Optical Fence Line (OFL)

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors; Electronics; Information Systems; Battlespace The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 3.5 of the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. OBJECTIVE: Develop a low cost system that can optically detect, ID, and track UAS up to 50 meters above the ground and along a fence line to form an enclosed secure area. The system should be capable of detect & ID of many objects simultaneously, providing individual determinations on each detected object. The system should provide alarms of objects crossing the fence line to ensure proper response from security personnel. The Fence line may be as large as an entire military installation and the capability should be scalable. DESCRIPTION: Improvised and near peer UAS operations continue to evolve and morph. Active UAS combat in various parts of the world provide lessons learned and new tactics for UAS and Counter UAS operations teams to experiment with. Tactics include silent flight, mass attack, complex diversion and simple swarming. More dynamic smart swarming employed manually by human control or machine piloting is beginning to emerge and will continue to increase in complexity over the next few years. The ability of an adversary to fly below the radar but over fences needs to be addressed. PHASE I: This is a Direct to Phase 2 (D2P2) topic. Phase 1 like proposals will not be evaluated and will be rejected as nonresponsive. For this D2P2 topic, the Government expects that the small business would have accomplished the following in a Phase I-type effort via some other means (e.g. IRAD, or other funded work). It must have developed a concept for a workable prototype or design to address at a minimum the basic capabilities of the stated objective above. Proposal must show, as appropriate to the proposed effort, a demonstrated technical feasibility or nascent capability to meet the capabilities of the stated objective. Proposal may provide example cases of this new capability on a specific application. The documentation provided must substantiate that the proposer has developed a preliminary understanding of the technology to be applied in their Phase II proposal to meet the objectives of this topic. Documentation should include all relevant information including, but not limited to technical reports, test data, prototype designs/models, and performance goals/results. PHASE II: Develop a system that can detect, ID, & track UAS being employed in autonomous and complex ways against US military entities world-wide, while also providing outputs to assist in false alarm mitigation for C-UAS. It is permissible to propose only part of the complete solution, as long as identification and/or false alarm mitigation techniques are included. If detect, ID, and/or track are not included as a part of your proposed solution, it is necessary to address which technologies and interfaces are required to augment your proposed system. In other words, your proposed identification & false alarm mitigation technique(s) should account for the complexities of detect, ID, and track. The developed system is expected to layer multiple sensors into a single sensor array establishing an eclosed optical fence line reaching 50 meters in height. i. Develop and demonstrate a real prototype system that can be affordably scaled to a complete fenceline ii. Integrate or simulate wide area tracking systems that would complement a fence line detection system iii. Complete the design of the system, demonstrate performance of a prototype system through flight experimentation and demonstration at an operationally relevant environment PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The Government has an interest in transition of the demonstrated concept to provide airfield security, but it could also be used for National Airspace (NAS) policing, commercial UAS fleet management and UAS awareness for commercial use. REFERENCES: 1. Army Planning Demo of Systems to Counter Group 3 UAS, https://www.defensedaily.com/army-planning-demo-of-systems-to-counter-group-3-uas/army/ 2. Pentagons Counter Drone Boss tackles rising threat https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2023/03/10/pentagons-counter-drone-boss-tackles-rising-threat/ 3. Layered Defense is the best option https://insideunmannedsystems.com/for-counter-uas-layered-defense-is-the-best-option/ KEYWORDS: Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS), Electro Optical Sensors (EO), Image Fusion, panoramic lenses, Machine Learning