COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS OPENING (CSO): SCOUT Experimentation

N00164-22-S-C001 -- COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS OPENING (CSO): SCOUT Experimentation

AMENDMENT:

The purpose of this amendment is to replace Class Deviation 2018-O0016, Class Deviation - Defense Commercial Solutions Opening Piolet Program with Class Deviation 2022-O0007, Class Deviation Defense Commercial Solutions Opening. Class Deviation 2022-O0007 supersedes Class Deviation 2018-O0016.

AMENDMENT:

The purpose of this amendment is to provide a current status of the SCOUT Experimentation.

Thank you for your continued interest in supporting the warfighting community and our SCOUT effort. The SCOUT team is conducting a new review process that is taking some time. Additionally, the team will be doing a deep dive review with our warfighting teammates. The results of these reviews will be presented to Navy leadership for final approval and execution. Unfortunately with current challenges, this has not been a quick process. We appreciate your interest in this SCOUT series effort and your patience as we keep leaning forward with this new novel approach in experimentation and solving warfighter problems. We are working diligently to complete this review and recommendation process. The SCOUT team will be contacting all of the CSO industry partners as soon as we have completed this review.

N00164-22-S-C001 - COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS OPENING

SCOUT PROTOTYPING AND EXPERIMENTATION CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW

• Federal Agency Name Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division
• Funding Opportunity Title SCOUT Prototyping and Experimentation
• Announcement Type Special Notice-Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)Dates:
  • Posting date: 12 Nov 2021
  • Industry day: 22 Nov 2021
  • Questions due: 3 Dec 2021
  • Questions and answers posted: 17 Dec 2021
  • Proposal due date: 14 Jan 2022
  • CSO closing date: 14 Jan 2022
• Industry Day Zoom Information:

Topic: SCOUT Industry Day

Time: Nov 22, 2021 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

INDUSTRY DAY BRIEF IS ATTACHED TO THIS CSO AS ATTACHMENT 4.

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• Anticipated funding amount various.
• Types of instruments that may be executed Bailment Agreement, CRADA's, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) based contracts Other Transaction Agreements (OTA), or any other agreement utilizing 10 USC 2373 procedures.
• Anticipated individual awards More than one contract/OTA-Prototype award may result from this CSO
• Any cost sharing requirements Industry participates on a pay to play basis through Phase 1. FAR Based contracts or OTAs for prototypes may be awarded as a result of evaluation of projects selected to transition to Phase 2. Phase 2 cost sharing may be required if a traditional defense contractor requests to be funded via an Other Transaction (under the s2371b authority).
• In accordance with DARS Tracking Number 2022-O0007, Class Deviation Defense Commercial Solutions Opening, the contract type for any resultant FAR based or OT award shall be Fixed-Price (FP) or Fixed-Price Incentive (FPI).
• Points of Contact
  • The CSO Coordinator for this effort may be reached via email below.
  • Email inbox: SCOUTCSOCoordinator@US.Navy.Mil
  • NSWC Crane Division

CSO: SCOUT PROTOTYPING AND EXPERIMENTATION CAMPAIGN

SECTION 1 - OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

This announcement constitutes Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), N00164-22-S-C001, as defined by Class Deviation2022-O0007, Class Deviation Defense Commercial Solutions Opening, dated 4 February 2022, and responses may result in the award of a future Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) based Contract or an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) for Prototypes. In accordance with DARS Tracking Number 2022-O0007, Class Deviation Defense Commercial Solutions Opening, the contract type for any resultant FAR based or OTA award shall be Fixed-Price (FP) or Fixed-Price Incentive (FPI).

This CSO solicits proposals for Phase 1 of the SCOUT Experimentation Campaign (further referenced throughout the document as the SCOUT ). Proposers may respond to one or more of the capability increments. The SCOUT Experimentation Campaign is divided into two Phases:

• Phase 1 multi-month exploration phase that concludes with a SCOUT Exercise
• Phase 2 Award of contracts/OTA- Prototypes in support of multiple technologies selected as 12- to 18-month prototyping and experimentation projects that culminate with Fleet/Force experiments and/or Rapid Fieldings

Participation in Phase 1 is required to be considered for award in Phase 2 of the SCOUT Experimentation Campaign. Proposers will be invited to participate in Phase 1 based on evaluation criteria described in Section 9; Evaluation and Selection Information. Phase 1 culminates with a SCOUT Exercise. The government is not responsible for any costs incurred by Phase 1 participants, to include white paper/proposal submission costs, travel costs, technology demonstrations, and all associated costs. All costs incurred throughout Phase 1 are the responsibility of the participating organization. Throughout Phase 1 and during the SCOUT events, the government will provide technical and operational assessment personnel (Government only), basic access to approved ranges to conduct the exercise, basic venue infrastructure including shore power, overall exercise planning, and coordination of frequency allocation services. Contractors supporting DoD functions may be utilized to facilitate the SCOUT event but will not participate in technical or operational assessments.

