutory missions related to marine safety, security, and protection. One of the three tenets of the Coast Guard's Western Hemisphere Strategy is the defensive posture of this strategy to sustain effective offshore awareness capability. This is the comprehensive ability to detect threats and safeguard our homeland, prevent illegal fishing, and stop intrusion into protected marine sanctuaries.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entities, including the CG have finite surface and aerial assets to cover 12.2 million square miles of maritime territory in the Pacific, so assets have to be directed to areas of high probability contact. The use of advanced sensors and MDA/ISR maritime systems could help provide additional coverage in the maritime environment to leverage existing assets for greater effectiveness.
The objective of the market research is to investigate the efficacy of using low-cost commercially available technology/system solutions, in combination with or on existing fleet platforms, to enhance maritime domain awareness. The research will look at technology/system solutions across the CG fleet, including the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The project will also consider technologies/systems that have been used by small, remote Pacific Island states and other technologies with little or no logistics funding trail.
SPECIFIC TECHNICAL INFORMATION REQUESTED
The Coast Guard Research and Development Center desires detailed information regarding low-cost commercially available technology/system solutions for enhancing CG MDA/ISR in remote regions. The following information, or best available estimate, is requested for each proposed technology/system. If multiple technologies/systems are presented by the same entity, the information should be specific to each technology.
The following questions/statements should be addressed for each technology/system described in your response to this RFI:
A. General description of your technology/system.
The contractor shall describe the:
1. sensor capabilities:
2. operating conditions,
3. effective range,
4. power requirements,
5. processing capability (onboard v. off board),
6. data dissemination method,
7. compatibility with existing deployment platforms (aerial, surface, and potentially subsurface),
8. ability to feed into a common operating picture,
9. interoperability with CG legacy systems,
10. maintenance and supportability requirements,
11. manpower requirements,
12. cost.
13. System endurance
14. Launch recovery Requirements
15. Physical size/weight
16. ColReg compliability
17. Automatic target recognition?
18. Other features that may interest the Coast Guard.
B. Is there anything in your technology/system that is classified beyond Unclassified?
C. What agencies, governments, or other maritime service providers currently use the technology/system you described?
D. What lead time is required for deployment of the technology/system?
E. What maritime licenses, credentials, or certifications does the technology/system require, allowing it to operate?
F. Will you be willing to fuse your data with existing AIS and VMS data sources?
G. Will you be willing to add some level of machine learning/AI to the data fusion to produce an alert?
H. Will you be willing to work with an organization to achieve the data fusion?
RESPONDING TO THIS MARKET RESEARCH
It is desired that responses to this RFI address all of the topics discussed in the ‘SPECIFIC TECHNICAL INFORMATION REQUESTED.' Topics may be combined or treated individually. However, if information is not available for some of the topic areas, your submission is still of interest to the USCG.
When responding to the RFI, please include the following information:
• A one page cover letter that provides a brief summary of the response and indicating if supporting documentation is included.
• Amplifying information that addresses all areas of information requested by this RFI in sections "SPECIFIC TECHNICAL INFORMATION REQUESTED." If pre-developed marketing or technical information and specification sheets are provided, please include additional information, as necessary to "fill the gaps" between pre-developed material and the information required. Digital photographs, line drawings, and illustrations that clarify descriptive text are encouraged.
• A description of any information relative to what technology/system is currently available and what additional technologies/systems may become available over the next 12 to 18 months.
• If multiple technologies/systems are presented by the same entity, the responses to these questions should be specific to each technology/system.
• Provide a list of U.S. (or international) Government contracts for technology/system where applicable
• Provide any digital photos and/or digital videos of the vessel in operation if able
• Identify whether you are a Small or Large Business using NAICS Code 541330
• Please limit electronic responses to no more than 2 pages per vessel (supporting documentation in the form of a glossary or attachments to the RFI response will not be counted towards the 2-page limit). If your RFI response is greater than 10 MB, please provide it on DVD media and mail it to:
ATTN: MS. HELEN CARNES, CONTRACTING DIVISION
U.S. COAST GUARD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER
1 CHELSEA STREET
NEW LONDON, CT 06320-5506
This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for information received in response to this RFI. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and will not be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract. Responses to this market survey should be sent to RDC-SMB-MDA-ISR@uscg.mil.
PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED, VOICE MAIL MESSAGES LEFT WILL NOT BE RETURNED AND EMAILS WILL NOT BE RESPONDED TO.
Information submitted will be reviewed by Government personnel only at the USCG RDC.
The deadline for final responses to the RFI is 31 October 2018. REMINDER: UNLESS RESPONSE IS GREATER THAN 10 MB, RESPONSES MUST BE EMAILED TO: RDC-SMB-MDA-ISR@uscg.mil.
Helen Carnes, Phone 860-271-2843, Email helen.r.carnes@uscg.mil
