Active

Contract Opportunity

The United States Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Acquisitions Division (EAD) and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operation (OMAO), Uncrewed Systems Operations Center (UxSOC) using the procedures set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13.5, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, intends to negotiate a sole source basis with Exail, Inc. (formerly iXBlue, Inc.) located at 1580 N Lincoln Street, Suite 860, Denver, CO 80203, for a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP), contract for the supply of one (1) DriX Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV), and associated services..

Exail is the only source to provide the USV Model DriX. This acquisition will provide for a USV, accessories and associated services to undertake survey activities in tandem with NOAA vessels to increase survey efficiency. The DriX USV is the only USV that meets the needs of OMAO, UxSOC. The required characteristics include speed, sonar performance parameters and shipboard deployment. Additionally, only one source is capable of meeting the highly specialized requirements in the time frame required. The primary requirements for the USV are:

● Commercial product – existing commercial product for base USV, with unitsdesigned for acoustic surveying delivered to customers

● Scientific data systems - capability to produce equivalent sonar data as NOAAships with hydrographic and fisheries sonar instruments mounted at a depth of >1.5 m and >0.8 m away from the hull at speeds of 11 knots; Must provide capability for monitoring data quality during operation

● Speed and Endurance – capable of keeping up with a ship for consistent operations for multiple days (40 hours at 11 knots, 160 hours at 7 knots) and burst speeds able to match transits (12+ kts). Capable of effectively acquiring data in Sea State 4.

● Launch and recovery – compatible with existing ship davits on NOAA hydrographic and fisheries ships, recovery possible in an auto-docking mode, without manual human intervention from ship

● Transportability – able to fit in standard intermodal shipping container, additionally able to be transported via regular width trailer on US roads.

● Deployment and recovery from NOAA ships using existing ship davits and launching equipment, augmented with specialized launch/recovery devices included in the USV contract; recovery possible with human intervention only from ship

● Over the horizon operation – system must be fully capable of operations outside line of sight with the host vessel including ability to control and monitor quality of scientific systems, and vendor must provide monitoring capability as a service

● Operation and situational awareness – automated and human controlled modes required, autonomy must meet basic maritime collision regulations and be capable of executing survey plans

● Training - Vendor must provide comprehensive training on vessel operations, maintenance and launch and recovery procedures.

The capabilities required by the government are highly specialized and represent the leading edge of uncrewed maritime technologies, in particular in terms of need for integration with NOAA ships, and speed and endurance requirements. The system must meet all the requirements specified above and meet NOAA Readiness Level 9 (per NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-105B, (Policy on Research and Development Transitions, Final System Transitioned into Operations Final System Transitioned into Operations). These requirements call for a unique and complex system consisting of a fully integrated and operational USV and launch and recovery system with vendor engineering support for operation of the USV from NOAA ships. The USV must have been previously produced, and have previously been instrumented with both hydrographic multibeam instruments and fisheries echosounders. The USV must have a track record of use in a routine capacity for either hydrographic or fisheries applications, and must be capable of immediate deployment on, and integration with, a NOAA ship with only slight modification to the ship or USV to support a short-term need. Partial fulfillment of capabilities or provision of untested/prototype systems will not meet the government’s needs.

The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) is 334511, Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing.

This notice does not constitute a solicitation, Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ), or an Invitation for Bid (IFB) and it does not restrict the Government in any way regarding its ultimate acquisition approach. However, if any other interested party believes that it can meet the requirements, it may submit a statement of capabilities, which if timely received, will be considered by NOAA. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future. Evidence must be provided of ability to provide the required services. The capability statement and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow NOAA to determine if the party can meet all of the requirements. Capability statements and related materials must be e-mailed to amy.l.mcliverty@noaa.gov by 12:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) on April 24, 2023.

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