The Department of the Navy anticipates utilizing Cooperative Research And Development Agreement's (CRADA), bailment agreements or awarding more than one FP or FPI contract/OTA- Prototype for Phase 2 of the SCOUT Campaign. Proposers will be invited to participate in Phase 2 based on evaluation criteria described in Section 9; Evaluation and Selection Information. Navy Contracting Officers and Agreement Officers may award contracts/OTAs within their warrant authority as a result of this CSO.

SECTION 2 - OVERVIEW

The Office of Naval Research is sponsoring this SCOUT experimentation effort in coordination with US Southern Command, JIATF-South. In direct support of the 2018 National Defense Strategy and the SCOUT Experimentation effort, the Naval Research and Development Establishment (NR&DE) is soliciting mature, fieldable prototypes from industry, academia, and government entities to participate in an iterative and progressive series of exercises dedicated to Detection and Monitoring focused tactics and technologies. The SCOUT Experimentation campaign will be a series of innovation sprint events, exercises, and experimentation to foment learning and innovation to rapidly develop technologies and techniques to improve warfighting capability and assist in quicker leadership decision making. This exercise is planned to be conducted in the JIATF-South Joint Operating Area (JOA) in summer of 2022. Dependent on range and/or technology limitations, portions of the SCOUT experimentation campaign may be performed in other operational littoral ranges, and/or the NR&DE's live, virtual, constructive (LVC) range(s). Some technologies may be selected to participate in follow-on SCOUT events and/or other Fleet Exercises.

SCOUT will provide government and industry/academia participants a collaborative, low-risk environment to demonstrate technologies at the unique laboratories and ranges available across the NR&DE, while practicing operators and planners simultaneously explore advanced tactics and assess the operational relevance of emerging technologies. The purpose of this CSO is to invite industry, academia, and government entities to participate in the SCOUT experimentation campaign. Based on the results of the technical and operational assessments collected during SCOUT events, selected participants will be invited to participate in Phase 2. Phase 2 includes 10- to 12+ months prototyping and experimentation projects that progress through more complex scenarios and environments. Phase 2 may also include rapid fieldings where highly valued and mature technologies are fielded to operational units IAW DFARS 234.005-1, Competition.

The SCOUT experimentation campaign is guided by a core team of operational warfighters, acquisition, and technical subject matter experts from: U.S. Southern Command, JIATF-South, OPNAV and the NR&DE. Technical and operational assessments will be incorporated into a final report that informs Naval leadership to make faster rapid prototyping, rapid fielding, and accelerated acquisition decisions.

SECTION 3 - WARFIGHTING PROBLEM

Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S) executes detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking across all domains and facilitates international and interagency interdiction. The detection and monitoring enable the disruption and dismantlement of illicit and converging threat networks in support of national and hemispheric security. JIATF-South, in conjunction with Partner Nations, leverages all-domain capabilities to target, detect and monitor illicit drug trafficking in the air and maritime domains, within the Joint Operating Area (JOA), facilitating interdiction and apprehension to reduce the flow of drugs and degrade and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). JIATF-South collects information on drug movements from various US law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, other US Departments (DoS, DoT, DoD) and partner nations. JIATF-South synthesizes disparate information to develop complete cases and targeting packages and executes tactical control of apportioned Surface and Air assets.

To execute their mission, JIATF-South currently has many constraints that limit its effectiveness. The geographical JOA for JIATF-South extends across 42 million square miles of ocean, and JIATF-South has very limited force structure to support detection and monitoring. Drug-traffickers have developed a set of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) that make detection difficult. These include reducing their signature (EM, thermal, visual, etc), utilizing otherwise legal vessels (fishing and other commercial) to transport contraband, and varying their routes and conveyances. This is akin to taking the problem of finding a needle in a haystack to the problem of finding a needle in a gigantic pile of needles. In addition, interdiction and apprehension is not part of the JIATF-South mission. Once suspected illegal activity is detected, it must be monitored and passed to appropriate US Law Enforcement authorities or to partner nations for interdiction. This creates several issues related to the ability to share information (security level, interoperability, language translation) and the ability to coordinate resources (monitoring assets and interdiction assets). In addition, the majority of JIATF-South efforts start with intelligence generated through many different sources informants, US agencies (law enforcement, intel, or other), or partner nations. Each of these intel sources must be analyzed and correlated to develop enough information to allow decisions to be made on credibility and the viability of taking action.

