Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Background
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking to procure an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) as part of its mission to enhance agricultural research and monitoring capabilities. This solicitation, numbered 1232SA26Q0909, is a Total Small Business Set-Aside, allowing all responsible small business sources to submit quotations for consideration.

Work Details
The contract requires the delivery of one Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system that includes:
- One (1) multirotor quadcopter UAV airframe
- One (1) LR1-class stabilized imaging payload
- Six (6) intelligent flight batteries
- One (1) SL8-class multi-bay fast-charging system
- One (1) RTK-enabled ground reference station providing centimeter-level horizontal and vertical accuracy
- All required accessories for safe and effective operation.

The UAV must meet or exceed the following specifications:
- Multirotor configuration with foldable or compact transport design
- Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW): 4.5–6.0 kg
- Flight endurance: Minimum 28 minutes with LR1 Payload
- Ingress protection: Minimum IP43 or equivalent environmental sealing
- Operating temperature range: –4°F to 122°F (–20°C to 50°C)
- NDAA-compliant components (no PRC-restricted parts).

Period of Performance
Delivery must be within 90 days after receipt of order.

Place of Performance
Items shall be shipped to USDA Grassland, Soil, and Water Research Unit, 808 East Blackland Rd., Temple, TX 76502.

Bidder Requirements
Bidders must comply with the Total Small Business Set Aside status. Additionally, bidders are required to provide sufficient descriptive literature or documentation demonstrating how their proposed product meets or exceeds the required salient characteristics.

Incumbent Analysis (see Incumbents section for more detail)
This opportunity appears to have a confirmed incumbent and/or closely related prior contract activity based on recent USDA RFQ awards for drone/UAS systems with imaging and sensor payloads. For example, Hylio was awarded $81,620 under 1232SA26P0287 for “precision imagery, sampling, and dispersion” drones, which aligns with the current requirement to deliver a UAV system including a stabilized imaging payload and RTK-enabled ground reference station. Other closely related awards include Frontier Precision ($56,675) for an Astro Max mapping essentials multispectral sensor drone and Aerial Technology International ($35,360) for an FCC-compliant UAS with multispectral/thermal cameras for remote sensing of research fields—both consistent with the current UAV’s focus on agricultural monitoring and multi-sensor imaging payloads.