SOURCES SOUGHT
15 -- Modular Compact Aerostat and Airship Payload Deployment Units
- Notice Date
- 12/15/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 336413
— Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- ACC-APG SCRT - Aberdeen, ATTN: AMSSB-ACC-A, 4118 Susquehanna Avenue, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-3013
- ZIP Code
- 21005-3013
- Solicitation Number
- W91CRB11AEROSTATISR
- Response Due
- 12/30/2011
- Archive Date
- 2/28/2012
- Point of Contact
- Sabrinna Cosom, 410-306-2852
- E-Mail Address
-
ACC-APG SCRT - Aberdeen
(sabrinna.r.faulkner.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION; no award will be made as a result of this request. This request for information (RFI) is for informational purposes only; this is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). All interested parties are encouraged to respond to this RFI. The Government will not pay for information and materials received in response to this RFI, and is in no way obligated by the information received. 1.0 SCOPE: Background: The mission of the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force (REF) is to rapidly increase mission capability while reducing risk to Soldiers and others by equipping operational commanders with off-the-shelf (government or commercial) solutions or near-term developmental items that can be researched, developed and acquired quickly. The REF receives requirements from operational commanders in war zones setting forth the capabilities needed. The REF is chartered by the Senior Army leadership to provide material solutions to meet these requirements in a significantly reduced timeline compared to traditional Department of Defense acquisition procedures. The purpose of this RFI is to obtain technical and cost information from manufacturers regarding the availability of Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) or Government-off -the- Shelf (GOTS) modular compact aerostat and airship payload deployment units. The purpose of this aerostat/airship platform system is to obtain potential solutions to provide small tactical units with an Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability. Alternative solutions submitted by companies responding to this RFI will be considered. This requirement includes operators and Field Service Representatives (FSRs) to provide FSR support and new equipment training. The aerostat/airship shall provide for remote, safe, persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. The aerostat/airship must stay on station even in less favorable environmental conditions that would ground a tethered or untethered unit of comparable size, features, or classification. The platform shall have a capability for Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL). The platform shall be a lighter than air (LTA) platform that is easily deployable in either a mobile (untethered) or tethered state. The Airship shall remain functional while flying even in non-ideal conditions. The Airship must fly in winds up to, but not less than, 25 knot winds. The system shall be deployable utilizing no more than two Soldiers. The Airship shall have an active onboard systems ("smart aerostat") its fins will continue to use their movable surfaces to stabilize and trim the aerostat/airship, safety systems will prevent fly always in the event that the tether line was cut. Mechanically, the Airship platform shall incorporate a modular design for ease of manufacturing and flexible payload configuration. The configurable sensor pod can house a wide array of active or passive sensing devices. A communications interface and main system power is available from the aerostat's/airship's underbelly wire harness for command, feedback and sensor power. System components are further broken out into separate gondolas. The Airship housing shall contain computing and system internal sensors and the black gondola houses propulsion means. Vital system components are further protected by ballistic fabric to mitigate the risk of small arms fire and even if the envelope takes direct hit the Aerostat/Airship can still fly safely for another 30 minutes. The airship envelope contains cascaded safety systems to allow for easy retrieval in case of an emergency. A protective tarp to tether down the airship during inflation & inclement weather is required. For safe launches and landing there are two key features implemented into the Propulsion gondola, sensors that calculate if the system is being held and a landing skid to keep the motors out of ground debris. The software should have transparent safety features that do not allow the end user to put the system at risk. Other software features based on sensor feedback like automated inflation is desired to assure that little training is necessary to successfully deploy and use the Aerostat/Airship. 2.0 Requirements: Dimensions: The Aerostat/Airship a.Shall be no longer than 30ft b.Diameter shall be no greater than 15 ft Features: The Aerostat/Airship a.Shall be of a color that minimizes its visibility in flight to hostile forces b.Shall be capable of accommodating a laser designator c.Shall have the capability of GPS that allows the operator to view the positioning of the vehicle and allow it to self-guide d.Shall be compliant with existing CENTCOM doctrine on tethered aerostats e.Shall be compliant with CENTCOM requirements on lighting on the launch platform f.Shall be compliant with existing frequency ranges of 1.3 - 1.9 GHz or greater than 5 GHz so as to not conflict with military bandwidth in use for other purposes g.Shall have the ability to receive either a helium or hydrogen fill Performance: The Aerostat/Airship a.Shall be capable of flying for at least 2 hrs in a persistent 10 knot wind while in untethered Airship mode b.In Aerostat mode shall be capable of flying for at least 10 hours while tethered c.Shall take no more than 15 minutes to change battery (ies) and resume flight d.Shall be capable of flying in gusts up to 35 knots in Aerostat mode while tethered and 22 knots airspeed while in un-tethered Airship mode e.Shall include safety measures that allow the envelope to deflate in 10 minutes or less in an emergency situation ISR Payload: The Aerostat/Airship a.Shall be capable of carrying a payload of up to 6 pounds b.Shall have a gyro stabilized camera turret c.The resolution of camera provided shall be at a minimum of 640/480 Ground Station System: a.Shall have line-of-sight when airship is operating in the untethered mode b.Shall provide a mobile capability using containers or cases of reasonable size c.Shall have the capability of automated inflation a.Shall be capable of inflating the Aerostat/Airship in less than 30 minutes d.System shall provide helium and or hydrogen tanks for initial setup and 3 day flight under normal operations e.Shall have a hand controller shall be similar to a video game controller and be wireless f.Shall have a monitor with the capability of displaying the feed in HD 3. DELIVERABLES Specific information on industry capability to provide an off-the shelf or produce a system that can meet the requirements identified in paragraph two (2) above, or otherwise solves the problem: Aerostat/Airship (Balloon) Platform, and Delivery System, is solicited. The salient characteristics provided above are not sacrosanct. The REF is looking to provide a dual use Aerostat/Airship that can operate in a tethered or untetherd mode on an expeditious basis to smaller units in Afghanistan. This is NOT a Request for Proposal. Companies who desire to participate in this market survey are encouraged to submit a white paper which supports the company's claim that it presently has the technology, qualifications, and capabilities to satisfy one or more of the performance and technical objectives described above. The white paper should discuss the company's ability to develop and or provide existing technologies that have the ability to Aerostat Deception. Companies should provide a ROM (rough order of magnitude) price and its anticipated delivery for the solution proposed. The white paper should also discuss related company experience and include point(s) of contact. The white paper should be prepared in MS Word, limited to ten (10) pages, and submitted electronically to the contracting officer at sabrinna.r.faulkner.civ@mail.mil. The company shall be responsible for any costs associated with preparing responses to this market research. All requests for further information must be made in writing or via email; telephone requests for additional information will not be honored. The government will review RFI submissions as they are received. The government reserves the right to close this RFI once they have received adequate response(s) to this RFI.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/cc9f2578f699f701e81e849dc5f2870d)
- Place of Performance
- Address: ACC-APG SCRT - Aberdeen ATTN: AMSSB-ACC-A, 4118 Susquehanna Avenue Aberdeen Proving Ground MD
- Zip Code: 21005-3013
- Zip Code: 21005-3013
- Record
- SN02639841-W 20111217/111215234326-cc9f2578f699f701e81e849dc5f2870d (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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