For this SCOUT experimentation campaign, there are four specific problems that will be addressed.

1. Data Synthesis (OPR: J2); Improve the JIATF-South capabilities to manage the data from various sources to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the analysis and utilization of this data to provide targeting information to the watch floor.
2. Hunting Without MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft) (OPR: J7); Improve JIATF-South capabilities to detect and monitor suspect vessels across wider areas and over longer detection intervals.
3. MPA Surface Asset Utilization (OPR: J3); Improve JIATF-South capabilities to efficiently place limited assets for interdiction through decision tools and cross-domain, multilingual tools to improve interactions with partner nations.
4. Rapid, distributed (operational) logistics (OPR: J4); Improve JIATF-South capabilities to efficiently provide tactical flexibility, mobility, a cost effective logistics approach to have increased operational options through effective and efficient use of logistics resources and provide internal support to JIATF-South USCG partners e.g. rapid, distributed (operational) logistics during maritime patrols.

SECTION 4 - CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS AND CAPABILITY AREAS OF INTEREST

JIATF-South operates across a very large geographical area with dispersed assets to detect and monitor illegal narcotics activities. It utilizes intelligence from many sources to generate the information to determine where to deploy the limited assets at its disposal. It works with partner nations and other US agencies to develop, analyze, and vet intelligence information. As described in Section 3, we will focus our efforts on three problems. These problems are also linked to Naval Key Operational Problems that the US Navy has identified as priorities for further development and investment. These Key Operational Problems reflect Naval gaps and challenges aligned to multiple Combatant and Fleet Commanders.

Capabilities that are expected to contribute significantly to these problems, including decision-making aids, sensor fusion capabilities, artificial intelligence, data processing on the edge, and machine learning algorithms for target recognition, natural language processing, pattern-of-life recognition, long-range sensors, persistent ISR platforms and payloads, and many others. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list. All capabilities proposed will be evaluated against the four problems identified using criteria described in Section 9.

SECTION 5 - PROTOTYPING AND EXPERIMENTATION CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE

Throughout Phase 1, submitters selected to participate in the SCOUT event will work with the Government to demonstrate the technical feasibility, maturity, and military value of the proposed technology/capability in operationally relevant scenarios through analysis, demonstration, and experimentation. The Government will evaluate the technical and operational feasibility through a series of stand-alone and integrated demonstrations and experiments using live, virtual, and constructive assets and ranges. Phase 1 is anticipated to be a multi-month exploration phase that concludes with a SCOUT main experimentation event. The Government may provide access to virtual and constructive testbed(s) to facilitate the integration, testing, and experimentation of the performer's technology in JIATF-South operationally relevant scenarios. The Government will maintain experimentation testbed architecture(s) and interface(s). The performer is responsible for interface compliance to test bed and major interfaces. Selected performers who are unable to meet Information Assurance, or other requirements, for connection to the government experimentation testbed(s) will be given opportunities to demonstrate their technologies in stand-alone demonstrations. Non-Government entities providing technologies selected to participate in a SCOUT event will be required to enter into either a Standard CRADA or a Limited Purpose (LP) CRADA. Upon selection, DASN (RDT&E) shall designate the appropriate Naval Laboratory to enter into the CRADA with the selected participant. The designated NR&DE entity with input from the requisite subject matter expertise will provide engineering, integration, test, and/or transition support for the selected submission, as appropriate. Depending on the type and scope of the submission, DASN (RDT&E) or their designee may assign additional Technical Points of Contact (TPOCs) from across the NR&DE for specific expertise.

Multiple technologies may be selected for participation in Phase 2, where performer teams will work with the Government to prototype and/or experiment technologies over 10- to 12+ month timeframes culminating with Fleet/Force experiments and/or rapid fielding to operational units. Execution of Phase 2 will be accomplished via bailment agreements, FAR based contract OTAs, or other contractual agreements utilizing 10 USC 2372 procedures resulting from this CSO if the conditions of 2022-O0007, Class Deviation Defense Commercial Solutions Opening are met. Procurement for rapid fielding may also result from this announcement if the conditions at DFARS 234.005-1 are met.

