Armored Electric Vehicles

Background
The U.S. Department of State Division of Defensive Equipment and Armored Vehicles (DEAV) is seeking information related to requirements for the armoring of existing commercially available electric vehicles (EVs), the procurement of armored electric vehicles produced by the original equipment manufacturer, and U.S. companies capable of supplying armored electric vehicles. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) / Sources Sought (SS) is to accomplish market research pursuant to Part 10, and to identify businesses capable of performing the functions described herein. The DEAV has a deployed AV fleet of over 3,000 armored vehicles and an additional several hundred AVs in production. The DOS Division for Defensive Equipment and Armored Vehicles (DEAV) is the sole office responsible for the design, acquisition, building oversight, and deployment of armored vehicles (AV) pursuant to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) 262.1-1(C).

Work Details
The scope encompasses the design and development, prototype fabrication, and test and evaluation of an electric armored vehicle (sedan, mid-size SUV, or large SUV). This includes validation testing to Department of State performance specifications and any rework needed to achieve successful test results.
Detailed specifications for armored EVs include providing ballistic protection against common centerfire rifle threats; having fully integrated armor components as part of the design to ensure armoring integrity; meeting classified testing specifications titled 'Armored Vehicle Protection Levels'; securing the vehicle battery/batteries to avoid combustion and conflagration without impacting the vehicle’s standard operation; being based on series production vehicles and not easily distinguished from their unarmored counterparts; being adequately equipped to blend into overseas surroundings for everyday traffic based on mission requirements; supporting additional weight and geometry of the armoring design, occupants, and cargo in a manner that preserves unarmored ride quality, braking performance, and steering and handling characteristics; requiring a high output chassis electrical system supplying an additional 1500 Watts of electrical power in 12 or 24-volts direct current (DC); requiring convenient worldwide servicing, technical support, and long-term spare parts availability and support network (both CONUS and OCONUS); having an extended production period through at least 2028 in the proposed configuration.

Place of Performance
Overseas posts for DOS and other agencies