SECTION 6 - SCHEDULE

Phase 1 of the SCOUT Experimentation Campaign is anticipated to be a multi-month effort concluding with SCOUT experimentation event. Phase 1 will entail multiple innovation and experimentation sprint events. The government reserves the right to determine the most appropriate experimentation venue for each submission and technology. Phase 2 prototyping and experimentation projects will be selected based on the results of the technical and operational assessments collected during SCOUT Phase 1 events. The total period of performance for Phase 2 is anticipated to be 10- to 12+ months.

Following invitation to participate in Phase 1, the Government will provide submitters a summary of range and support equipment that will be allocated to the specific submission. If the Submitters requirement for range support exceeds what has been allocated, the Submitter may acquire additional resources at their own expense. The Government will work in good faith to identify requested resources and/or propose alternatives that meet the Submitters budgets. FOR EXAMPLE, an extreme case might be that an MV-22 Osprey is not available, and the costs to acquire a surrogate test asset are not affordable. The Government may then recommend the Submitter participate as a virtual, constructive, or stand-alone node in the SCOUT event.

SECTION 7 - PHASE 1 - PROPOSAL GUIDANCE

1. 1. Proposal Content and Format

Proposers are encouraged to submit concise, but descriptive, applications for consideration in the Fight Forward experimentation campaign. Technology/engineering innovations should be technically mature and immediately ready for demonstration in operationally relevant environments within 6 months. Technology/engineering innovations should not require significant science and technology development (Budget Activity 1-3) to advance the state of technology, materials, develop novel sensors, algorithms, etc.

Proposals shall include one (1) White paper and one (1) Quad Chart per submission. Proposers may provide multiple submissions for consideration. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or proposals are not desired.

QUAD CHART: Quad Charts are required to contain the content and format provided in Appendix A. A PowerPoint slide of the Quad chart that can be filled out is attached to this CSO as Attachment 3.

WHITE PAPER: White papers shall include the following sections:

(1) Operational Relevance. Describe how the proposed technology/engineering innovation addresses one (or more) of the specific JIATF-South problems.

(2) Cost. Provide an estimated cost to mature the proposed technology/engineering innovation to low-rate production levels as well as a not-to-exceed estimate of a low rate production (LRIP) cost for the technology/engineering innovation. For purposes of estimation, LRIP quantities shall range from 4-6 fieldable prototype units. In addition, provide a not to exceed estimate of a low-rate production cost for the technology/engineering innovation unless such a range is justifiably prohibitive (e.g. 4-6 units is too low/too high of a scale to be economically viable). These estimates are not contractually binding but could be used as evaluation criteria to determine suitability for further experimentation.

(3) System/Sub-Systems Architecture. Describe the systems, interfaces, and the data architecture of the technology/engineering innovation being submitted. Include diagrams, architectural views, or other graphical representations to describe the major systems/sub-systems and interfaces. Submissions are not required to provide end-to-end solutions but should identify external interfaces that will ultimately be required for the technology/engineering innovation to function in the intended operational environment. If submitters have Systems Modeling Language (SysML) or Unified Modeling Language (UML) models for their system, they are encouraged to provide these as part of their submission. Identify the current Intellectual Property rights (open-competitive or closed-proprietary) that apply to each of the major systems/sub-systems and interfaces.

(4) Critical Technical Parameters. Describe the critical technical parameters that characterize the specific contribution of the proposed technology/engineering innovation. In tabular format, quantify the performance that has been demonstrated and describe the environment or conditions it has been tested under. If test data in a contested amphibious operational environment is not available, estimate the technical performance that may be immediately achievable. Include supplemental artifacts, such as specification sheets, data sheets, test reports, or other documentation that supports performance estimates.

(5) Experimentation Plan and Objectives. Describe the experimentation plan and objectives. Describe all phases of the proposed experiment in detail (pre-deployment, deployment, operation, recovery, post-recovery). Describe required network connections, sensor inputs, data sets. Identify all support, handling, or special gear that the Submitter will bring to conduct the experiment. Estimate how many persons are required on-site to conduct the experiment. Identify needed support requirements power, network, vehicle platforms, personnel, space, equipment, or others. Provide a pictorial representation of the experiment with network connectivity diagrams.

(6) Dependencies and Special Considerations. The Government will provide technical and operational assessment personnel, basic access to approved training areas and ranges to conduct experiments, basic venue infrastructure including frequency allocation services, intra-network connectivity, and shore power. Identify all other government furnished information (i.e. interface specifications, launch and recovery procedures, topside surveys, etc.) and/or equipment required to support the submission (e.g. unmanned system deployment from host platform, weapon or target deployment from an MV-22 Osprey, communication link to MH-60, iridium-enabled Gateway Buoy, GPS, GSM, Secret or higher facility clearance/storage capabilities). Identify any significant certifications required prior to conducting a planned experiment (i.e. Weapons Safety Review Board, Laser Safety Review Board, Li-ion Battery Certification, etc.). For each specific dependency or consideration, identify at least one feasible alternative (i.e. virtual or constructive event, test rigs, simulations, static displays) that would mitigate, for example, the uncertainty risk of operational asset availability(ies)). Following selection, the Government will provide submitters with a summary of range and support equipment that will be allocated to the specific submission. If the Submitters requirement for range support exceeds what has been allocated, the Submitter may acquire additional resources. The Government will work in good faith to identify requested resources and/or propose alternatives that meet the Submitters budgets. An extreme case might be that a required government asset is not available, and the costs to acquire a surrogate test asset are not affordable. The Government may then recommend the Submitter participate in SCOUT as a standalone, virtual, or constructive demonstration.

(7) Technology and Integration Readiness Levels. Assess the current technology readiness level (TRL) of the major systems/sub-systems described in Section 2. Assess the current integration readiness level (IRL) of the critical interfaces also described in Section 2. For each estimate, describe whether the estimate is based on test data from a developmental (lab-, simulation-based) or operational (test range or other with operational users) evaluation. If applicable, project the TRL and/or IRL achievable upon completion of the proposed submission. Include supplemental artifacts, such as technology readiness assessments, design reports, test reports, or other documentation that supports technical and interface maturity estimates. TRL and IRL definitions are provided in Appendix B.

(8) Team. Submitters are encouraged to team amongst industry, academia, and government partners. Provide a brief description of the subject matter expertise that each member of the team provides and a brief description of the participating organizations.

(9) Modeling & Simulation. Describe any existing models and/or simulations that could be used to support constructive and/or virtual (i.e., operator in the loop) representation of the proposed technology/engineering innovation; either as a standalone demonstration or as a system in a distributed, end-to-end kill-chain. Include the level of M&S Hierarchy that the M&S best supports: Physics, Component, Engagement, Mission or Campaign as well as whether there is an existing interface to the M&S and if so, what are the protocols. Any M&S software dependencies (e.g., MATLAB, SIMULINK, NGTS, etc.) should also be noted.

White Paper Formatting and Other Notes: All pages of the white paper shall be formatted for printing on 8-1/2 by 11-inch paper with 1-inch margins, single line spacing, and a font size not smaller than 12 point. Font sizes of 8 or 10 point may be used for figures, tables, and charts. White papers shall be submitted in MS Word document format (.doc, .docs or .docx) and limited to ten pages maximum. White paper and quad charts should be submitted with the same file name. Submissions must be written in English. All acronyms must be spelled out on first use. Supplemental artifacts, such as technology readiness assessments, design reports, test reports, or other documentation is not included in the ten-page maximum page limit.

1. 1. Submission Dates and Times

White papers and quad chart submissions shall be submitted to scoutcsocoordinator@us.navy.mil not later than 5:00PM Eastern Time on 14 Jan 2022 for unclassified submissions. For classified submissions, white papers and quad chart submissions shall be submitted per instructions in section d. below and received by no later than 5:00PM Eastern Time on 14 Jan 2022. Submissions received after that date will not be considered, and no exceptions will be granted.

1. 1. Proprietary Information

Submitters are responsible for clearly identifying proprietary information. Submissions containing proprietary information must have the cover page and each page containing such information clearly marked with such a label as Proprietary or Company Proprietary . Proprietary information may be provided to Government support contractors to facilitate the SCOUT exercise. Support contractors will have Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) on file with the Government as required by the contract under which they perform. A copy of all NDA's will be maintained by the NSWC Crane Contracting Officer. If a submitter requires a contractor-to-contractor NDA prior to proprietary information being shared with a Government support contractor, the response shall clearly provide the point of contract for the CSSC to contact to execute the contractor-to-contractor NDA.

1. 1. Classified Proposals and Supplements

Use transmission, classification, handling, and marking guidance provided by previously issued Security Classification Guides (SCG), the DoD Information Security Manual (DoDM 5200.01, Volumes 1 - 4), and the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, including the Supplement Revision 1, (DoD 5220.22-M and DoD 5200.22-M Sup. 1) when submitting information classified as Confidential, Secret and/or Top Secret.

Classified proposals and supplements may be submitted on Compact Disc via ONE of the two following methods:

• Hand-carried by an appropriately cleared and authorized courier to the NSWC Crane Classified Material Custodian.
• Prior to traveling, the courier shall contact the NSWC Crane Classified Material Custodian (CMC) at 812-854-3450 to coordinate arrival and delivery.

OR

• Mailed via U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Registered Mail or USPS Express Mail. All classified information will be enclosed in opaque inner and outer covers and double wrapped. The inner envelope shall be sealed and plainly marked with the assigned classification and addresses of both sender and addressee.

The inner envelope shall be addressed to:

COMMANDING OFFICER

NAVSURFWARCENDIV CRANE IN

ATTN: SCOUT / Mr. Dan Cabel and/or Mr. Andy Brough

Reference: CSO-N00164-18-S-C001

B3373, Code JX

300 Highway 361

Crane, IN 47522

The outer envelope shall be sealed with no identification as to the classification of its contents and addressed to:

COMMANDING OFFICER

NAVSURFWARCENDIV CRANE IN

ATTN: Classified Material Custodian

B2, Code 105

300 Highway 361

Crane, IN 47522

1. 1. Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) Proposals and Supplements

SCI must be marked, managed and transmitted in accordance with DoDM 5105.21 Volumes 1 - 3. Prior to traveling, the courier shall contact the NSWC Crane SSO at 812-854-2459 to coordinate arrival and delivery.

1. 1. International Traffic in Arms Regulations/ Export Administration Regulations

Submitters are responsible for clearly and appropriately marking information that is restricted by the Arms Export Control Act (Title 22, U.S. C. Sec 2751, et seq.) or the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended, Title 50, U.S. C., App. 2401 et seq. Submissions containing ITAR/EAR restricted information must have the cover page and each page containing such information clearly marked.

1. 1. Government Release Authority

The Government shall release submissions, and data contained within, to:

• the SCOUT Task Force and other government experts as required for the purpose of technical assessments, operational assessments, exercise planning, etc.
• other Government contractors and subcontractors and their employees tasked with providing planning and coordination expertise to the DON to facilitate the SCOUT event in addition to assisting in handling and processing information and documents in the administration of the exercise (Contractors will not be providing input into the assessments for invitation to the SCOUT exercise or Phase 2 of the process)
• the Naval Research and Development Establishment (NR&DE) Integrated Data Environment
• the Fleet Experimentation Information Management System (FIMS) portal

SECTION 8 - PHASE 1 - SCOUT OTHER INFORMATION

1. 1. Agency Contacts

Questions regarding this CSO shall be submitted to SCOUTCSOCoordinator@US.Navy.Mil. When required, answers will be posted to Federal Business Opportunities site: www.sam.gov as an amendment to the CSO posting. Questions and answers regarding specific technology solutions will not be posted publicly.

Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 10:00AM Eastern Time on 3 DEC 2021 will be answered.

1. 1. Eligibility Information

Submissions are not restricted in any way to a particular entity. Small Businesses, HUBZone Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, and Women-Owned Small Businesses, are encouraged to participate. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government Entities are encouraged to participate but will not be placed in direct competition with private industry and academia for commercially available products. Due to ITAR and EAR concerns foreign participation will not be permitted.

1. 1. Submission Funding

The Government will NOT provide funding to the interested party or submitter in response to efforts conducted under Phase 1 of this CSO. All costs incurred by the participants, to include submission costs, travel costs, technology experiments, and experimentation associated costs, are the submitter's responsibility. The Government will provide technical and operational assessment personnel, basic access to approved labs and ranges to conduct the exercise, basic venue infrastructure including access, frequency allocation/deconfliction services, shore power, and overall exercise planning. Selected participants must be prepared to be self-sufficient during the execution of their experiments. Participants are advised to bring all tools and equipment necessary to operate their system(s)/sub-system(s). Additional resources will be provided based on availability and resources available to the government at the time of the exercise.

Responses to this CSO do not in any form commit the government to contract for any supplies or services. Submissions in response to this CSO do not imply nor guarantee award of, or for, any potential future acquisition. Similarly, submissions in response to this CSO do not imply nor guarantee participation in the SCOUT Experimentation Campaign, SCOUT events, rapid prototyping, or rapid fielding. Interested parties are responsible for monitoring the www.fbo.gov site for additional information pertaining to this CSO.

1. 1. Information Assurance Requirements

If the submission proposes integration with NR&DE live, virtual, constructive (LVC) ranges, or SecDevOps environments the submitter must have prior authorization to connect to DoD Information Technology (IT) systems. Prior approval may include compliance with the DoD Risk Management Framework (RMF) as outlined in DoDI 8500.01 and DoDI 8510.01. The submitter must ensure that personnel and equipment accessing government facilities and information systems have the proper and current information assurance certifications to perform information assurance (IA) functions identified in accordance with DoD 8570.01-M, Information Assurance Workforce Improvement Program. The submitter must meet applicable certification requirements, including a DoD-approved CSWF certifications appropriate for each specified category and level and appropriate operating system certification for IA technical positions as required by DoD 8570.01-M. The submitter must provide documentation supporting the IA certification status of personnel performing IA functions, reporting current IA certification status. If the government deems necessary, an IA manager point of contact will be provided to submitters with invitations to participate in a specific SCOUT event. The government may identify additional information-related or other unique approval procedures to the submitting organization as the need becomes evident.

1. 1. Frequency Requirements

If the submission proposes radiating electromagnetic energy, the submitter must have prior approval to transmit on or across those frequency bands. Prior approval may include compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Title 47, Part 15 or a Special Temporary Authority (STA) from the FCC. The FCC recommends you submit your request at least 30 days prior to the start of the event. If the submission includes Government-owned equipment and you will be operating within a Federal Band, you must have National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) frequency approval. . If the government deems necessary, a frequency manager point of contact will be provided to submitters with invitations to participate in a specific SCOUT event. However, submitters are advised NOT to wait for selection notice(s) before requesting a STA from the FCC. The government may identify additional spectrum approval or other unique procedures to the submitting organization as the need becomes evident.

1. 1. Safety Requirements

Participation in the exercise will require participants to adhere to the safety approvals, authorizations, standard operating procedures, and protective measures outlined in DoN safety policy and guidance. If the government deems necessary, a safety point of contact will be provided to submitters with invitations to participate in a specific SCOUT event. The Government may identify other safety related and any other unique approval procedures to the submitting organization as the need becomes evident.

1. 1. Environmental Compliance

Participation in the exercise will require participants to adhere to the environmental approvals, authorizations, standard operating procedures, and protective measures outlined in existing DON environmental impact statements and associated permits. If the government deems necessary, an environmental compliance point of contact will be provided to submitters along with invitations to participate in a specific SCOUT. The government may identify additional environmental or other unique approval procedures to the submitting organization as the need becomes evident.

1. 1. Cooperative Research and Development Agreements

A Standard CRADA will be used when there is specified research and development of a collaborative nature that will occur between the selected participant and the NR&DE. The Department of Navy (DON) Standard CRADA template is provided as Attachment 1 to this CSO.

A Limited Purpose (LP-CRADA) will be used in situations when only an equipment/material transfer between the selected participant and the NR&DE is required to support the exercise and there is no expectation of specified research and development of a collaborative nature. The DON Standard LP-CRADA template is provided as Attachment 2 to this CSO.

SECTION 9 - PHASE 1 - EVALUATION AND SELECTION INFORMATION

1. 1. Evaluation Criteria

The government will only evaluate submissions that address one or more of the problem areas described in Section 4; Concept of Operations and Capability Areas of Interest. A panel of qualified government subject matter experts will be convened to conduct a technical and operational assessment for each conforming submission. Submissions will be evaluated using the following equally weighted criteria:

(1) Operational Assessment Criteria

• Contribution to the specific problems described
• Operational impact in the relevant environment
• Impact to warfighter performance

(2) Technical Assessment Criteria

• Contribution to the specific problems described
• Technical maturity of the technology/engineering innovation
• Experimentation plan is sufficiently developed to demonstrate objectives with available resources and assets

When making selections, the government reserves the right to take other significant factors as required into consideration, such as test results from other government-led events, compatibility with currently fielded Naval systems and platforms, etc.

1. 1. Review and Selection Process

Submissions will be reviewed to determine recommendations for further participation in the SCOUT Experimentation Campaign. Participants may be invited to participate in an NR&DE LVC demo and SCOUT planning workshop. Invitations to the NR&DE LVC demo and SCOUT planning workshops may be provided upon review and selection at a future date. The Government reserves the right to accept submissions in their entirety or to select only portions thereof for participation in the SCOUT event.

SECTION 10 - PHASE 2 RAPID PROTOTYPES / FIELDINGS

Participation in a SCOUT event may result in a CRADA, bailment agreement, the award of a future FAR-based Contract or an OTA Prototype IAW 10 USC 2371b for follow on rapid prototypes and/or fielding. Based upon the tactics or technology that is learned throughout Phase 1 Exploration Phase, the government may ask submitters to update their specific submission to allow for tactics or technology insights learned through the SCOUT Experimentation Campaign.

The Government may request that submitters update and resubmit proposals if, throughout Phase 1, any of the following are identified as a highly valued capability, and technical and operational relevance:

• Technology components one sub-system or component of the original submission
• Technology combinations combining one or more technologies from single or multiple submitters. In cases, where technologies are from multiple industry partners, the industry partners will be invited to partner together and/or government may be the lead system integrator
• Technology integration integrating a technology component or combination into a platform or system that resulted from analysis conducted during Phase 1

The government may request updated proposals with additional details after completion of a SCOUT event. The number of awards made will depend on the results of the technical and operational utility demonstrated throughout the planning and execution of the SCOUT Experimentation Campaign and the availability of funding.

It is anticipated that FAR Part 12 (including FAR 13.5) or OTA procedures will be utilized for procurement under Phase 2, as applicable. However, the Government reserves the right to utilize FAR Part 15 procedures if required. Participants being requested to participate in Phase 2 will be required to submit a cost/price and data rights proposal. Cost/price data requests may include a requirement for the Offeror to submit any, or all, of the following to the Contracting/Agreements Officer for the Government to determine a fair and reasonable price as required by FAR 15.404:

• commercial pricing
• modified commercial pricing
• market research-comparison to same/similar technology areas
• other than cost or pricing data

The data rights proposal shall include a description of data rights available to the Government for the technology being assessed and any cost/price associated with those rights.

The Government reserves the right to request any additional, necessary documentation once a technology is selected for award. Such additional information may include, but is not limited to, Representations and Certifications when issued with request for proposal.

SECTION 11- PHASE 2 - EVALUATION AND SELECTION INFORMATION

The government will only evaluate submissions that address one or more of the capability areas described in Section 4; Concept of Operations and Capability Areas of Interest. A panel of qualified government subject matter experts will be convened to conduct a technical and operational assessment for each conforming submission. Submissions will be evaluated using the following equally weighted criteria:

1. 1. 1. Operational Assessment Criteria & (2) Technical Assessment Criteria
         • Phase 1 criteria will be utilized for Phase 2 evaluation as well (See Section 10).
      2. Data Rights proposed
         • FAR Part 27 and DFARS Part 227 will be used for evaluation
      3. Price Evaluation
         • Phase 2: Cost/Price Evaluation IAW FAR 15.404-1

When conducting the operational/technical evaluation for award, the government reserves the right to take other information as required into consideration, such as test results from other government-led events, compatibility with currently fielded Naval systems and platforms, etc.

Additionally, the Government reserves the right to:

• Negotiate and make awards to all, some, one, or none of the technologies demonstrated during the SCOUT Experimentation Campaign.
• Remove from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms, conditions and cost/price within a reasonable time or the vendor fails to provide requested additional information within the timeframes requested.
• Have sole discretion to negotiate all contract/OTA terms and conditions with selectees.
• Accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of proposals for award. In the event the Government desires to award only portions of a proposal, negotiations may be opened with the vendor.

To receive an award, Vendors must have a Dunn and Bradstreet (DUNS) number and must register in the System for Award Management (SAM). This system verifies identity and ensures that payment is sent to the correct party. In general, to invoice and receive payment after award, Vendors mush register in Wide Area Workflow. The Contracting Officer/Agreements Officer will aid those Vendors as necessary. The Vendor must be considered a responsible party prior to award IAW FAR 9.104 (or applicable OTA procedures).